Do you have an outdoor training area?

Do you regularly test touch-temperature levels, especially during warm weather, to ensure members don’t get hurt by hot equipment?

A 2010 study by NASA defined touch-temperature limits using the onset of pain (rather than skin damage) as the limiting factor. The study determined that “if the temperature of any commonly used material is lower than 45°C, it will meet the hot touch-temperature requirement for all contact times”. Information from www.burncentrecare.co.uk states that burns can be caused by temperatures as low as 44 °C.

During warm weather, the surface temperature of external gym equipment, especially mats, rigs, boxes and metal/dark coloured objects, can easily exceed this, which can cause pain and injury.
Monitoring your equipment, keeping records, covering and re-testing to ensure temperatures stay below 45°C (or 44 °C, depending on which standard you wish to follow) will help mitigate against such occurrences. An IR thermometer can be a particularly useful piece of kit for this.

Disallowing use of hot equipment until a safe temperature is achieved is advisable.

Any indoor equipment in direct sunlight may also be affected and is worth including in any testing procedure you have. Setting a slightly lower temperature threshold for your business may also be prudent to ensure safety is paramount.

Get in touch if you want more information.
Riskmanagement@crossfitellipsis.com