Dehydration may lead to poor productivity

Linda Mathieson

December 16, 2014

Do your employees have easy access to fresh, clean, chilled drinking water?

Dehydration is a common problem and by the time a person feels thirsty the chances are they are already mildly dehydrated. Our bodies are made up of 65% water and a loss of 1.5% of water is enough to become dehydrated.

It is an issue that bosses and HR managers should consider as employee dehydration may affect your business. The effects of this can include changes to mood and energy levels, dizziness, headaches, thirst and fatigue and this may lead to poor productivity. Severe dehydration can lead to blood clots and seizures which may have potentially fatal complications.

Symptoms that indicate dehydration include:

Bad bread due to a lack of saliva
Muscle cramps as a result of overheating
Dry skin as there is not enough water in the blood
Sweet food cravings due to a lack of water needed to release some glycogens from your energy banks
Headaches due to the fluid sack in your skull not having sufficient water and this may cause the brain to push up against the skull causing headaches

You are probably thinking that it is up to the employee to ensure they remain adequately hydrated, and it is if drinking water is readily available, but by the time thirst hits, it is too late and could result in a negative impact on your business. We have all suffered from dehydration at some point without even realising it especially when we are very busy so it is important to address the issue of dehydration in the work place.

Employees working in factories, workshops and large facilities where the work can be hot and strenuous are more likely to become dehydrated. Raise the problem of dehydration with you staff and educate them on the benefits of drinking water and eating well.

Tips to help keep your employees hydrated

Give them easy access to drinking water throughout the day
Supply reusable water bottles
Install a water cooler or refill station that is within easy reach
Supply fruit as it is healthy and also contains water that can help in keeping dehydration under control

Environment, Health

The importance of keeping kids hydrated especially in the hot summer months

Linda Mathieson

October 29, 2014

It is hard to keep kids hydrated when they are playing outdoors on warm days and it is only when thirst hits that they will look for something to drink.

“Lack of water is always the most severe privation that men can be condemned to endure,” wrote Ernest Shackleton

Water is life and crucial to our everyday existence and during the hot Australian Summer months it is essential that adults and children have easy access to fresh drinking water.

Children are at greater risk of dehydration than adults as they generate more heat but sweat less which can lead to heat exhaustion and even heat stroke on a warm day.

It is imperative that children have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day, especially when playing in the playground in hot weather. Dehydration causes thickening of the blood making the heart work harder risking bad circulation which can then stop the body from cooling itself down efficiently.

By the time a child feels thirsty they are roughly 3% dehydrated so it is important to encourage them to drink water at regular intervals throughout the day.

A child playing in a hot playground should drink between 250ml to 300ml every 15 to 20 minutes. Having access to clean fresh water at school is essential for every student to ensure they remain healthy, active and mentally alert.

Health

Local Communities Embracing Arts and Culture

Linda Mathieson

August 27, 2014

Local communities are rich in history, culture and arts and local councils are actively involved in supporting cultural and artistic growth within local communities in an effort to improve social cohesion.

Arts and culture can be promoted within communities through cultural activities and events, library and gallery exhibitions and public art displayed in local parks and gardens. This leads to a growing sense of community and pride within local areas.

In 2004 The Australian Expert Group in Industry Studies (AEGIS) carried out a study on ‘Social Impacts of Participation in the Arts and Cultural Activities. This came about due to increasing focus on how community participation in arts and cultural activities intersect with areas of public concern such as education, crime prevention, community identity and development.

The study claims that some of the community benefits of locals participating in arts and cultural programs include:

Increased employment rates
Reduced levels of crime
Public art with a sense of public ownership
Improved social cohesion and community
empowerment
Development of a community identity
Improved understanding of different cultures

Encouraging the local community to participate and identify with local culture and arts is an ongoing task. Creating visibility and accessibility is key to educating and encouraging people to embrace, experience and identify with the local culture. The end result is a growing sense of community pride and belonging.

Local councils are looking for new, versatile and innovative ways to relay the area’s history and display local and cultural artworks.

The City of Canada Bay has developed a place based approach to Public Arts and Cultural Development by creating meaningful installations and activities in a range of localities such as:

Liwi’s Place Mural at Timbrel Park, Five Dock
Public art work at Fred Kelly Place, Five dock to celebrate Aeolian Migration
Development of the Rainbow Serpent, a sculptural piece on the Bay Run
An artistic visual rundown of the area’s history on the panels of a Public aquafil™ Water Refill Station and Drinking Fountain

Arrow Alpha’s aquafil Water Refill Stations and Drinking Fountains are a great tool in promoting Arts and Cultural awareness within local communities. They have highly visible modular panels that are versatile and have ample space for art work, storytelling, branding and promotional messaging. The aquafil units enable local art, history and culture to be taken outside and put on display for locals who would never normally visit the local library or art
gallery whilst offering them fresh drinking water at the same time.

