Heat Stress

Construction worker in a hard hat stepping down from the cab of an excavator on a hot, clear day

Why Do Equipment Operators Need Heat Awareness Cards Too?

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Equipment operators often work inside air conditioned cabs, and compared to most people on a worksite, they are not usually exposed to the same heat-related risks. However, equipment operators need heat awareness cards, too, for several reasons. While it may seem like equipment operators are immune to heat concerns on the job, there are good reasons to make sure they have the tools they need to track temperature.

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Six Reasons Why Equipment Operators Need Heat Awareness Cards Too

Heat awareness cards provide up to the moment information about ambient temperatures and, by extension, thermal risks. This information is important for everyone on your worksite, including your equipment operators. Here are six reasons why they should carry heat awareness cards as well.

Equipment operators transition in and out of the cab frequently

Equipment operators have to jump in and out of their cab often, either to reposition their equipment, perform safety and maintenance checks, consult with other onsite workers or refuel. Every time your equipment operators climb out of their cab, they are exposed to the same heat hazards that the rest of your onsite workers contend with. If they have heat awareness cards on them, they will be able to track those heat hazards as they get in and out of their cab.

Moving from a climate-controlled environment to a hot one can shock the system

HATS-20 Heat Aware Card with temperature scale and work and rest fluid intake backerWhile equipment operators may be protected by their air conditioned cab, working in a climate-controlled space also affects their ability to tolerate heat. As they move from inside their cab to the outside environment, the sudden increase in temperature can shock their system and increase the risk of dehydration or heat exhaustion. A heat awareness card lets an operator check the temperature every time they step down from the cab, instead of guessing.

This is where the card’s response time matters. According to the Heat Aware product FAQ, the card’s liquid crystal registers the temperature within a degree when it is used and viewed properly, and it reregisters every 20 seconds, which Heat Aware notes is important when moving from one area to another with a significant temperature change. That is the exact situation an operator is in every time the cab door opens.

Elevated heat stress impacts decision making and reaction time

If one of your equipment operators is compromised by heat illness, it will affect their ability to do their job safely. Heat exhaustion reduces reaction speed and decision making, which is particularly risky when in charge of heavy equipment. If one of your equipment operators is affected by heat stress, it is a danger for them and for any nearby workers.

Equipment operators have a wider view of the job site

Heat Aware's Heat Cards - HATS-20A | The signs, symptoms and treatment of heat illnessesEquipment operators typically have an expanded view of the worksite, as they are largely stationary and are situated off the ground. From this position, equipment operators can see if a worker is experiencing heat stress and respond faster than people on the ground.

With a heat awareness card, your equipment operators will know when heat risks are elevated and can begin looking out for their fellow workers. The HATS-20A version of the HATS-20 Heat Aware Card carries the signs, symptoms and treatment of heat illnesses on its backer, so the operator has the warning signs in hand while watching the crew.

Heavy equipment generates additional heat and elevates thermal risks

Heavy equipment creates additional heat that must be accounted for when assessing the risk of heat illness on the jobsite. Engines, hydraulic systems and metal surfaces are hotspots that can make it tougher on any workers nearby. With a heat awareness card, equipment operators can read the temperature near the machine and see whether that additional thermal energy has pushed conditions into a higher risk range. Remember that the card reads air temperature, not humidity, so pair it with a heat index chart when the air is humid.

Cab cooling systems can fail and spike heat risks

Even if your equipment operators spend much of their time in a climate-controlled cab, cooling systems can always fail. Clogged filters and poor ventilation are two reasons why climate control may be taken temporarily offline. No matter the reason, a heat awareness card in the cab tells the operator that conditions have changed, so they can take a break in a cool area, drink water and report the problem before heat stress builds.

How Do Heat Awareness Cards Provide Better Safety on Jobsites?

Heat Aware Cards are TWIC-sized, so they fit with the other cards a worker already carries, and the HATSC-30 custom card can be printed with your company’s logo and safety information. They are made with integrated liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs) that provide a rapid, accurate temperature reading. The cards are made of laminated PVC and are waterproof, according to Heat Aware, and because they are light and compact, they can be kept in a breast pocket, worn on a lanyard or kept in the cab where the operator can see them. Compared to other temperature tracking tools, heat awareness cards are inexpensive, simple to use and easy to hand out to an entire crew.

A card works best as part of a plan. Tie the temperature an operator reads to a specific response, such as more frequent breaks or a stop to cool down, and write those responses into your heat illness prevention program so everyone on the site follows the same rules.

Keep Equipment Operators and Their Coworkers Heat Aware

It may seem like the last person onsite who needs heat awareness is an equipment operator, but there are several reasons why that is not the case. Cooling systems can fail, operators have to exit their cab frequently and sudden exposure to intense heat can cause heat risks to spike, even without prolonged exposure.

The best defense against heat illness is information. Heat awareness cards provide this information in a simple, inexpensive format that helps your equipment operators know what to expect regarding heat risks. For more on how the cards are used across a crew, read Can a Heat Safety Card Save a Life?

Browse the HATS-20 Heat Aware Card, the HATS40 card with label and the HATSC-30 custom card, or see everything in the Heat Aware shop. For pricing, availability, volume and custom or branded orders, email Bryan Slaven at bryan@heataware.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do equipment operators in air conditioned cabs need heat stress training?

Yes. Operators climb out of the cab to refuel, run safety and maintenance checks and talk with the crew, and each time they step into the same heat as everyone else on the site. The sudden change from a cooled cab to outdoor heat is a risk of its own, so operators belong in the same heat awareness training and procedures as the rest of the crew.

Does a Heat Aware Card read body temperature?

No. According to Heat Aware, the card registers ambient temperature, the temperature of the surrounding area, not the body temperature of the person carrying it.

How quickly does the card update when an operator leaves the cab?

Heat Aware states that the card’s liquid crystal registers the temperature within a degree when properly used and viewed, and that it reregisters every 20 seconds. That matters when moving between areas with a large temperature difference, such as a cooled cab and an open jobsite.

What should an operator do if the cab’s air conditioning fails?

Treat the cab as a hot work area until the cooling is fixed. The operator should take breaks in a cool area, drink water, report the failure and watch for early signs of heat illness, following your written heat illness prevention program.

Can heat awareness cards carry our company branding?

Yes. Heat Aware offers the HATSC-30 Custom TWIC-sized card, which can be printed with your corporate logo, colors and information specific to your health, safety and environment group. Contact bryan@heataware.com for custom and branded orders.

A work crew in hard hats and high visibility vests gathered in a circle for a pre-shift heat stress toolbox talk at an industrial site

How to Run a Heat Stress Toolbox Talk

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Heat illness does not announce itself. A worker who is sliding toward heat exhaustion usually looks like a worker having a hard morning, and the people best placed to notice are the ones standing next to him. That is what a toolbox talk is for. Ten minutes before the shift, in the language the crew actually uses, aimed at the one thing you want them to do differently today.

This is a heat stress toolbox talk you can deliver without preparation, plus the questions that come back at you and how to answer them. Awareness is the control that prevents heat illness, and a talk is how awareness gets installed in a crew rather than filed in a binder.

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What to settle before you open your mouth

Read the day first. A toolbox talk that ignores the conditions in front of the crew gets tuned out in the first sentence, and rightly so. Before the talk, know three numbers and one fact.

The three numbers are the forecast high, the humidity, and the heat index the two of them produce together. Humidity is the number crews underestimate. Ninety five degrees in dry air and ninety five degrees at seventy percent relative humidity are not the same shift, because sweat that cannot evaporate does not cool anybody. The one fact is who on the crew is new, back from vacation, back from sick leave, or working in heavier gear than usual. Those are the people most likely to go down, and they are the reason to give the talk at all rather than skip it because the crew has heard it before.

