are there. Bless them!
Every morning, between 7:45 and 8 AM, Bambi parks her car by a construction site in her small town of Sackville in New Brunswick, Canada. While walking by two construction sites, she sees the constructor workers devoted to their work tasks.
Construction workers are known to start their day very early. Of note, the weather has changed recently and it is getting cooler, especially in the early morning.
Bambi has always been impressed by how tough and courageous Canadian construction workers are. For now, the temperature is around (+ or -) 0 °C. However, soon it will likely be way below the latter. Mind you, in certain parts of our wide and beautiful Canada, some often work non-urgently at or below -12°C. Some have to work in urgent conditions at much lower temperatures, of course with safety measures in place.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), “at very cold temperatures, the most serious concern is the risk of hypothermia or dangerous overcooling of the body. Another serious effect of cold exposure is frostbite or freezing of the exposed extremities such as fingers, toes, nose, and ears. Hypothermia could be fatal in absence of immediate medical attention” (https://tinyurl.com/379n52me).
Of note, Occupational Health and Safety regulations differ by province and territory. Many of the latter don’t specify a precise minimum temperature for stopping work. However, as a rule of thumb, it seems common practice to recommend stopping emergency work at or below -43 °C.
The paragraphs above addressed the challenge of the cold temperature. Let’s not forget that there are hazardous occupations and specific tasks within the construction field. Given the latter and the weather conditions, too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, Canadian constructor workers are heroes. Thanks to them and bravo!
