Straightforward Hydration Plan for Outdoor Crews

• Posted on 1 July 2025
• By SWSS
• 0

If hydration is a problem for yourself or your crew, use this quick guide to build a hydration routine that your crew will actually follow and stay productive with.

Canadian summers do a quick switch from being pleasant to punishing - especially for roofers, road crews, landscapers, and any other crew that's clocking hours under an open sky. When the mercury rises, a well-thought-out hydration strategy will keep productivity up, injury rates down, and keep morale working at a steady pace.

Use this quick guide to build a hydration routine that your crew will actually follow.

Remember Why Water Isn’t Optional

Picture your body being like a work truck. It runs hot and needs coolant. On a scorching hot job site, that coolant is the equivalent to the body's need for plain old water.

If you skip a bottle or two and you definitely start to feel it. You can experience sluggish thinking, a shaky grip or maybe a pounding headache. Let it slide even longer and your internal “engine” starts to overheat and makes your heart works overtime while the risk of a heat-stroke shoot up!

What Happens When You're Perpetually Dehydrated?

Even if you're one of those people that says "I don't need water". The biology says otherwise, and with long term dehydration, eventually the body will start shutting down “non-essential” systems. First your focus drifts, then muscles cramp, and before long even your kidneys and heart feel the strain, leaving you wondering why you have all these "health issues?". Our advice? Don't risk it.

Bottom line: topping up with water isn’t a bonus for comfort or a lifestyle activity. It’s the simple physical maintenance that keeps you safe and able to finish the shift as strong and healthy as you started it.

Heat Stress is Different Than Heat Stroke

Heat stress starts with fatigue and dizziness and can snowball into heat stroke which is a medical emergency that shuts down the body’s cooling system. When you ensure to stay ahead of dehydration, it keeps your core temperature in check and prevents dangerous levels of heat stroke.

Most guidelines treat heat-stroke as the end stage on a spectrum of heat-related illnesses that start with heat cramps, then heat syncope and then heat exhaustion. The experts all say it's better to recognize the spectrum before heat-stroke actually hits:

• heavy sweating
• cramps
• dizziness

And from there to escalate hydration/rest/cooling as soon as possible.

Create a Body-Fluid Balance on the Job

The human body loses about 1 litre of sweat per hour at 30°C even with doing only moderate labour. Our body sweat carries away important sodium and potassium with it, so it's highly important to continually replace those lost fluids and electrolytes in order to maintain comfortable muscle function and mental clarity.

The Early Warning Signs of Dehydration

Early Dehydration Symptoms You Should Not Ignore

• Thirst that won’t quit
• Dry mouth or cracked lips
• Headache creeping behind the eyes
• Dark yellow urine or fewer washroom breaks
• Muscle cramps in calves, forearms, or back

Remember, the dehydration process could have started the day before - or weeks before - if you're not actually drinking sufficient water each day. It's important to teach your crew to self-check for dehydration throughout the work day and while off work.

Build a Crew-Wide Hydration Schedule

Building a crew-wide hydration schedule matters because it turns a “drink whenever you remember” situation into a clear, trackable safety practice that protects every worker on the clock.

Here are some main reasons a crew-wide hydration schedule works:

• It sets a clear drinking rhythm for everyone and removes guesswork.
• Regular breaks prevent heat stress before symptoms appear.
• Logged intervals let supervisors confirm the plan is followed.
• Documented practice shows due diligence to regulators and insurers.
• Predictable water use simplifies refills and supply runs.
• Hydrated crews work steadier and stay motivated.
• Shared timing teaches workers to watch for missed breaks.
• A set framework adjusts easily when hotter days demand more fluids.

All you need to do is set the schedule, post it where everyone sees it, and lead by example during every prescribed break. Those few minutes of water down time are cheaper than a single medical call-out or a half-day lost to fatigue.

Example Hydration Schedule

Morning Prep

1. Pre-load fluids: Drink 500 ml of water or lightly salted sports drink during the drive to site.
2. Freeze a spare bottle:  This acts as ice pack and melts into cold water by midday.
3. Pack electrolyte packets:  Carry single-serve electrolyte sachets tucked into tool pouches.

On-Site Routine

• 10-and-10 rule:  Every 40 minutes of work, take a water break to finish at least 250 ml of liquid.
• Rotate water jugs:  Keep two coolers. While one’s in use, the other can stay chilled in the truck bed.
• Log intake:  Forepersons jot down each break in a notebook or phone app.
• End of day check: Workers drink another 500 ml before leaving the site.

Wear Gear That Keeps You Cool

Effective clothing and cooling gear wicks sweat, speeds up sweat evaporation, and shields us from direct sunlight. It also keeps your core temperature stable and stops fatigue from setting in while is sharpens focus so you stay safe and productive through the hottest shifts.

Clothing and Footwear Tactics

• Lightweight, moisture-wicking shirts pull the sweat right off the skin.
• Wide-brimmed hard-hats provide facial shade and directly block direct sunlight from the neck.
• Moisture-wicking socks paired with sturdy work safety boots keep feet dry, reduces blisters and maintains a balanced level of body heat.

Cooling Accessories

• Evaporative neck gaiters can be soaked in water for 60 seconds and they will stay cool for up to two hours.
• Clip-on canopy umbrellas ca be attached to tool carts to throw quick shade over cutting stations.
• UV-blocking safety sunglasses reduce eye strain and headaches that mimic dehydration symptoms.

You should also be sure to always be stocked up on fluid-friendly gear, track water breaks, and turn “beating the heat” into standard operating procedures during every Canadian summer.