Construction crews work around high temperatures to get the job done

Published: Aug. 1, 2022 at 5:08 PM MDT
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RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) -After a short reprieve last week, the heat is back. When the temperature increases people should stay inside but what about those whose jobs are entirely outside?

Summer is the best time to complete construction projects, but hot temperatures make the jobs more difficult than usual.

Construction workers are often working in the sun with little to no shade, so how do companies keep their workers protected from the heat? Rangel Construction offers workers water and Gatorade to keep the crew hydrated, in addition to other safety measures.

“It can slow things down a little bit we do some things to help kinda mitigate that, we will start at five in the morning and then get off a little earlier before the heat of the day, we tend to give guys extra breaks to kinda slow things down and make sure their not getting too hot,” said Michael Horton, Superintendent for Rangel Construction.

Not only does the heat pose struggles for the workers but for the construction itself. Concrete can only be poured in certain conditions.

“It will just get too hard, and we can’t work it anymore, and then for like flat works, sidewalks, and floors and stuff, it’ll actually go so quick that we don’t have enough time to finish it,” said Horton.

If it is too hot, the concrete will dry faster than the crew can work, which can potentially set the project back days.

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