Download PDF

Environment, Health

Eliminating Plastic Bottle Waste

Linda Mathieson

June 25, 2014

Billions of disposable plastic bottles are sold around the world each year and most of them end up in landfill, oceans and waterways. This is a major environmental disaster in itself, not to mention the millions of barrels of oil used in the manufacture of plastic bottles.

It is time to encourage people to make the right choice. Stop buying disposable bottles and carry a reusable bottle. It sounds like, and it is an easy solution but getting the message across it not that easy. With so many options of plastic bottled water readily available to buy, one forgets the negative impact that purchase is having on our environment.

Whilst more and more council, parks, schools, universities and local communities are installing Water Refill Stations and Drinking Fountains within their precincts, there are still areas where free, clean drinking water is not available.

Shopping centres and malls are slow on the uptake to supply free drinking water to customers, probably due to the fast food outlets wanting to continue selling bottled drinks at exorbitant prices and let’s be honest; nobody wants to refill their bottle in the public restrooms.

Fast food outlets should be encouraged to join the fight against plastic waste as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. It would be a huge step in the right direction for our environment if the large fast food chains started promoting free drinking water whilst removing plastic bottled water from their fridges. To ensure no loss of revenue, they could sell branded stainless steel reusable bottles.

Think of the impact this could have on the environment and how 10 years down the track, it would be considered normal to always carry a reusable water bottle. We would have a new generation totally unaware that drinking water used to be available for sale in plastic disposable bottles.

More and more outdoor event organisers are encouraging the use of reusable stainless steel bottles. This alone has a huge impact on the environment and also means less mess at the events conclusion.

The UK Glastonbury Festival, held in June 2014, is giving away 2000 stainless steel reusable bottles to road crew and band members and will have them for sale for festival goers. The 140,000 ticket holders are being encouraged to buy or bring a reusable bottle to refill at one of the 400 drinking water points scattered around the venue. This is a great initiative and encourages other event organisers to do the same. Read more…

In an effort to build a healthy environment and lifestyle, it is time to get rid of the disposable plastic water bottle.

Environment

aquafil Water Refill Stations take part in the LA Marathon

10 aquafil Water Refill Stations made their debut in the the 2014 LA Marahon held on Sunday March 9.

The ASICS LA Marathon draws thousands of competitors from across the USA all running to help raise funds for the LA Marathon Official Charity program.

The 46.16km (26.2 m) Stadium to Sea course was used this year and runs from Dodger Stadium to the Pacific Ocean passing through a number of LA’s famous landmarks such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Pier.

The average race time was 5:26:19 and 12,385 men and 9,119 women completed the race. The men’s winner was Gebo Burka with a time of 2:10:37 and Amane Gobena was the womens winner with a time of 2:27:37.

10 portable aquafil Pulse Water Refill Stations with Drinking Fountains were attached to water hydrants along the race route to supply spectators with drinking water whilst watching the race. These units also displayed the Drink Tap message making them a valuable tool in promoting the use of refillable water bottles and reducing the number of one use plastic water bottles being sold.

Reduce Reuse Recycle Refresh

Environment, Health

San Francisco Wants to Ban Plastic Water Bottles

Laila Kerney

March 7, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Francisco moved to restrict the sale of plastic water bottles on city property on Tuesday, the first such action by a major U.S. municipality and the latest in a string of waste-reduction measures that included a ban on plastic grocery bags.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to begin phasing out the sale and distribution of water in single-use plastic bottles on city-owned or leased land next fall, and to ban future water bottle purchases with city funds.

“There are incredible, enormous environmental costs of plastic water bottles,” said Supervisor David Chiu, who introduced the measure. “It takes 1,000 years for a typical plastic water bottle to biodegrade.”

Numerous cities in California and other states, including Maui County and a number of Hawaiian municipalities, have made it illegal for grocery stores to pack consumer purchases in plastic bags, and a bill recently introduced in the state legislature would extend such bans statewide.

San Francisco appears to be the first to try to steer consumers away from using disposable water bottles, which environmentalists say fill landfills and wash out to sea as trash just as grocery bags do.

Full article at Business Insider Australia

Ban plastic water bottles everywhere!

