Taiwan Deploys Cooling Gear, Automated Alerts To Protect Outdoor Workers
Taiwan is ramping up occupational safety measures as local construction sites battle severe summer heat waves. Labor Minister Hung Sun-han recently visited a job site in Taoyuan to highlight new heat-mitigation standards, including wearable cooling vests with built-in fans and an AI-powered weather monitoring system that broadcasts localized high heat alerts in multiple languages for migrant workers. The labor ministry is also doubling down on enforcement, raising its high-temperature safety inspections to safeguard workers on the front lines of climate change.
An emergency team practices checking on road workers in a medical emergency...
This is an annual drill for heat injuries on construction sites...where tens of thousands of workers toil under the sun for long hours.
This year... Labor Minister Hung Sun-han put on gloves and a helmet to experience it for himself... and promised to improve their working conditions.
HUNG SUN-HAN, LABOR MINISTER: "I hope vests with cooling fans like the one I'm wearing can become more common in the future allowing our construction workers to have them ready as essential, basic heat protection gear."
To prevent heat-related medical emergencies... new cooling equipment has been introduced to high-temperature workplaces... including helmets and vests with built-in fans.
It’s hot! ...About 34 degrees Celsius at this construction site… but this vest could provide a solution. Once I put it on .... then turn on its built-in fans, air flows around my body... and, I instantly feel much cooler. One distributer of the cooling vest said it comes with a special design.
WINSON CHO, STANDARD PRECISION TECHNOLOGY: "One of its key features is its heat-shielding layer. It has a titanium coating so in direct sunlight, it can be about 10 degrees Celsius cooler. The way it works is that the fans carry away moisture from the surface of our body. At the same time, the water turns into vapor which absorbs heat. This way, it can reduce the risk of heatstroke."
Besides wearable cooling gear... Firms have also rolled out a weather monitoring system powered by AI...
JOHNNY LIN, FENG YU SMART MECH ENERGY: "We use temperature and humidity sensors to detect conditions in the workplace. Once detected, the system will display our heat hazard index allowing our construction workers to see the site’s heat hazard level from a distance. When it reaches a critical level of 3 or above it will broadcast an alert. The alert can be tailored to the languages spoken by migrant workers on site including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai and Taiwanese Taigi."
The labor ministry says it is doubling down on assessments of protective measures at construction sites across the country...
LIN YA-TANG, OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: "Last year, we planned 230 inspections under our high-temperature special project. But this year, our labor inspections will definitely exceed that number. We actually conducted 277 inspections last year. Under our inspection, guidance and improvement mechanism we have increased the number of inspections from 1,500 sessions last year to 3,000 sessions this year. If any deficiencies are found on site we immediately request them to make improvements and then upload the proof to our system."
The ministry says while it expands inspection for heat protection at work... it says combatting scorching temperatures in the country will require all hands on deck... As the world enters a potentially hotter future.
