Know the signs of hypothermia

The hazard

Cold weather can pull heat out of your body faster than you can make it, especially when you are wet or out in the wind. As you cool down, your hands get clumsy and your thinking slows. That makes every other task more dangerous, from climbing a ladder to running a saw. Hypothermia and frostbite can creep up on you, so we watch for them in ourselves and in each other.

The action

Hypothermia means your body temperature has dropped too low. Early signs are shivering, tiredness, clumsy hands and confusion. A person getting hypothermia may not notice it, so check on each other at every break. If someone stops shivering while still cold, slurs words or seems confused, get them somewhere warm, call for medical help and tell the foreman.