trunkline - Woodside

Beating the heat
Woodsiders work in
some pretty hot and humid locations,
which makes potential heat stress a
significant occupational health issue.
Groundbreaking research, conducted
in partnership with Edith Cowan
University’s School of Exercise,
Biomedical and Health Sciences,
is helping us better understand the
issues and inform decisions that will
safeguard the health and wellbeing of
our people.
24 trunkline | Q1 2011
How heat affects people’s physiology
during strenuous activity such as
manual labour is an area where indepth
research is relatively sparse,
particularly in relation to the Australian
environment.
Woodside occupational health and
hygiene adviser Sam Elkington says
that while existing research and
information has provided guidance,
having the opportunity to develop a
research project specific to Woodside’s
work and environments offers many
more benefits.
“The partnership between Woodside
and Edith Cowan University will lead to
increased understanding of the issues
and better management specific to
Woodside’s activities, locations and
people,” she says.
“The research from this project will
help us develop practical steps to
prevent exposure to heat stress,
steps which are backed up by robust
science.”
The study is using technology, such as
telemetric pills and dermal patches, to
ensure accurate data collection.
The telemetric pill is about the
size of a multivitamin tablet. Once
swallowed, it collects data on internal
body temperature and transmits the
information to an external reader. After
a period of time, usually between 12
and 48 hours, the pill passes through
the person’s body and is expelled.
The external dermal patch, which
adheres to the skin, collects
information about skin temperature in a
similar way to the pill.
Participants also provide a range of
physiological information such as
height, weight and skin fold tests prior
to the study and have their heart rate
and estimated metabolic workload
monitored throughout.
The first phase of the study, involving
volunteers from King Bay Supply Base
and the North Rankin A platform, has
been completed with the data already
helping to shape some decisions on
managing potential heat stress issues.
For instance, the data showed that
drinking slushies can be an effective
way of cooling core body temperature
and reducing the risk of heat-related
illness. Consequently, slushy machines
are being installed at all Woodside’s
production facilities.
The research also showed that, in
many cases, people were already
dehyradted when starting their shifts,
making them more prone to heat
stress. This has led to refractometers,