Shade tents and frequent water breaks are part of the strategies Kris Comon uses for dealing with 100°-plus temperatures and a punishing sun at a two-story building being constructed in Phoenix. Comon is project manager for UEB Builders, prime contractor for the Helios Education Foundation, and to beat the heat, work starts at 6 a.m. and ends in the early afternoon, he says.
A growing awareness of the dangers of summer work and of sun rays as a cause of skin cancer on and off the job has driven employers, unions and workers to limit exposure. Insurers and risk managers should take note, too. In sun-drenched Australia, workers’ compensation claims related to sun damage have been a fact of life. Workers filed about 175 claims a year between 2000 and 2012, resulting in $63 million in payments, according to a study by Cancer Council Australia.