OSHA, Heat Exposure and Worker Safety
Many jobs require workers to perform their duties outdoors or in a hot environment. Often, this heat is unavoidable, depending on the industry. For example, year-round construction workers can't avoid working in the summer. However, working in the heat can threaten workers' health without proper precautions.
Heat-related illnesses can harm workers' health and well-being. Below, you'll learn more about how to spot the symptoms of heat-related illnesses, OSHA guidelines regarding heat exposure and how to prevent workers from these conditions.
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What Are Heat-Related Illnesses?
The human body relies on its ability to eliminate excess heat in warm environments, especially when you're physically active. Heat dissipation, a natural process that occurs through sweating, increases blood flow and maintains a healthy body temperature. People can cool down sooner by reducing their exposure to heat and physical activity.
Outdoor workers are prone to two types of heat-related illnesses.
- Exertional heat illness: As the name implies, this type of heat illness results from exertion, which includes physical activity that causes the muscles to generate heat.
- Environmental heat illness: This type of heat illness results from environmental conditions, including heat and humidity.
When workers participate in physically demanding work in hot environments, the risk of heat-related illnesses increases. Exposing employees to factors like multiple heat sources, sunlight and clothing that traps excess heat is dangerous. Heat exposure becomes critical when a person's internal body temperature rises above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Someone who can no longer control their body temperature may experience heatstroke, a dangerous condition where sweating stops and the body can't cool itself off.
If a person's body doesn't go through heat dissipation quickly enough, their internal temperature will keep rising, and they can experience various symptoms, including irritability and thirst. Other, more severe types of heat-related illnesses include the following.
- Heat cramps: This heat-related illness results in body pains or cramps typically caused by losing fluids and body salts from sweating. Workers experiencing heat cramps can replace their lost fluids and ease their muscle pains by drinking water or electrolyte replacement fluids, such as sports drinks. Employees should drink fluids every 15 to 20 minutes to help minimize their heat cramps.
- Heat rash: Heat rash is one of the most common illnesses people have when working in hot environments. This condition results from excessive sweating and appears as a red cluster of blisters or pimples. Heat rash can appear anywhere on the body, especially the chest, neck, elbow creases and groin. The best way to treat heat rash is to move the worker to a cooler, less humid environment. Workers should also try to keep the affected area as dry as possible. You can encourage your team to use powder to keep themselves dry and increase comfort. However, tell employees never to use creams or ointments, as more moisture or warmth can exacerbate the condition.
- Heat exhaustion: Heat exhaustion is a more severe heat-related illness that can cause nausea, headaches, irritability, weakness, heavy sweating, thirst, confusion and an internal body temperature higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Move a worker experiencing heat exhaustion to a shady or air-conditioned area, and give them plenty of fluids to drink. You can also help the affected employee cool off by having someone wipe their neck, face and head with cold water. Workers exhibiting signs of heat exhaustion should go to an urgent care or emergency room for further evaluation.
- Heatstroke: Heatstroke is one of the most severe heat-related illnesses, where the internal body temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Heatstroke can cause mental dysfunction, including slurred speech, disorientation, confusion, seizures and unconsciousness. You should call for emergency medical assistance immediately. While you wait for help to arrive, move the affected worker to a shaded area and remove as much clothing as possible. You can also use a wet cloth or ice to circulate the air. Promptly address heatstroke to help prevent permanent bodily harm or death.
Outdoor work can elevate the chances of experiencing heat-related illnesses. Some people working outdoors are at a higher risk of heat-related illnesses, including people with the following:
- Previous episodes of heat-related illnesses
- Poor physical fitness
- Specific medical conditions
- Use of some medications
- Alcohol or drug use
OSHA Guidelines for Heat Exposure and Worker Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration governs rules and guidelines for businesses to keep workers safe. The General Duty Clause requires all employers to provide a hazard-free work environment, including preventing harmful heat-related hazards and implementing the appropriate protections to prevent workers from developing heat illnesses. Under OSHA standards, employers should take the necessary steps to manage heat risks, resist heat-related illnesses and ensure employees receive prompt care.