Environment

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View the full aquafil range

Environment, Health

Providing drinking stations for the community

Westernport Water

February 27, 2014

New drinking stations installed

Westernport Water has provided the community with a convenient way to fill up their water bottles, launching three custom drinking stations in San Remo and Cowes.

The drinking stations have a fountain for use as well as refill points that allow visitors to easily top up their water bottles free of charge. Two stations feature a dog bowl built into the base of the fountain, giving pet owners the ability to give their thirsty canine companions a drink while out walking.

One drinking station has been installed at Erehwon Point in Cowes while the other two are located in the San Remo Lions Park and San Remo Foreshore area.

According to Murray Jackson, Westernport Water’s Managing Director, the drinking stations are a great addition to some of our most popular attractions.

“We are pleased to contribute to the community by providing drinking stations for people to enjoy.”

“Additionally, by drawing water directly from the local drinking supply, people can reduce the negative effect that they may have on the environment from purchasing bottled water,” he said.

Thanks to Bass Coast Shire Council and San Remo Foreshore Committee for their contribution and support to make this possible.

Refresh and refill at the new aquafil water station

City of Mandurah

Februay 27, 2014

As part of the City of Mandurah’s commitment to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, a filtered water drink station has been installed in the popular boardwalk area.
The aquafil water fountain, installed near the Mandurah Visitor Centre in February, has already been used by hundreds of locals and visitors during the Channel Seven Mandurah Crab Fest weekend last month.
The public drink station features wheelchair accessibility and is in a well-lit and shaded area, and is also close to the Transperth Mandurah Shuttle bus stop.
The aquafil also has a built-in dog bowl so people walking their dogs in the area can give their pets a drink. Cyclists do not even have to get off their bikes to use the aquafil, as the fountains are all at the right height.
The aquafil machine was funded by the City of Mandurah through the Federal Government’s Healthy Communities Initiative, and promotes recycling and reduced wastage of plastic bottles.
Passersby are encouraged to use the fresh, filtered drinking water to refill their water bottles and increase their water intake throughout the day.
Ann-Marie Gladwell and her dogs Cassie and Lucy took advantage of the dog bowl while taking a walk through the area.

Refresh and Refill

Visit the City of Mandurah

Environment, Health

Sugary drinks off the menu for ACT schools

News.com.au

February 21, 2014

THE last drinks bell has rung in Canberra’s public schools with the government moving to ban sugary drinks by the end of the year.

Vending machines will be emptied of soft drinks, fruit juices and full-fat flavoured milks by the end of first term and canteens will have to phase them out by the end of 2014.

They’ll be replaced with water refill stations and reusable drink bottles.

Parents will be encouraged to send healthy drinks packed in their children’s lunch boxes.

However the ban won’t extend to drinks sold at fetes and fundraisers.

It’s all in the interests of tackling the ACT’s growing obesity problem.

“We must not allow the next generation of children to grow up with the same bad eating and drinking habits that some adults are now paying the price for,” Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said in a statement on Friday.

The fruit juice industry says the government’s decision to include its products in the ban is a misguided attempt to show leadership.

“The ACT government is jumping at shadows and is concerned about the sugar in juice which is naturally occurring and comes from the originating piece of fruit,” Fruit Juice Australia chief executive Geoff Parker told AAP.

“We don’t support a young kid drinking a litre of juice or a 600mL of juice but a small glass of juice a day as part of an overall balanced diet is perfectly fine.”

He said a blanket ban sent the wrong message to children when evidence showed kids who drank juice had a better quality of diet overall.

Ms Gallagher said canteens would follow the traffic light guidelines so juices that were 99 per cent fruit and sold in small quantities would be for sale occasionally, along with some cordials and flavoured mineral waters.

She said it was expected for industry to push back against the decision.

News.com.au

Health

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News

Dehydration may lead to poor productivity

Keeping Kids Hydrated

The importance of keeping kids hydrated especially in the hot summer months

Local Communities Embracing Arts and Culture

Festival Organisers Targeting the Disposable Plastic Bottle

Eliminating Plastic Bottle Waste

aquafil Water Refill Stations take part in the LA Marathon

San Francisco Wants to Ban Plastic Water Bottles

aquafil Stainless Steel Water Bottles available

NEWS FLASH

NOW AVAILABLE – Stainless Steel Water Bottles, the perfect partner for your aquafil Water Bottle Refill Station!

aquafil™ The ALL IN ONE Range of Water Bottle Refill Stations and Drinking Fountains.

Refresh for life

Providing drinking stations for the community

Refresh and refill at the new aquafil water station

Sugary drinks off the menu for ACT schools

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