The International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland has released a new standard intended to help manage risk in cold workplaces, such as meat processing plants.

Working in cold conditions can increase strain, decrease performance and cause cold-related diseases and injuries. Cold can also aggravate the risk of otherwise common hazards and increasing the risk of cold-associated injuries.

The standards provide practical instructions for analyzing and managing for risk in cold working conditions, such as:
• instructions for identifying individuals having symptoms which increase cold sensitivity, plus guidance and instruction on individual cold protection;
• guidelines for applying international thermal standards and other scientific methods when assessing cold-related risks;
• a model and methods for cold risk management practices;
• practical examples of working in cold conditions.

The ISO standards are voluntary, but they do represent a "solid consensus of international expert opinion," according to the organization's Web site. ISO itself is a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries, a non-governmental organization that bridges the public and private sectors.

To read more about the new standard, ISO 15743:2008, click http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1132.

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