Additional related OSHA rules apply to heat hazards. According to the Personal Protective Equipment standard, employers must conduct a hazard assessment to determine what PPE is necessary for each project. In hot environments, PPE will vary. Workers who wear heavy or thick PPE should take more frequent breaks to prevent heat-related illnesses.
Another OSHA standard includes Recordkeeping regulations, which require workers to record specific work-related illnesses and injuries. In most cases, you must provide details about the case if an employee sustains an illness or injury on the job and receives restricted work activities, days off work, medical treatment or work transfer. Depending on the extent of a worker's heat-related illness, you may need to record the case. The records you keep can help inform the measures you take to prevent workers from sustaining additional heat-related conditions in the future.
OSHA's Medical Services and First Aid standards also require employers to have someone on-site who can perform first aid when no medical facilities are near the work site.
OSHA also has guidelines to protect new workers, since many heat-related deaths occur on a worker's first day on the job. These rules for working in heat include workers new to working in warm environments, including those working outdoors or in industries using machinery that creates a lot of indoor heat. These provisions also include workers returning to work in hot environments after taking time away. Some of these protections include requirements from employers to:
- Acclimatize workers to working in hot environments
- Give workers frequent breaks for rest from the heat
- Scheduling new or unacclimatized workers for shorter work periods when working in the heat, with hours separated by breaks
- Using a buddy system to ensure employees don't work alone in hot conditions
- Training new workers to understand heat-related illness and why it's vital to get rest and water
- Establishing a monitoring system to watch for any symptoms of heat illness in employees
Precautions for new workers should exist for at least one to two weeks. OSHA recommends businesses follow the "Rule of 20," which refers to starting workers at 20% of a typical work schedule on their first day in the heat. You can add 20% each day until workers have reached a full schedule by the end of the week. However, some employees may need more than one week to get used to the heat. It's always better to err on the side of caution by giving your team members extra time to get acclimated. Once workers become more accustomed to working in hot conditions, a regular work schedule can continue.
Following OSHA guidelines is essential to protect workers from contracting heat-related illnesses affecting their health and well-being. Failing to protect workers can result in citations from OSHA, which can negatively affect your business and lower employee morale, affecting productivity and revenue. Employee safety should be your priority, especially when working in hot conditions or outdoors.
9 Steps to Prevent Heat-Related Illnesses
Creating a heat illness prevention program can keep your workers safe when working in warm environments. Every heat illness prevention program must include the following nine elements.
1. Designate at Least One Person to Oversee Heat Illness
The first step you should take is to train at least one team member to supervise the heat illness prevention program. This person should understand the physiological warning signs of heat illness and how to treat them.
2. Identify Hazards
The next step is to identify specific hazards in the workplace that can contribute to heat-related illnesses. Look for risks like high temperatures, sun exposure, humidity, clothing, work demands and personal risk factors. Once you pinpoint these hazards, you can monitor how hot a work environment gets, including using thermometers to ensure worker safety.
3. Provide Water, Shade and Rest
Another way you can prevent heat-related illnesses is by providing ample water, shade and rest to employees working in hot and physically demanding environments. You'll want to have cool drinking water accessible on the job site so workers can stay hydrated throughout the day. You should encourage workers to drink at least one liter of water every hour.
Employees should also have access to shade or an air-conditioned space to rest and escape the sun. Rest and shade are essential to help prevent heat-related illnesses and should be a spot where employees experiencing symptoms can find relief.
4. Acclimatize Workers
Part of a heat prevention program should include getting team members used to working in hot conditions by allowing their bodies to build a gradual tolerance. A person acclimated to the heat can work longer in hot conditions than someone who's not.
You can acclimate your workers by slowly and gradually increasing their exposure to hot temperatures and heavier workloads. As your employees adapt to the heat, ensure they have plenty of access to water, shade and rest. Complete acclimatization can take up to 14 days or longer, depending on each team member's risk factors.
As mentioned earlier, OSHA recommends new workers start at 20% of the typical workload on the first day and increase by no more than 20% increments each day. Experienced workers returning after time away should start at 50% of the typical workload on the first day and increase by 10% to 20% each day until they reach 100%. Acclimatizing workers is essential to prevent them from developing a heat-related illness that can put their life at risk.