Then pick one behavior. Not five. A talk that asks for five changes gets none of them. Today it might be drinking before the break rather than at it, or it might be that nobody works a hot task alone. Choose it before you start so the talk has somewhere to land.

The ten minute talk, in order

Heat Aware's Heat Cards - HATS-20A | The signs, symptoms and treatment of heat illnessesMinute one, the conditions. Say the heat index out loud and say what it means for today’s work. “It is going to feel like a hundred and four by two o’clock, and we are on the south side of the building all afternoon.” Concrete beats general.

Minutes two to four, the signs. Go through what heat illness looks like from the outside, because that is the version a crew can act on. Heavy sweating that stops. Skin that goes clammy, or goes dry and hot. Cramping. A headache. Nausea. Somebody getting quiet, getting clumsy, repeating himself, or getting short tempered for no reason. Confusion and a stumble are late signs, not early ones, and a worker who has reached them needs help immediately rather than a break. The HATS-20 Heat Aware Card carries this list on the back, which is why handing one out beats reading it from a page.

Minutes five to seven, the controls. Water, rest, shade, in that order, and be specific about all three. Where the water is. When the breaks are. Where the shade actually is on this site today, not where it was last week. If you have a heat stress management system sign in the cool down area, point at it and tell them what the thermometer and the humidity reading on it are for.

Minutes eight and nine, the one behavior. Ask for it plainly, explain why it is today’s ask, and say what it looks like done right. Then ask somebody to repeat it back. A talk where nobody speaks is a talk nobody remembers.

Minute ten, the escalation. Who to tell, how, and what happens next. If a worker is confused, stumbling, or cannot be cooled down, that is an emergency call, not a supervisor conversation. Say the words “call nine one one” rather than leaving it implied.

Teaching the buddy check so it survives contact with the job

Heat Aware's Heat Cards - HATS40 | Avoid heat-related illnesses for workersMost heat programs contain a buddy system. Most buddy systems quietly stop happening by the second week of August, because “keep an eye on each other” is not an instruction anybody can follow while running a saw.

Make it mechanical instead. Name the pairs out loud at the talk. Give the check a trigger, so it happens at a moment rather than continuously: at every water break, ask your partner one question and look at him while he answers. Give them the question. “How are you doing” gets “fine” from everybody. “What did you have to drink on the last break” gets an answer you can judge, and so does asking a man to repeat the task sequence back.

New and returning workers get a different pairing

Acclimatization is the control most often missing from a program. A worker who has not been in the heat for a week has lost some of the adaptation he built, and the first days back are the dangerous ones. Pair new and returning people with someone experienced, keep their first days shorter and lighter, and say at the talk that this is deliberate rather than a favor. Working in dangerous heat you are not accustomed to is its own hazard and worth treating as one.

Props beat handouts

A handout gets folded into a pocket and washed. Something a worker carries or wears stays in the work.

Cards. A Heat Aware Card is TWIC-sized, so it goes in a wallet or behind a badge and comes back out at the next talk. The HATS40 card carries a work and rest reference on the back, which turns “take more breaks” into a specific answer.

Hard hat decals. Hard hat stickers for heat stress awareness put the message where a crew sees it a hundred times a shift without anybody having to say it again. The HADH decal reads Stay Hydrated and the HADS decal reads Drink Early, Drink Often. Heat Aware prints them with UV inks on weatherproof vinyl.

Heat Aware HSMS-01 heat stress management system sign with a thermometer and humidity reading for the cool down areaThe sign in the cool down area. A sign with a thermometer and a hygrometer on it makes the day’s conditions a shared fact instead of an argument. It has to hang in the shade to read accurately, which is worth saying at the talk, because a sign in the sun reads high and teaches the crew to distrust it.

Three talks that did not work, and what was wrong with them

Most heat talks fail in one of a few predictable ways, and each has a specific fix.

The talk that was a policy reading. A supervisor reads the heat section of the safety manual out loud, start to finish, in the same words every week. It covers everything, which is the problem: nothing in it is about today, so there is nothing for a worker to act on. The fix is to cut it to one behavior and attach it to the conditions in front of the crew.

The talk nobody could act on. A crew is told to take breaks as needed and to stay hydrated. Both are true and neither is an instruction. As needed means whatever the busiest man on the crew decides, which in practice means later than it should be. The fix is to name the thing: where the water is, when the breaks are, what counts as a drink, and who decides when the schedule changes.

The talk that was delivered to the wrong people. Everything goes to the crew and nothing goes to the supervisors. But recognizing heat illness in somebody else, and having the authority to stop work, are supervisor jobs. A crew that has been told to speak up and a supervisor who has not been told to listen produces the worst outcome of all, which is a worker who said something and was waved off. Run a version of the talk for the people who make the call, and tell the crew you have done it.

How often to run it, and how to keep it from going stale

Weekly through the hot season is a reasonable floor, daily when the heat index climbs into the range where your program calls for extra breaks, and again whenever the crew changes or the work moves to a hotter part of the site. The talk that matters most is the one on the first genuinely hot day of the year, before anybody has acclimatized.

Staleness is the real risk, and rotating one thing prevents it. One week the talk is the signs. The next it is hydration and what actually counts as a drink. The next it is a walk of the site to find where the shade and water will be. Ask a different person each week to say one thing he saw last week. A talk that only ever comes out of the supervisor’s mouth stops being heard in about a month.

What to write down afterward

Keep the record short enough that it actually gets kept. The date, the conditions, who attended, the one behavior you asked for, and anything a worker raised. Two lines and a signature sheet is plenty.

The reason to keep it is not paperwork. It is that a pattern only becomes visible in writing. Three weeks of notes saying the water station is too far from the work face is a site layout problem, and nobody would have spotted it from three separate conversations. Under the General Duty Clause an employer is responsible for recognized hazards in the workplace, and heat is one; OSHA has no heat-specific standard of its own. A record of what you told the crew, and what you changed when they told you something back, is the honest evidence that the hazard was being managed.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a heat stress toolbox talk be?

Ten minutes is enough, and shorter is better than longer. A talk that runs past about fifteen minutes stops being absorbed. Cover the day’s conditions, what heat illness looks like from the outside, where water, rest and shade are, one behavior you want changed today, and who to call in an emergency.

What should the crew be able to do after the talk?

Three things. Name two or three outside signs of heat illness in a coworker, say where water and shade are on this site today, and say who they call and how if somebody is confused or cannot be cooled down. If they can do those three, the talk worked.

How often should we hold one during the summer?

Weekly through the hot season as a floor, daily when the heat index reaches the range where your program calls for extra breaks, and again whenever the crew changes or the work moves to a hotter area. The first genuinely hot day of the year is the most important one, because nobody is acclimatized yet.

Do we need a written heat program to run toolbox talks?

No. You can start talking to the crew this week. A written program is what makes the talks consistent between supervisors and between sites, and it is what tells everybody the same thing about break schedules, water, acclimatization and escalation, so the two work together rather than one replacing the other.

For pricing, availability, volume and custom or branded orders, email bryan@heataware.com or call Heat Aware at 713-228-9331.

Construction worker in an orange safety vest wiping sweat from his forehead beside an excavator at a hot worksite

Can a Heat Safety Card Save a Life?

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Heat exhaustion is potentially fatal at the worksite, as it can progress to heat stroke if it is not recognized and treated right away. The goal for safety personnel is to make sure workers are protected from heat dangers, and a heat safety card is a practical tool for keeping that protection in the worker’s hand.

