Six Construct, a subsidiary of the Besix Group, and one of the largest Belgian construction companies operating in the Middle East, introduced a ‘Safe Summer Working Campaign’ which includes providing cooling towels for all their onsite construction and security staff.

The cooling towels are provided to ensure that onsite staff are not only kept cool, but experience little or no obstruction in performing their day-to-day tasks.

The cooling towels' thermoregulating technology works by absorbing moisture and perspiration into the fabric where the unique radiator-like fibre circulates water molecules and regulates the rate of evaporation to create a prolonged cooling effect.

Once soaked in water and wrapped around the neck, the relatively unobtrusive and wearable cooling towel immediately reduces the wearer’s core body temperature. The cooling towels remain active for up to three hours before they are soaked in cold water once more.

“In the Middle East, even with the mandatory summer noon break for construction workers, labourers still encounter high temperatures and humidity,” explained Lyndon Davies, the business unit (Middle East Corporate) and HSE director of Six Construct.

“The cooling towels were, therefore, introduced to add a little extra protection against the extreme heat, and also provide additional comfort to their day,” he added.

In addition to the cooling towels and the mandatory mid-day summer breaks, Six Construct also implements heat-stress campaigns in order to raise awareness amongst the staff about the symptoms of heat stress, and the ways to avoid it by always keeping themselves hydrated.

As part of the campaign, rehydration drinks are also provided to replace nutrients lost due to sweating, and during the summer the working hours are planned during the coolest periods of the day - starting early morning with the aim of finishing before the hottest part of the day, said Davies.

“Our staff are very pleased with the extra relief provided by the cooling vests, and we are continuously looking for new and innovative ways to improve circumstances for all our staff, especially during the region’s extreme heat in the summer months,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service