Industrial Cooling Is Broken — Why “Cooling Jackets” and Traditional Heat Protocols Can’t Handle Today’s Extreme Temperatures

Industrial work has entered a new heat era. Temperatures that once appeared a few days a year are now the weekly baseline for utility crews, refinery teams, warehouse pickers, logistics yards, construction sites, and data center builds. Traditional industrial cooling systems—fans, shade tents, evaporative stations, ice coolers—haven’t evolved nearly as fast as the heat itself. And personal cooling gear hasn’t kept pace either. Search for a “cooling jacket” or “cooling vest” and you’ll find endless products promising miracles but designed for conditions that no longer exist.

The real issue is that heat in industrial settings behaves differently. It accumulates near machinery, bounces off concrete and steel, lingers in mezzanines, and rises through PPE layers. Workers absorb all of it. What they need isn’t a short blast of cold. They need controlled, stable cooling that supports 8–12+ hours of real labor—climbing, lifting, kneeling, operating equipment—not a gimmick.

Why Environmental Cooling Alone No Longer Works

For decades, companies focused almost exclusively on cooling the environment rather than cooling the worker. Large fans, ad-hoc ducting, ice barrels, mist lines, break rooms, and temporary HVAC helped when heat was moderate. Today, they can’t reach the places heat becomes dangerous. Warehouses trap pockets of 100–110°F air at mezzanine height. Refineries and power plants generate radiant heat that overwhelms airflow. Utility workers and construction crews face outdoor temperatures combined with asphalt, steel, concrete, and full PPE.

Industrial cooling has to shift toward the worker’s body, not the building.

The Problem With the “Classic” Cooling Gear Still Dominating Online Searches

The most common products—ice jackets, evaporative cooling vests, and phase-change cooling packs—look clever on a product page but fail in real conditions.

Ice jackets soak through and become dead weight long before a shift ends. Evaporative cooling vests collapse instantly in humidity, providing nothing more than a damp layer under PPE. Phase-change packs are just rebranded ice: they freeze, melt, warm up, and offer zero cooling for the back half of the day.

These products dominate search results for “industrial cooling PPE” because they’re easy to manufacture and easy to market. But they’re not designed for modern extreme heat.

What Industrial Cooling Gear Needs to Do Now

Once you push aside the gimmicks, the requirements for effective personal cooling in high-heat industrial environments become remarkably clear. Long shifts, humidity, PPE layers, and high physical output create a predictable set of conditions any cooling system must be able to handle.

Use this practical decision framework for real industrial cooling conditions:•

Does the cooling remain stable for 8–12+ hours, not just the first 30–60 minutes?• Is it battery-powered, avoiding ice, gel, or phase-change packs that fail in humidity and heat?

Does it function reliably in high-humidity environments where evaporative cooling collapses?

Is the weight low enough and balanced enough for climbing ladders, working in harnesses, or operating forklifts?

Does it integrate without conflict into heat-safety PPE: FR layers, fall-protection, high-visibility vests, hard hats, and gloves?

Does it deliver controlled, consistent cooling output, not a cold shock followed by hours of no cooling?

Will workers actually choose to wear it for an entire shift?

These questions are far more important than any term printed on a product label.

Industrial Cooling Is Entering a New Phase

The next generation of cooling systems is no longer centered on ice, evaporation, or short-burst cooling. Instead, innovation is shifting toward active cooling technology—compact, battery-powered systems that regulate temperature for entire shifts, even in 100–120°F heat, even in humidity, and even under PPE. This shift mirrors changes in other industrial equipment: durability, endurance, integration, and energy efficiency now matter more than novelty.

Companies that adopt long-duration personal cooling early won’t just protect workers—they’ll maintain productivity during the hottest weeks of the year, when delays hit the hardest and heat-related slowdown is most costly.

Clema’s work is a reflection of this broader movement. By focusing on full-shift battery-powered cooling, humidity-resistant performance, lightweight design, and seamless PPE integration, the aim isn’t to offer yet another cooling vest. It’s to redefine what industrial cooling gear can actually do in the heat conditions workers now face every day.