There are several heat safety measures employers can take to reduce the risk of dehydration and, by extension, heat illnesses like heat exhaustion. One of those measures is equipping workers with TWIC-sized heat cards, printed in the same credential size many industrial sites already issue, and capable of tracking ambient temperature.

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How Do Heat Safety Cards Keep Workers Safe from Heat Stress?

If heat is a potential hazard at your worksite, you are required to protect workers under OSHA’s General Duty Clause. Standard heat safety measures include developing a heat safety and emergency plan, setting up water break stations, monitoring worker health, and adjusting work rotations when conditions are dangerously hot.

In addition to those measures, employers can equip workers directly by supplying them with heat safety cards. Here is what these cards offer:

  • Heat Aware's Heat Cards - HATS40 | Avoid heat-related illnesses for workersLiquid crystal thermometer (LCT) technology – Liquid crystal thermometers provide a rapid, accurate temperature reading. They can be built into a TWIC-sized card, so workers always have a temperature-taking tool on hand. The best defense against dehydration and heat exhaustion is information, and an LCT card gives your field personnel direct insight into heat levels where they are standing.
  • Critical heat safety information – Your heat safety cards can be printed with other reference details, like hydration guidelines, the warning signs of heat illness, or onsite emergency contact information.
  • Additional branding opportunities – Cards can also carry your company’s brand marks, which reinforces your organization’s commitment to safety every time a worker looks at one.
  • A lightweight, usable safety tool – Heat safety cards are extremely light and compact, and they fit an existing badge holder or lanyard. They are also simple to use, so they deliver consistent value to safety initiatives.
  • A cost-effective safety tool – Heat safety cards are inexpensive to produce at volume and can be laminated for added durability. That makes it easy to outfit an entire crew rather than a handful of supervisors.

Heat illness is preventable when it is recognized early and acted on. A card does not do that work by itself. What it does is put the temperature and the warning signs in a worker’s hand at the moment those things matter, which is what makes early recognition and a fast response possible. For a modest investment, many employers find it is worth outfitting their workers with that awareness. Our breakdown of how these cards add value goes deeper on the cost side.

How Do Heat Safety Cards Help Workers Recognize Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion?

Heat Aware's Heat Cards - HATS-20A | The signs, symptoms and treatment of heat illnessesHeat safety cards are meant to be worn on a lanyard or carried in a pocket for easy reference when temperatures climb. They act as a reminder of the signs to look for and what to do when heat illness emerges, and nothing matters more than recognizing what is happening and taking immediate steps. That means knowing the signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Signs of Dehydration

  • Persistent thirst
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness and loss of coordination
  • Confusion
  • Loss of skin turgor, where skin does not return to its original position after being pulled

Dehydration is a primary risk factor for heat illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Conversely, regular hydration is one of the strongest protective measures available. If your personnel are not adequately hydrated, it can lead to heat exhaustion, which presents with the following symptoms.

Signs of Heat Exhaustion

  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Headache
  • Elevated body temperature

Dehydration and heat exhaustion present with similar signs, so it is not always clear which one is causing symptoms. Both are treated in similar fashion: move the worker to a cool, shaded area, give them water, and use any available resources to lower body temperature, including cool packs and wet cloths. It is also important to seek medical treatment during or following a bout of heat illness, because it can escalate quickly and cause long term complications or even death. Training your crew to recognize heat stress on the jobsite is what turns a card into a response.

Prioritize Heat Safety with Better Tools and Better Safety Procedures

Heat is invisible, odorless, and can intensify gradually without notice, so it can produce an emergency quickly. That is why it is important for employers to establish a heat safety plan ahead of time. A plan should include:

  • Identifying any potential heat hazards at the worksite
  • Acquiring and inventorying heat safety resources, including heat safety cards, cold packs, and electrolyte tablets
  • Monitoring worksite conditions for changes in temperature
  • Altering work schedules or switching to light duty
  • Recording contact information for a nearby medical facility

Heat Aware's Heat Cards | HATSC-30: The Custom Twic Sized Card | Keep workers safe from a heat-related illnessEmployers who combine these measures give their workers the best available protection against heat risks. If you are responsible for safeguarding worker health onsite, heat safety cards and the procedures around them are a straightforward place to start. Our guidance on building a heat safety plan covers the emergency action plan side in more detail.

Heat Aware Cards are available in standard, labeled, and fully custom versions in our online shop. For pricing, availability, volume orders, or a card branded for your company, contact Bryan Slaven at bryan@heataware.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a heat safety card?

A heat safety card is a durable reference card printed in the same TWIC credential size that many industrial sites already issue, so it fits an existing badge holder or lanyard. It carries heat safety information such as warning signs and hydration guidance, and some versions include an integrated liquid crystal thermometer for reading ambient temperature. It is not a TWIC credential and does not serve any identification or access purpose.

What is a liquid crystal thermometer?

A liquid crystal thermometer, or LCT, is a simple temperature-taking tool that provides a rapid, accurate reading. LCTs use thermochromic liquid crystals that change color as temperature changes, and they can be encapsulated and scaled down to fit inside a TWIC-sized card, which gives workers temperature monitoring wherever they are working.

Who can benefit from carrying a heat safety card?

Anyone who works where heat hazards are present. Construction and maintenance crews are the most common examples, and workers in manufacturing, refineries, bakeries, industrial settings, and commercial kitchens face the same exposure. Athletic programs use them as well, since heat illness risk on a practice field follows the same pattern as it does on a jobsite.

Can a heat safety card be branded for our company?

Yes. Cards can be printed with your company’s brand marks along with the reference information your crews need, such as onsite emergency contacts or your own heat response thresholds. Contact Bryan Slaven at bryan@heataware.com to discuss a custom or branded card for your operation.

How to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers Using Heavy PPE or Masks

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Heat illness is a threat to any worker laboring in elevated temperatures, but it tends to be more intense with a faster onset in workers using heavy personal protective equipment (PPE) or masks. This has been confirmed by OSHA and CDC, which points out that personal protective equipment increases heat illness risks because:

  • PPE traps environmental and exertion-related heat close to the body
  • PPE often interferes with the body’s ability to remove heat by sweating
  • PPE is heavier and therefore requires more exertion to move (which produces heat)

Any piece of PPE can increase heat illness risks, including certain aprons, gowns and caps, face shields, masks, respirators, gloves and boots. If your workers need this equipment to perform their jobs safely, it’s important to prioritize heat safety.

Heat Risks When Workers are Wearing Heavy PPE or Masks

Heavy PPE and masks elevate heat illness risks on their own, but there are additional environmental and work factors that can exacerbate these risks. They include:

  • Isolated heat sources like commercial ovens and furnaces
  • Trapped interior heat, which can emerge from many sources, including windows
  • High-effort work and exertion
  • Poor access to water and shade

For employers, the mission is to control these risk factors and provide workers with safer conditions.

