Cooling Vest for Construction Workers

Four categories, and they stack rather than compete. Water, shade and rest are the baseline and are a written requirement in California, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, Nevada, Colorado and Minnesota, but they only protect a crew while it is stopped. Schedule changes move hot work off the peak hours and cost hours to do it. Site cooling like misting fans and cooled break trailers is fixed to one spot, and fans stop helping once the air is hotter than skin. Wearable cooling is the only category that travels with the worker into the task itself, and there the deciding spec is runtime.

A solid-state, battery-powered active cooling wearable like Clema is built for construction. It delivers a >25°F felt temperature drop for 8–12 hours per shift with one battery swap, weighs under 3 lbs, and works with a fall-arrest harness.

A cooling vest for construction needs to stay out of the way of a hard-hat crew's existing gear: slim enough to work with a fall-arrest harness, no bulky reservoir or tubing to snag on rebar or scaffolding, and enough runtime to cover a full shift without a mid-day reset.

Yes. Clema is designed as a sub-3-lb suspender system that works with a fall-arrest harness without modifying the harness or introducing new pinch points.

Traditional ice vests melt in 60–90 minutes, leaving the rest of the shift uncovered. Clema runs 8–12 hours with one battery swap and supports under-a-minute hot-swaps, so a single worker is covered for the full shift without water, ice, or charging breaks.

OSHA enforces heat-related hazards under the General Duty Clause and is finalizing a federal heat standard. Several states (CA, WA, MD, NV, CO) already have construction-specific heat rules. Active cooling helps crews stay productive while supporting compliance.

A single heat-related incident can cost $50K–$200K+ before litigation when workers' comp, OSHA exposure, schedule slip, and downtime are accounted for. On peak-heat days, crew output can drop 30–50%, compounding the cost.

Yes. Clema replaces ice and evaporative vests with a solid-state cooling system that runs the full shift, requires no ice or water, and continues to work in high humidity where evaporative gear fails. Southeast crews hit this first, which is why humidity decides the vest type.

Concrete pours are time-critical and can't be paused for a forced rest cycle. Full-shift active cooling lets the finishing crew stay on the pour through 120°F+ ambient heat without 60–90 minute ice swaps, protecting both worker safety and concrete quality.

Yes. Clema is a sub-3-lb suspender form factor designed to work with fall-arrest harnesses without introducing new pinch points or restricting D-ring placement. Roofers exposed to direct sun and hot membrane surfaces benefit from full-shift cooling.

Almost half of heat-related workplace deaths occur on a worker's first day, and over 70% in the first week. Acclimatization gradually exposes new workers to heat over 7–14 days so their bodies adapt. OSHA's proposed rule requires written acclimatization protocols. Active cooling supports acclimatization by reducing core temperature buildup during the adaptation period.

Yes. OSHA's proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention standard would apply to all construction employers. The agency's National Emphasis Program for heat already targets construction for inspection, and several states (CA, WA, MD, NV, CO, OR, MN) enforce construction-specific heat rules.