Some Like it Hot

摘要

Randy Mullins remembers all too well what it was like suffering heat exhaustion eight years ago. It was a windless day in Phoenix, and he'd just eaten lunch. "It just sneaks right up on you," he recalls. "It hurts. I was cramped up. I [vomited] and passed out. It was the worst feeling I'd ever had." He spent the night in a hospital with an IV. Mullins, now a foreman with Kiewit Western Co., Phoenix, keeps a close eye on the crews working on a 200 million dollars Interstate 10 widening project in Tucson. Temperatures there hit 107 deg F in the summer, but workers say it's far more pleasant than the higher average temperature in Phoenix. Mullins scrutinizes the crews during toolbox safety meetings, looking for red eyes, signs of exhaustion or hangover. He also keeps an eye on new workers, identified by their green hardhats. During the shift, "I'll make these guys stop for water breaks," he says.