Five Ways to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers Using Heavy PPE or Masks

Heat illness is a potential killer if it isn’t accounted for and if preventative measures aren’t put in place. Those preventative measures may include the following:

  • Provide personnel with the right monitoring tools – Heat risks climb with the temperature, so it’s important for onsite personnel to track it. When certain temperature thresholds are reached, protective measures may be implemented to protect workers.
    A popular option is to equip workers with TWIC cards that are fitted with liquid crystal thermometer (LCT) technology. LCTs provide an accurate temperature reading quickly, and they weigh next to nothing, so they can be worn or carried with ease. TWIC cards with LCTs can also be branded with company marks or printed with important reminders (like emergency procedures).
  • Increase monitoring when workers are wearing PPE – If workers must wear PPE, safety personnel should increase their vigilance and be ready to check worker vitals more often. And workers must be encouraged to watch each other when the heat is on. Workers wearing PPE should never be on their own.
    Part of this vigilance involves training workers to notice the signs of heat illness. Those signs include weakness, loss of coordination, confusion, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, elevated body temperature, and in severe cases, loss of consciousness. If any of these signs are present in a heat-stressed worker, your personnel should notice it immediately and be ready to implement emergency procedures.
  • Implement additional work and water breaks – When workers are wearing PPE, they’ll sweat more, and they won’t cool off as easily when they do sweat. To counter this additional heat stress, your safety personnel should require additional water breaks. Adequate hydration is the surest protective measure against heat illness, but workers often neglect to drink enough water unless it’s prioritized. Reinforce this with your supervisors so it becomes part of the expected safety routine.
  • Establish a cool area that’s always ready for workers – Heat illness is 100 percent preventable and easy to avoid if you prepare for it. Part of that preparation is setting up a cooling station in a shaded (preferably interior) setting. This spot should be cool and have access to cool running water, along with your other heat safety resources.
    If a worker develops heat illness, this is where they should be moved to and treated until the acute heat risks have passed.
  • Have an heat safety emergency action plan in place for heat-related emergencies – It’s too late to plan for an emergency once the emergency occurs. Instead, your organization should have an emergency action plan (EAP) ready to go if a worker does experience heat illness.
    An EAP should include a list of all onsite heat safety resources (cold wraps, electrolyte tablets, etc.) and a list of emergency steps that personnel should take. This includes where to take the afflicted person for treatment and what medical facility to contact for further treatment. Heat illness will progress rapidly if treatment is not administered right away, so workers should know exactly what to do, and when.

Heavy PPE is a Heat Risk That Can Be Mitigated with the Right Safety Measures

Heat illness can leave workers with permanent, potentially fatal complications, and the risk of experiencing heat illness climbs with PPE use. However, there are safety processes that employers can implement to protect those vulnerable workers. They include equipping workers with heat tracking tools (like LCT-modified TWIC cards), ramping up monitoring efforts, implementing additional water breaks and developing a heat-specific emergency action plan. By taking these critical steps, you can minimize worksite heat hazards and shield your employees from dangerous heat illness.

Recognizing Heat Stress on the Jobsite

Bryan Slaven , ,

Heat stress is a constant threat on many worksites, including interior jobsites where the sun may not be a concern. Commercial ovens, furnaces, industrial machinery, and even large windows are thermal energy sources which can expose workers to elevated heat stress.

If your worksite contains heat hazards like these, your safety personnel and your employees should be able to recognize heat stress while on the job. Heat illness can be successfully treated if it’s identified early, and that means understanding what heat stress looks like and how it affects workers.

What are the Signs of Heat Stress?

Hundreds of thousands of workers experience some form of heat illness every year. This includes milder issues like heat cramps or heat rash, and serious, potentially life-threatening heat illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke. It’s especially important for workers and safety personnel to respond quickly if someone onsite develops heat exhaustion, which presents with the following symptoms:

  • Skin that’s cool and clammy – goosebumps are common even in the sun
  • Fatigue
  • Faintness and dizziness
  • Nausea or feeling sick
  • Muscle cramps
  • Headache
  • Blood pressure dysregulation

These symptoms may develop quickly, or they may emerge slowly. In either case, if the above symptoms of heat illness are present, the affected worker must be removed from any thermal stresses and treated – potentially at a medical facility.

If heat exhaustion isn’t addressed promptly, it may progress to heat stroke, which presents with many of the same symptoms as heat stress, like headache, cramps and nausea. However, since heat stroke is a late-stage version of heat illness, its symptoms are more severe and may include:

  • Altered mental state, such as confusion, irritability or delirium
  • Loss of consciousness or loss of muscle control
  • Rapid, shallow breathing
  • Rapid, weak pulse
  • Extremely high body temperature (in excess of 104 degrees Fahrenheit)

Heat stroke is a medical emergency that can quickly progress to permanent or fatal complications if not addressed. Specifically, medical experts urge treatment within 30 minutes of developing heat stroke, as this will greatly reduce the risk of developing permanent disabilities.

How to Respond to Heat Stress on the Jobsite

The first step in protecting workers is ensuring everyone knows what heat stress looks like, including safety personnel, supervisors and workers. The second step is having an emergency action plan (EAP) in place to mitigate heat illness when it does appear. Every EAP should be tailored to the jobsite to ensure maximum effectiveness and typically includes the following:

  • A review of all identified hazards on the worksite – Every EAP includes a list or diagram of all potential hazards on the jobsite. Some EAPs specify every hazard, such as falls or vehicle traffic, while others are hazard specific. Some employers develop a heat-specific EAP if there are several heat sources or heat traps present. This can improve awareness of those heat hazards and facilitate preventative measures.
  • An inventory of all onsite heat safety resources – To treat or prevent heat illness, safety personnel should have some basic resources on hand, like cool wraps or cooling gaiters, electrolyte tablets and access to cool, clean water. Your EAP should detail what resources are available onsite and where those resources are located for rapid response purposes.
  • A list of heat safety procedures to mitigate potential heat hazards – Employers mitigate the risk of heat stress by implementing different work rotations, increasing the number or frequency of breaks or through other dynamic safety measures. These should be detailed in the EAP and integrated into your training approach.
  • A list of emergency medical procedures to enact in response to heat illness – If a heat-related emergency does occur, your EAP should clearly lay out the appropriate response. This includes emergency treatment protocols such as where to take the affected worker, who to contact, what to do to reduce the worker’s body temperature, and so on. Your supervisors will reference the EAP in an emergency scenario, so be as detailed here as possible.
  • Contact information for all relevant parties – In the event of an emergency, there are several parties to contact for treatment and reporting purposes. This includes a nearby medical facility where the affected worker will be taken to for treatment. It also includes contact information for any supervisors or safety personnel responsible for enforcing heat safety measures.

Three Steps Employers Can Take to Reduce Heat Stress on the Jobsite

In addition to developing an EAP, employers can take a few basic steps to ensure their worksite is guarded against heat stress, including:

  • Equipping workers with heat monitoring tools – Field workers are typically at the highest risk of heat stress, so many employers focus on them first. And a basic, inexpensive way to do so is by equipping onsite personnel with temperature-taking tools. A popular option is to hand out TWIC cards with a liquid crystal thermometer (LCT) integrated into the card itself.LCT-modified TWIC cards serve dual purposes for employers. For one, it can include the company’s branding or heat safety measures for easy reference. And two, these cards can be used to take a quick and accurate temperature reading – so workers know exactly when it’s time to elevate heat safety protocols.
  • Ensuring access to cool water and cooling stations – Regular, adequate hydration is key to staving off heat stress and should be the number one priority for your safety managers. No matter the conditions on the ground, workers need access to cool, potable water. They are also entitled to regular breaks to ensure they have time to hydrate and acclimate to stressful conditions.
  • Modifying work patterns when thermal stresses are elevated – There are days where little can be done to blunt the effects of extreme heat. If heat stresses will be elevated throughout the workday, consider modifying work rotations to either prioritize less strenuous, less hazardous work – or rotate workers quickly through stations to ensure no one person is exposed to excessive heat stress. In extreme circumstances, it may be necessary to schedule work at night and prevent thermal stresses due to sun exposure.

In short, supervisors and safety personnel must be adaptable when dealing with heat hazards. Heat is invisible, odorless and seemingly harmless, right up to the point where worker health is potentially affected. It’s important to be proactive when heat is a threat and ensure there are procedures in place when workers are stressed from the heat.

