KEEPING COOL WTIH A HEAT
STRESS MITIGATION PROGRAM
The background.
From the road to the warehouse, delivery service operators have to deal with the elements — every day. So as the U.S. headed into the summer months, this major delivery company teamed up with top researchers to identify several human factors that can control heat stress.
The challenge.
Having worked with experts and researchers from both business and academia — including Gatorade — several key heat stress risks to their people had been identified.
As a result, they had the content to roll out their training program. However, they needed a partner to help design an innovative package that humanized the learning experience and engaged their intended audiences.
In fact, the package had to do more than just talk to people. It had to properly address their needs. So, we looked to reimagine how training was delivered — focusing on ways to make it more connected and meaningful.
That way, we could solve our big main challenge: build awareness and capability of those most at risk of Heat Stress.
The APPROACH.
We started by breaking down all of the content into key messages — taking care to be clear, simple, and accessible.
Then, working with the design team, we elevated the creative approach — Recharge — to communicate the driving keystone safety behaviors:
Recover
Rehydrate
Refresh
Respond
We could then produce our learning content and campaign materials, which we made flexible enough to get the right message, to the right people, at the right time. Face-to-face learnings were shared in pre-start communications. Micro-modules were made for DIADs (hand-held devices that drivers use every day). And everything was available on the learning management system.
We also developed more, everyday collateral — such as posters, digital screens, practical pocket books, and short learning videos — to keep key heat stress prevention behaviors front of mind.
Supervisors and managers received a dedicated e-learning module. This was made available before the broader frontline campaign was launched, encouraging them to become champions of the initiative.
The impact.
The impact was immediate — as we were able to provide the safety team with an effective and engaging learning experience that communicated all of the key behaviors and messages.
The result was a flexible, human-centric experience that could drive real behavior change — specifically helping drivers, operators, supervisors, and managers understand:
⟶ key risk factors that contribute to heat stress
⟶ how to identify signs and symptoms of heat stress in themselves and others
⟶ ways to proactively manage and treat heat illness
As we head into winter, we’re confident our work has helped people to enjoy the summer months without putting themselves at risk — as they can now prevent, recognize and manage heat stress, each and every day.