Mojave Solar Project Worker Wins 'Hottest Job' Contest
Cintas Corporation and The Sqwincher Corporation are giving Stephen Dean two tickets to an NFL game this season, Cintas moisture-wicking performance polos, cooling collars, and a variety of Sqwincher products.
Stephen Dean, who works on the Mojave Solar Project in Barstow, Calif., a project being built by the Spanish company Abengoa, has been selected as the winner of Cintas Corporation's and The Sqwincher Corporation's "Hottest Job in America" contest, the companies announced Oct. 29. Dean, who endures temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit while constructing the solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, will receive two tickets to an NFL game this season, along with Cintas moisture-wicking performance polos, cooling collars, and a variety of Sqwincher products.
Cintas is provider of on-site safety services and training solutions, and Sqwincher provides electrolyte replacement drinks.
"Although the desert is a hot work environment, we follow a strict heat illness prevention plan to maximize safety," Dean said. "With the help of Cintas and Sqwincher, my co-workers and I will be able to stay cool throughout the day and get home safely when we're done."
The companies said Dean works on the project using a cycle of 50 minutes of work and 10 minutes of break per hour when the temperature is above 95 degrees. At or above 105 degrees, the work/rest and rehydration cycle switches to a 40/20 work-break schedule. "The job, which requires continuous temperature monitoring to maintain safety, shuts down at 117 degrees. To prevent heat stress, employees are provided electrolyte drinks throughout their shifts," according to the companies' news release.
Contest runner-up Jesse Baughman, also from California, will receive a heat stress prize package for his story about working inside a hot airplane hangar, building airplanes "inside structures with limited or no cool ventilation while outfitted in protective suits," the release states.