Give Your Workers a Chance Against Heat Stress with the Right Training and Tools

Heat stress is one of the most common hazards for workers on the jobsite. It’s also easy to forget about, as heat is a silent, invisible threat. However, there are proven measures that every employer can take to ensure their worksite is protected from heat stress. This includes equipping your workers and safety personnel with the right tools and resources and ensuring there’s an EAP in place that your employees are trained on. This will maximize emergency preparedness for everyone onsite – which can literally be the difference between life and death.

A Complete Guide to OSHA and Heat Stress in the Workplace

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Heat stress is a constant threat to workers in many industries, to the extent that OSHA has regulations in place to ensure heat safety in the workplace. Specifically, OSHA’s General Duty clause requires employers to ensure their employees are safe from all identifiable hazards at the work site.

Prioritizing heat safety is also the right thing to do, as heat illness can result in long-term, even fatal effects on workers. Many researchers assert that official data doesn’t capture how many workers die every year due to heat stress on the job, but some data available confirms that dozens of workers suffer fatal heat illnesses every year.

This guide is for employers looking to improve workplace safety and ensure they are in compliance with OSHA regulations.

Risk Factors for Heat Stress

Heat stress leads to heat illness, so minimizing its impact on workers is paramount. That starts with identifying heat stress risk factors, which include:

  • Heat hazards – The most obvious risk factor is the presence of heat-generating sources, like ovens, furnaces and areas where industrial machinery is outputting a lot of thermal energy into the environment (assembly lines are one example).
    Outdoor work typically means one difficult-to-avoid heat hazard: the sun. Duration of sun exposure is an essential data point to track in this case.
  • Work intensity – In workplaces where moderate to intense activity is required, exertion will increase the risk of heat illness. Extended periods of work in hazardous conditions will also increase the chances of experiencing heat illness.
  • Protective wear – Personal protective equipment (PPE) protects against environmental hazards but doesn’t ventilate well and will therefore trap a lot of heat.
  • Certain health conditions and medications – People with certain health conditions, like cardiovascular problems, are at a higher risk of developing heat illness and more likely to experience severe symptoms.

Symptoms of Heat Related Illness

Heat illness may emerge gradually or suddenly. In most cases, there is a brief period of time during which symptoms are present and others have time to respond and help. Recognizing the symptoms of heat illness is critical for a proper emergency response then. Here’s what to look for:

  • Confusion or irritability
  • Loss of balance (ataxia) or weakness
  • Excessive sweating or a complete lack of it
  • Skin that’s clammy or pale
  • Muscle cramps
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • A weak pulse
  • Loss of consciousness

If any of the above signs are present, the worker should be removed from hazardous conditions and have treatment promptly administered.

OSHA Regulations on Heat Stress

OSHA doesn’t have any heat-specific safety regulations on the books, but the General Duty clause also applies to heat hazards. OSHA recommends employers adopt the heat safety standards published by The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

There are several state-level and heat safety regulations, too – published in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.

There is momentum toward OSHA publishing heat-specific regulations. In fact, one was proposed in July 2024 – a rule that would require employers to enact specific safety provisions (additional breaks, additional health monitoring, etc.) when certain temperature thresholds are reached. It’s likely that OSHA will eventually publish safety regulations for heat hazards specifically, given the increased scrutiny in this area.

Heat Illness Prevention Strategies in the Workplace

There are many measures employers can implement to improve heat safety, including:

  • Better hydration and nutrition guidelines – Fluid and electrolytes are lost to excessive sweating, which leads to heat illness symptoms. Replacing both is essential to warding off heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and this starts with better hydration and nutrition. Specifically, choosing hydration and electrolyte-replacing foods and drinks, like fluid-rich fruits and sports drinks. Employers are responsible for providing workers with adequate water and breaks to replenish fluids. As the temperature climbs, workers will need water breaks more frequently and will need more water to prevent heat illness.
  • Monitoring workers’ health – Elevated temperatures will place additional stress on workers, and this can mean danger for workers with pre-existing health conditions.
    When conditions are hazardous, onsite safety personnel must be ready to step in and check worker vitals periodically to ensure any signs of heat illness are spotted immediately. High-risk workers with significant health conditions should be monitored closely and rotated to lighter duty, if possible.
  • Preparing an emergency response – OSHA recommends employers develop heat-specifical emergency action plans (EAPs) to ensure a rapid response if heat illness does emerge.
    An EAP should outline the treatment procedures responding personnel will take if a worker experiences heat illness. EAPs outline treatment and provide an inventory of emergency response resources (and their location) and contact information for a nearby hospital or emergency room. EAPs give workers the information they need to respond quickly and effectively.
  • Providing training and educational resources to employees – Once your organization has its heat safety standards in place, they must be reinforced through repeated training drills and safety-focused talk. Ultimately, all forms of workplace safety – including heat safety – are reinforced by top management, so the company’s leaders must take charge in practicing and emphasizing safety. Regular training sessions are an important way to do this.

The Right Resources and Tools Will Also Improve Workplace Heat Safety

The right heat safety resources can make the difference when a heat illness emergency occurs. These resources should be stored in a clearly marked area that all personnel are aware of. Emergency heat illness resources typically include electrolyte tablets, cool packs and wraps. Together, these can bring down dangerous body temperatures quickly and treat dehydration.

Even better, outfit workers with tools that they can use to monitor work conditions and protect themselves when working. One example is liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs) integrated into employee TWIC cards. LCTs provide an accurate temperature reading within seconds and weigh next to nothing, so they can be easily carried and stored. And for organizations on a tight budget, LCTs are low-cost solutions that encourage workers to take charge of workplace safety – something every organization will benefit from.

OSHA and Heat Stress FAQ

What is the status of OSHA’s proposed heat rule?

OSHA announced its proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings rule in July 2024 and published it in the Federal Register on August 30, 2024. Public comments, an informal hearing and a post-hearing comment period followed and closed in 2025. As of October 2026 there is no final rule and no announced date for one. Until a final rule takes effect, OSHA addresses heat hazards through the General Duty Clause and any state rules that apply.

Does OSHA require a written heat illness prevention plan?

There is no federal heat standard in effect today, so OSHA does not have a rule that specifically requires a written heat plan. The proposed rule would require one, and some states with their own heat rules, such as California, already do. Even without a requirement, a written plan is the clearest way to show what your company does about heat and who is responsible for each step. Our guide to a heat illness prevention program walks through what to put in it.

What does OSHA expect employers to provide during hot weather?

OSHA’s long-running guidance comes down to water, rest and shade. Give workers cool drinking water close to the work, rest breaks that get longer and more frequent as the heat index climbs, and a shaded or cooled place to take them. Add a schedule that lets new and returning workers acclimatize, training so supervisors and crews can recognize heat illness, and an emergency plan for when someone gets sick.

How should new workers be acclimatized to the heat?

OSHA and NIOSH guidance for new workers is to start at no more than 20 percent of a normal workload or heat exposure on the first day and increase by no more than 20 percent each day after that. Workers returning after a week or more away need a ramp-up too. Many severe and fatal heat illnesses occur in workers who are new to the job, which is why acclimatization belongs in writing and not left to individual judgment.

Do heat stress cards and signs satisfy OSHA’s heat requirements?

No. No product satisfies an OSHA requirement or makes a workplace compliant. Tools like Heat Aware Cards and heat stress signs and posters support your program by keeping current conditions and the plan’s steps in front of the crew. The obligation itself is met by the employer’s plan, training, supervision and follow-through.

What should a heat emergency action plan include?

It should say who checks on workers during high heat, how to recognize heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and what to do in the first minutes: call 911, move the worker to a cooler area and start cooling right away. List where the cooling supplies are kept, the site address to give emergency responders, and who notifies a supervisor. Practice it before summer so the crew does not learn it during an emergency.

