Today, we offer recommendations for combating heat stress for both employers and employees.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that employers take the following steps to protect workers from heat stress:
- Schedule maintenance and repair jobs in hot areas for cooler months.
- Schedule hot jobs for the cooler part of the day.
- Acclimatize workers by exposing them for progressively longer periods to hot work environments.
- Reduce the physical demands of workers.
- Use relief workers or assign extra workers for physically demanding jobs.
- Provide cool water or liquids to workers.
- Avoid alcohol, and drinks with large amounts of caffeine or sugar.
- Provide rest periods with water breaks.
- Provide cool areas for use during break periods.
- Monitor workers who are at risk of heat stress.
You should also provide heat stress training that includes information about:
- Worker risk
- Prevention
- Symptoms
- The importance of monitoring yourself and co-workers for symptoms
- Treatment
- PPE (for example, hot, heavy protective clothing that may increase the risk)
Don’t let your workers suffer heat illness. Participate in a FREE 60-minute webcast and learn from a seasoned safety professional how to assess high heat jobs and protect your employees from high heat exposure.
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Recommendations for Workers
Workers should avoid exposure to extreme heat, sun exposure, and high humidity when possible. When these exposures cannot be avoided, workers should take the following steps to prevent heat stress:
- Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, breathable clothing such as cotton.
- Avoid non-breathing synthetic clothing.
- Gradually build up to heavy work.
- Schedule heavy work during the coolest parts of day.
- Take more breaks in extreme heat and humidity.
- Take breaks in the shade or a cool area when possible.
- Drink water frequently—enough water that they never become thirsty (approximately 1 cup every 15-20 minutes).
- Avoid alcohol, and drinks with large amounts of caffeine or sugar.
- Be aware that protective clothing or PPE may increase the risk of heat stress.
- Monitor their physical condition and that of their co-workers.
Join us on August 13 for a free, 60-minute webcast on heat-illness prevention strategies sponsored by BLR and Springfield LLC, the fastest-growing American manufacturer of flame-resistant fabrics.
Register Now
Take the Heat Off Your Workers
Tragically, 430 workers have died in agricultural and nonagricultural industries from exposure to environmental heat over a 15-year period, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. What’s equally disturbing is that the number of reported cases of workers suffering from heat-related stress is estimated to be well over 10 times that amount.
In addition to keeping workers safe, when considering the impact of heat stress on productivity, it is vital for organizations to have a comprehensive heat stress program in place, especially during the summer season, which is once again upon us.
Some jobs require employees to work in hot environments whether those jobs are in direct sunlight or next to a furnace. The challenge is to develop procedures that address these heat stress environments and protect employees. There are proven strategies you can implement that may not keep your employees cool but will protect them in high heat conditions.
Join us on August 13 for a free, 60-minute webcast on heat-illness prevention strategies. Our speaker, a seasoned safety professional, will provide you with tools for assessing high heat jobs and methods and strategies for protecting your employees from high heat exposure.
You’ll learn:
- How vital acclimation is for keeping workers safe
- The four essentials of heat illness prevention
- What OSHA requires in terms of keeping workers safe in the heat
- How to put together written procedures that comply with the standards and provide a backbone for a heat illness training program
- What the environmental risk factors are for heat illness
- How to preemptively change work conditions to avoid heat stress
- How to assess and evaluate work environment controls and whether they will reduce heat-related illnesses
- How to train your employees and managers to recognize the signs of heat stress, and what they should do before they do anything else
- What to do in the event of heat illness or emergency and the necessary first-aid steps to take to save lives
- How to identify and evaluate resources to assist in developing your heat illness prevention program
About Your Speaker
Don Dressler of Don Dressler Consulting of Irvine, California has been working with safety recordkeeping for over 15 years as the head of an agricultural trade association’s safety and loss control staff and since 2003 as a safety and human resources consultant and attorney. Mr. Dressler focuses on safety, employment and human resources issues, accident investigations, OSHA compliance and workers’ compensation.
Mr. Dressler serves as Risk and Safety Consultant to the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, Group Safety Manager for the 3,500 members of the Attorneys and Accountants Association safety group sponsored by the American Association of Attorney/Certified Public Accountants and also legal advisor to the California Association of Agricultural Labor, an association of California farm labor contractors.
About Your Sponsors
Business & Legal Resources (BLR) helps U.S. businesses simplify compliance with state and federal legal requirements, and helps them become more successful. By offering authoritative content and practical, easy-to-use tools, BLR’s expert in-house editors and exclusive attorney network provides the most comprehensive, reliable state-specific information available-in all 50 states. BLR’s award-winning information products-including training programs, events, web portals, reports and subscription services-give businesses of all sizes and industries the best tools available at affordable prices.
Springfield LLC is the fastest-growing American manufacturer of flame-resistant fabrics. It makes all of its products in America using a quality-control system that meets the rigorous international standards of ISO 9000 certification. A substantial investment in state-of-the-art technology and equipment has fueled Springfield’s growth and yielded numerous innovations that raise the industry standard for FR performance.
Register for this webcast free of charge here.