5. Modify Work Schedules
You may also want to consider changing your workers' schedules to reduce their exposure to hot environments and intense physical activity. Here are some suggested ways to adapt schedules for safety.
- Schedule all non-essential outside work during days when the forecast calls for less heat and humidity.
- Plan less physically demanding work during warmer parts of the day and more physically demanding work at cooler parts of the day.
- Add work and rest cycles within established industry guidelines.
- Rotate employees and implement split shifts. Hire more workers when possible to reduce the strain on employees.
- Stop work if control methods are unavailable or inadequate when the possibility of heat-related illnesses is high.
Remember that using earlier start times may cause increased fatigue in employees, which could elevate their chances of developing heat-related illnesses. Additionally, early-morning work hours often have higher humidity levels.
6. Train for Work in Hot Environments
Acclimatizing workers is only the first step in training them to work in hot environments. You should also educate employees to ensure they understand the effects of heat exposure and how to recognize and respond to the symptoms of heat-related illness. Provide specific training to reduce the risk of experiencing heat cramps, exhaustion or stroke while on the job.
7. Monitor Symptoms
You should establish a system to help monitor and report employees' signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses, which can help improve detection and response. You can also implement a buddy system and encourage team members to look after each other. Spotting the signs of heat-related illness before they worsen allows you to provide employees with the care they need to keep them healthy.
8. Develop an Emergency Response Plan
On top of all the training and monitoring, you should also have an emergency response plan in place in case one of your employees experiences symptoms of heat-related illnesses. Communicate your emergency response plan to workers and supervisors so they know what to do if an emergency occurs at the worksite. While you should enlist help from health care providers when preparing this plan, here are some things you should consider including.
- When supervisors should intervene with an employee who shows symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
- When to contact first responders, plus what team members can do to help someone who is ill until emergency responders arrive.
An emergency response plan is essential to care for employees experiencing heat-related illness, which can help reduce the severity of these conditions. Protecting your employees should be a priority, especially when working in hot environments.
9. Create Controls for Indoor Workplaces
Depending on your industry, indoor heat exposure could be a concern. You can take steps to make an indoor workspace safer for employees when working under hot conditions. One obvious solution is installing air conditioners, which can help drastically cool down a space. You can also find ways to increase ventilation if cool air is available outdoors, which can help reduce indoor humidity and temperatures.
Other methods you can use to control indoor temperatures include:
- Insulating hot surfaces
- Using reflective shields to redirect heat
- Decreasing the pressure of water vapor and indoor humidity rates by keeping floors dry and sealing leaks
- Bringing in fans to encourage heat exchange between the skin and air when the air temperature is lower
These steps can help reduce the risk of indoor heat-related illnesses, improving your employees' health and overall well-being while on the job.
What to Do if a Worker Is Ill From the Heat
Even if you take every precaution to prevent heat-related illnesses, they can still occur, which is why it's essential to know how to help your workers who experience heat rashes, cramps, exhaustion or stroke. Thoroughly train employees on the proper processes to care for co-workers who develop a heat-related illness.
Early identification is the first step to helping someone with a heat-related illness. Workers experiencing heat-related conditions may experience headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea and vomiting. More severe symptoms include the inability to sweat, confusion, fainting, collapse and seizures. You should provide employees with this knowledge so they can identify these symptoms in themselves and their colleagues, which can help you detect signs of heat-related illnesses early so you can help.
If one of your workers has developed a heat illness, you should take the following steps:
- Call 911 for immediate medical attention. You should also contact a supervisor for additional help.
- Have someone stay with the affected worker until first responders arrive. Never leave someone who is suffering from a heat-related illness alone.
- Move the worker to a shaded or cool location, and remove as many layers of clothing as possible.
- Use a fan, cool mist or ice to help cool the worker down, applying it to the neck, head, chest and wrists.
- Provide cold water and encourage them to drink it if they can.
If a worker is confused or unresponsive, it could be a sign of heatstroke. It's essential to get medical attention as soon as possible. Knowing what to do if a worker develops a heat-related illness should be a priority to ensure you can protect employees if your preventive measures don't work.
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