How Can Employers Protect Workers from Heat Stress?

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According to the EPA, dozens of workers die every year from heat illnesses, and almost all of them are preventable. There are some important measures employers can take to protect workers from heat stress, including:

  • Installing heat stress-related occupational safety signage
  • Monitoring working conditions in real time to identify when heat stress is present
  • Identifying workers who may be at an elevated risk of heat illness
  • Ensuring workers take breaks at designated cooling stations
  • Adjusting work rotations to protect workers from extended heat exposure
  • Developing a heat-specific emergency action plan and safety plan

Together, these heat safety measures can provide a critical layer of protection for your most vulnerable employees. And the stakes are high, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and EPA believe that occupational heat deaths are vastly underreported – perhaps due to misclassification of worker deaths and the presence of undocumented workers in high heat risk industries, like construction, chemical plants and landscaping companies.

How Employers Can Protect Workers from Heat Stress

Fortunately, there are many low-cost, highly effective measures that employers can put in place to protect their workers from heat stress. Some of these safety measures include:

  • Installing heat stress-related occupational safety signage – Safety signage is cost effective to install, doesn’t have to be powered up, is always present and does the job of alerting workers to dangerous conditions. It’s also available for a full range of potential hazards, including heat stress hazards. When installed near sources of intense heat such as commercial ovens, furnaces, foundries, etc., safety signage provides advance notice of heat risks and allows workers to take appropriate steps to protect themselves.
  • Monitoring work conditions to identify periods of heat stress – The best defense against heat is useful information and vigilance. If your workers and supervisors know when work conditions are threatened by heat stress, they can be better prepared. The best way to do this is to provide your employees with heat-monitoring tools, such as liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs).
    LCTs provide an instant temperature reading that’s accurate within a degree or two, and they are so lightweight they can be integrated into a variety of materials. For example, LCTs can be placed in employee TWIC cards, which can easily be worn on a lanyard or carried by workers. When the LCT indicates dangerous heat stress, protective measures can be instituted. TWIC cards with LCTs are inexpensive, can be produced in large quantities and can be branded with the company’s information and logo.
  • Identifying workers who have an elevated risk of heat illness – Some workers are more susceptible to heat stress than others. Certain health conditions, lifestyle factors and characteristics (such as age) will increase the likelihood of a person developing heat illness. Further, employees new to the job will also be at a higher risk of heat stress until they are acclimated to strenuous work in elevated temperatures.
    When bringing on new employees, it’s important that the company’s medical staff review each new hire’s health history to identify any potential concerns. If such concerns are present, high-risk workers may need to be placed on lighter work rotations or take additional breaks when heat dangers are present. New workers should be given an acclimation period (usually 2-4 weeks) to slowly ramp up their activity until they’re able to work at full capacity safely.
  • Ensuring workers take breaks at designated cooling stations – Regular breaks are critical for protecting workers from heat stress, and the hotter it gets, the more rest periods are needed for safety.
    Employers can protect their workers further by investing in simple cooling stations for their workers to rest at. Each cooling station should have regularly replenished supplies of cool water, shade and, ideally, circulating air. Even better, if your worksite has access to air-conditioned areas, this will help employees keep their cool when the heat is on.
  • Adjusting work rotations to protect workers from extended heat exposure – When temperatures climb, workers must reduce their exposure to the heat to protect themselves. This is especially important if your workers are also subjected to constant sun exposure.
    A simple protective measure during periods of high heat risk is to shorten work rotations or maintain workstations that include less strenuous labor (or labor that’s removed from heat and sun). As heat stresses worsen on the worksite, supervisors can protect their workers by rotating them through these lower risk stations while maintaining productivity.
  • Developing a heat-specific safety and emergency action plan (EAP) – It’s standard practice for employers to implement safety plans and EAPs, but some take this essential practice a step further by creating heat-specific plans.
    A heat-specific safety plan is used to identify potential heat risks at the worksite, as well as outline the steps and procedures the company’s staff will take to mitigate those hazards. Also included in a safety plan are the names and contact information for the people responsible for enforcing the plan.
    A heat-specific EAP outlines the steps onsite personnel must take in the event of a heat stress emergency. It should include an inventory of onsite emergency resources (such as cooling packs), a list of treatment procedures to follow, and who to contact should an emergency occur. An EAP can be lifesaving when heat illnesses happen, as they can develop into life-threatening events quickly.

Employers Can Protect Their Workers from Heat Stress Without Stressing Their Budgets

Heat dangers are very real for workers who labor in heavy-duty industries or those that are regularly exposed to elevated temperatures. These dangers can prove fatal if not addressed properly, and that responsibility falls on employers. Heat safety measures are generally inexpensive to implement and are effective at protecting workers from heat stress.

Frequently asked questions

Which heat stress controls should an employer put in place first?

Start with the written plan, because it decides everything else: who checks conditions, when breaks get longer, where the cooling stations are and who calls for help. Then put the information where the crew can see it, with signs at the heat sources and a card on every worker. Our guide to a heat illness prevention program covers what to put in writing, and what a heat stress management system includes covers the tools that go with it.

Why monitor conditions in the work area instead of relying on the forecast?

A forecast describes the region, not the spot next to a furnace, an oven or a running engine, and conditions change from one part of a site to the next. According to the Heat Aware FAQ, a Heat Aware Card registers the ambient temperature within a degree and re-registers every 20 seconds, so it shows the change when a worker moves from one area to another. The card reads air temperature, not body temperature and not humidity, so pair it with a heat index chart on humid days.

Which workers are at higher risk of heat illness?

Workers who are new to the job, workers with certain health conditions and older workers carry more risk than the rest of the crew. New hires need an acclimatization period to build up to a full workload in the heat, usually two to four weeks. Have medical staff review health history at hire, and give higher risk workers lighter rotations or more breaks when the heat index climbs.

What should a cooling station have, and where should it go?

Cool water that gets replenished through the shift, shade and, ideally, moving air. An air-conditioned room is better if the site has one. Put stations close to where the work is happening so a break does not start with a long walk in the sun, and make sure every worker knows where the nearest one is before the shift starts. Breaks should get longer and more frequent as the heat rises.

Is there an OSHA standard that requires employers to protect workers from heat?

There is no final federal OSHA heat standard yet, and a proposed heat injury and illness prevention rule is still in rulemaking. Under the General Duty Clause, employers are responsible for protecting workers from recognized hazards, and heat is one of them. Some states have their own heat rules. A written plan, a heat stress toolbox talk at the start of the shift and a record of what you put in place are the clearest evidence that the hazard was being managed.

Can Heat Aware Cards and signs carry our company logo?

The HATSC-30 custom TWIC-sized card can be printed with your company logo, colors and information specific to your HSE group, and the card has been translated into Spanish, Korean and Portuguese. Browse the Heat Aware shop for cards, signs and hard hat stickers, and contact Bryan Slaven at bryan@heataware.com for pricing, availability and custom or branded orders.

Heat Stress: Causes, Symptoms and Prevention Tips

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Heat stress can be a deadly threat to workers – and it can be caused by several types of heat sources, including:

  • Environmental heat from the sun or excess humidity
  • Exertion – the more intense the exertion, the greater the heat risk
  • Heat trapped inside heavy or non-breathable work clothing
  • Additional heat sources, like ovens or furnaces

Certain health conditions can predispose workers to the dangers of heat stress, but even completely healthy people can be severely harmed by the heat. As such, it’s up to employers and workers to respond to thermal risks and put measures in place to avoid heat-related illness and injury.

