How to Protect Your Workers From Heat Related Illnesses

Welcome to Summer! Looks like the heat is finally here and along with it, the potential for serious injury to your employees. Cal/OSHA is reminding employers to take time to plan ahead and protect outdoor workers from heat and outdoor related illness and death.

“It is never too early for employers with outdoor workers to review their heat illness prevention procedures and ensure their training is effective,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum, in a statement. “Cal/OSHA continues its outreach and training efforts, as well as enforcement at outdoor worksites, to ensure compliance with the standard.”

Some examples of outdoor workplaces include, construction, maintenance yards and landscaping.  But there are indoor worksites like warehouses and machine shops that are affected by heat as well.

What should employers do to protect their employees:

• Train all employees and supervisors on heat illness prevention.
• Provide enough fresh, pure, cool water so each employee can drink as much water as they need to stay hydrated (for example: four 8-ounce glasses of water per hour) , and encourage employees to do so.
• Don’t forget about electrolytes. Plenty of products on the market designed to help curb the loss of critical minerals through excessive sweating.
• Provide access to shade and encourage employees to take a cool-down rest in the shade for at least five minutes. These rest periods are paid by the employer.
• When working indoors in hot conditions, be sure to provide ample ventilation and allow workers to take more frequent breaks to hydrate and find cooler areas in the building.
• Shade structures must be in place when temperatures are higher than 80 degrees.
• Watch your employees closely during a heat wave for signs of heat stroke and other heat related issues.
• Allow new employees to acclimate to hot conditions with lighter work, frequent breaks or shorter hours.
• If there are thunderstorms possible, be sure employees are aware and have access to shelter and are not exposed during thunderstorm activity.
• Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the Cal/OSHA heat illness prevention standard, including plans on how to handle medical emergencies and steps to take if someone shows signs or symptoms of heat illness.

For more information and training materials, visit https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/heatillnessinfo.html  or contact Infinium HR Group at info@infiniumhr.com.