What are the Symptoms of Heat Stress and Heat Illness?

When heat stress is intense enough to cause symptoms, the resulting condition is termed heat illness. Two of the most common and concerning forms of heat illness are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Here are the symptoms and potential complications of each:

  • Heat exhaustion – Heat exhaustion is the precursor to heat stroke and merits an immediate medical response from onsite personnel. If untreated, heat exhaustion will progress to potentially deadly forms of heat illness. Common signs of heat exhaustion include headaches, dizziness, heavy sweating, elevated body temperature, nausea or vomiting, and muscle cramps or spasms. Confusion may also be present.
  • Heat stroke – Heat stroke is a medical emergency and typically occurs when heat stress goes unchecked for too long. Heat exhaustion may progress to heat stroke suddenly, transitioning from a preventable injury to a potentially life-threatening condition.
    Heat stroke is characterized by dangerously high body temperatures, profuse sweating or a complete lack of it (the body’s attempt to retain water), profound confusion and loss of coordination, slurred speech, mood changes, severe migraine-like headaches and loss of consciousness.

In addition to the above, heat stress may manifest as lower risk heat illnesses such as heat rash or heat cramps. Responding to those mild forms of heat stress is the first step in reducing heat injuries.

Heat Stress Prevention Tips

The best way to handle heat risks is to minimize them from the outset. Failing that, it’s critical that your personnel (including top management) knows how to respond to developing heat-related emergencies. Here are some steps every employer can take to improve their company’s heat safety:

  • Identify all potential heat hazards – If you don’t know where the heat hazards are, you can’t protect workers (or yourself) from them. Survey the worksite and determine where heat stress is most likely to emerge. Take temperature readings several times a day over several days to confirm this, as thermal pockets can appear anywhere, including interior spaces.
  • Create a heat-specific safety plan – The general recommendation for businesses is to invest in safety planning, and the tools that keep a plan present on the job are what a heat stress management system includes. If heat hazards are present at your facilities or worksites, a heat-specific safety plan is also recommended. Include all implementable safety measures and who is responsible for implementing them. Putting a plan in place improves emergency readiness if your employees are trained on the steps to take.
  • Prioritize medical monitoring – Some people are far more predisposed to heat stress risks than others. People with heart disease and people taking diuretics, anticholinergics or antidepressants are two examples of heat-susceptible workers. If these risk factors are identified in workers early, steps can be taken to mitigate them, like extending the acclimation period or scheduling work rotations away from the worst heat risks.
  • Provide essential heat safety resources – Heat stress can be managed with the right onsite materials and resources. For example, neck wraps are a low-cost accessory that workers can use to keep themselves cool.
    Another helpful option is liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs) that workers can easily carry around. LCTs are so light that they can be embedded into ID badges or TWIC cards. They provide an accurate temperature reading within moments and can give workers advance notice of elevated heat risks.
  • Prioritize safety training and leadership – Safety planning and other safety measures are no use if workers aren’t put through safety drills. Those measures are also likely to fail if upper management reflects a “safety second” mentality on the job. To ensure neither threatens your heat safety approach, schedule regular training sessions and reject any casual attitudes toward heat safety. It only takes one serious heat injury to derail your organization.
  • Implement an acclimation period – Many severe and fatal heat illnesses occur in workers new to the job. These people often have not had time to adjust to high-exertion work or work in high-temperature areas.
    Fortunately, the human body can adjust (to an extent) to these conditions if given a couple of weeks with a gentle ramp-up of work intensity and duration. Allow your new hires to acclimate on this timeline to build up their heat tolerance.
  • Have a plan for when heat stress strikes – Ultimately, your organization must be prepared for when, not if, an emergency occurs. These emergency measures should be specified in your safety plan and include details on available emergency resources (such as cooling packs) – and where to find them. Your workers should also know how to move a heat stressed person to safety, how to begin life-saving cooling treatment, and who to contact.

Prevent Heat Stress by Recognizing and Reacting to the Causes

Heat stress can be a killer and has caused dozens of on-the-job fatalities in the last several years. That underestimates the impact of heat illnesses, too, as they often lead to long-term injury and reduced productivity.

The good news is that heat stress and heat injuries are avoidable with the right preventable measures in place.

Heat Stress FAQ

What is the difference between heat stress and heat illness?

Heat stress is the total heat load on a worker’s body from the weather, humidity, physical exertion, work clothing and process heat such as ovens or furnaces. Heat illness is what happens when the body can no longer shed that load. It ranges from heat rash and heat cramps to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Managing heat stress on the job is how you keep it from turning into heat illness.

How can you tell heat exhaustion from heat stroke?

A worker with heat exhaustion is usually still sweating heavily, with cool, clammy skin, headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness or muscle cramps, and is still making sense. Heat stroke brings a dangerously high body temperature, confusion, slurred speech and loss of coordination, and the skin may be hot and dry or still wet. Confusion is the line. If a worker is confused or not acting like themselves, treat it as heat stroke and call 911. Our Heatstroke 101 guide covers the warning signs in more detail.

What should you do when a coworker shows signs of heat illness?

Stop the work and move the person to shade or a cooler area right away, then notify a supervisor. If they are confused, unresponsive or getting worse, call 911. Start cooling them while you wait, using cold water, wet towels, ice and moving air, and give sips of water only if they are alert. Stay with them until help arrives. Never send a worker with symptoms off alone to rest or walk it off.

Which workers are at the highest risk of heat stress?

New hires and workers returning after time off are at the top of the list, because their bodies have not acclimatized to the heat or the workload. Risk also climbs for anyone doing heavy exertion, wearing heavy or non-breathable clothing, or working near process heat, and for workers with heart disease or who take medications such as diuretics, anticholinergics or antidepressants. High humidity raises the risk for everyone, because sweat stops cooling the body when it cannot evaporate.

What should a heat stress prevention program have in place before summer?

Start with a survey of where heat builds up on your sites, then put it in a written heat safety plan. The plan should set water, shade and rest break schedules tied to the heat index, an acclimatization schedule for new and returning workers, training for supervisors and crews, and an emergency response plan that names who does what. Awareness tools such as Heat Aware Cards and heat stress management system signs keep that plan in front of the crew every shift, and a heat stress toolbox talk is an easy way to reinforce it. For the employer side of the picture, see our guide to OSHA and heat stress in the workplace.

A Guide to Protecting Work Crews from the Summer Heat

A Guide to Protecting Work Crews from the Summer Heat

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As numerous heat records were shattered across the U.S. in the summer of 2023, it meant that people working outside were at major risk of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat illness is an invisible, but quite capable killer that’s caused dozens of fatalities and thousands of injuries over the past several years. And it is believed that those numbers are vastly underreported, as many heat-related illnesses and deaths fall outside the purview of government regulators.

Employers are responsible for protecting their crews from heat hazards, and these protective measures must be reinforced at every level of the organization. In this guide, we’ll address what steps contractors can take to safeguard the health of their crews.

Judging Heat Conditions on Site: Don’t Focus Only on the Temperature

Elevated temperatures are an obvious heat-related danger, and as such, it’s important for supervisors to keep an eye on the thermometer. But there’s more to heat risk than temperature alone, as humidity, solar exposure, and wind speed all play a role as well.

For example, heat index values factor humidity into the equation and is therefore a useful alternative to temperature alone along the Gulf Coast, where high levels of summer humidity are expected.

Some contractors now use the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) – a metric utilized by the U.S. military for decades – that also factors in solar exposure and wind speed. In other words, WBGT is most relevant for people working in direct sunlight.

As actual, on-the-ground heat dangers vary with humidity, sun exposure and other factors, it’s recommended that contractors use heat index values to assess field conditions.

What Does OSHA Have to Say About Heat Safety?

OSHA doesn’t have heat-specific safety regulations on the books, but employers are still held to the General Duty Clause, which requires companies to identify and protect workers from any onsite hazards.

Employers can’t use “but there’s no OSHA heat safety standard” as an excuse, in other words.

The agency does have plenty of heat safety resources to draw from, though, including informational literature and tips for employers. This includes guidance on every part of the safety planning process, which can be extremely helpful for new contractors that don’t have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place.

Here are some practical tips for mitigating dangerous summer temperatures for every phase of the project.

Before the job begins: Create a Heat Safety Plan and Raise Awareness of Heat Hazards

Before mobilization, contractors should have a firm idea of the jobsite’s layout and where heat hazards are likely to emerge. For instance, if there’s a part of the site that’s exposed to dawn-to-dusk sunlight, it may be a good idea to avoid setting up any workstations in that area.

This is the kind of thinking that should be included in the project’s Emergency Action Plan (EAP). In fact, some contractors go a step further and draft a heat-specific safety plan. Given the extreme temperatures affecting some parts of the country (the south and southeast, most notably), heat-specific plans make a lot of sense. Each EAP should include the following:

  • The location and nature of any heat hazards on the jobsite. While trapped heat is usually a problem for interior work areas only, they can emerge on construction sites and other exterior work environments as well.
  • The location of any cooling stations or any air-conditioned areas. If heat illness does occur, moving the affected worker to a cool spot with shade is critical.
  • An inventory and location of all heat injury resources, such as cold packs, towels, and fluids.
  • A set of processes that specify what to do and who to contact should someone come down with heat illness.
  • The contact information for any nearby emergency medical institutions.

Once this plan is established, it must be communicated to all levels of leadership and to the workers themselves. Ideally, leadership and the crew would be involved in helping put together a heat safety plan. This will ensure that everyone on the team has a clear understanding of the company’s heat safety policies. Regular training, toolbox talks, and unscheduled drills are all worthy investments to ensure maximum heat safety awareness.

This training should also address what signs and symptoms of heat illness to look for, as other workers are likely to spot them first in their coworkers. They include:

  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Slurred speech
  • Headache and muscle pain
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of consciousness

Invest in Tools That Monitor Heat Levels

If your workers can keep an eye on the temperature, they’ll be more aware of the heat and more likely to observe heat safety protocols.

The right tools are essential for jobsite safety, and when it comes to heat-related dangers, one such tool is a liquid crystal thermometer, as LCTs are compact, lightweight, and offer instant information about the temperature. LCTs can be encapsulated and scaled down to fit inside TWIC cards, which can be worn on a lanyard, kept in a pocket, or tossed in the toolbox. LCTs are accurate and can also include the company’s branding or additional heat safety information.

In this way, LCTs offer double advantages in safety and cost effectiveness, as they’re inexpensive to procure at volume and give workers a highly usable tool for remaining aware of the heat.

Get Workers Acclimated to the Heat and Set Up a Cooling Station

According to OSHA, about 75 percent of all heat-related deaths occur in the first week of the job. It takes time for the body to adjust to extreme heat stress, especially for people who aren’t accustomed to the climate or strenuous activity. To avoid overloading the team early on, OSHA recommends the 20 percent rule. The idea behind this is to slowly work up to full capacity in the sun over several days.

Assuming an 8-hour workday, using the 20 percent rule, workers should only spend one hour and 40 minutes (20 percent) in the sun during their first day on the project. They can spend the rest of the day working without heat stress. Every subsequent day, add another 20 percent in the sun until they’re up to full capacity. Some workers may need a bit longer to adjust, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, so allow for that time for adequate acclimation.

At the project’s outset, this is also the time to establish a cooling station. It should remain in the shade throughout the day and always have water available. Some contractors set up tents with circulating fans for additional heat relief, and if there’s an air-conditioned room they can access while cooling, even better.

Keep Safety Personnel on High Alert, Encourage Regular Breaks and Reduce Work Intensity in High Heat

During the peak of summer, there may be no relief from dangerously hot days. Where possible, shifting work to the evening or night hours is recommended, but noise ordinances may prevent this.

When work must be done during the day, being proactive is the rule. That means doing the following:

  • Enforcing regular water breaks. During high activity periods, giving workers a break every 15 minutes to drink fluids is recommended. Stick to water rather than caffeinated beverages.
  • Cycling work teams out of the sun regularly. If possible, cycling workers between sun-exposed and shaded workstations can reduce heat stress.
  • Occasionally taking worker vitals to spot early signs of heat stress. This should only be done by trained medical personnel.
  • Keeping the contact information for any medical authorities in an easily accessible place, so it can be instantly referenced in an emergency.

In general, the point is to remain on high alert while heat indexes are at their most punishing. The faster everyone responds to severe heat illness, the better the affected worker’s chances of fully recovering.

Summer Heat Can Be Fatal, but Employers Can Keep Their Team Safe with the Right Protective Measures

While summers have always been hot, recent summers have produced deadly levels of heat. For work crews, heat illnesses can emerge suddenly and may be severe, if not deadly. But with effective planning, emergency resources, cooling equipment, and a commitment to heat awareness, employers can keep their project sites and workers safe and heat injury free.

A Heat Safety Plan Should Be Part of Every Cement Company’s Operations

A Heat Safety Plan Should Be Part of Every Cement Company’s Operations

Heat Aware , , Comment

Cement manufacturing plants are high-risk work zones. Chemical burns, excess noise, mechanical hazards, falling objects and airborne dust are some of the most common, but there’s another risk for cement companies to account for – heat.

In areas where heat is excessive, it can quickly lead to severe injuries if safety precautions aren’t taken. These precautions are generally simple, but they rely on strong planning and information to work – information like to-the-minute temperature data.

Heat is Always Present in Cement Plants, Making Heat Injuries a Significant Risk

Cement manufacturing plants generate intense heat, some of which escapes into the work environment. If poorly managed, the resulting rise in temperatures may put workers at risk. Further, workers are required to don protective wear that, while safeguarding the lungs, can trap thermal energy and put workers at increased risk of heat-related injury. This risk is higher still in hotter climates, like those along the Gulf Coast.

If a heat injury or illness does occur, it may take one of several forms, but heat exhaustion and heat stroke require the most attention. Here is how each one presents:

  • Heat exhaustion – Heat exhaustion is less serious than heat stroke, but it can quickly develop into a medical emergency. Signs of heat exhaustion include an elevated body temperature, weakness, dizziness, headaches or cramps, changes in mood and reduced urination. Workers experiencing heat exhaustion should receive prompt medical treatment, including transport to a medical facility in serious cases.
  • Heat stroke – Heat stroke is a medical emergency and may result in permanent or fatal injury if not immediately treated. When the body loses its ability to regulate its temperature, heat stroke is the result. As such, heat stroke can cause body temperature to spike in excess of 106 degrees Fahrenheit within minutes. It may also cause profound confusion, an altered mental state, seizures, or loss of consciousness.

Heat is a silent killer, resulting in hundreds of deaths every year. With some basic precautions, though, many of those deaths can be prevented.

A Heat Safety Plan is Recommended for Cement Plants

The upside is that cement companies can plan around heat hazards and minimize their impact on worker safety. OSHA does not require organizations to have a heat safety plan in place, but they can make a big difference. Such a plan should include:

  • The personnel responsible for communicating and enforcing heat safety processes.
  • The location and nature of any heat hazards.
  • What medical facility to contact (and how to contact them) should a heat injury occur.
  • What onsite resources are available should a heat injury occur – and where to locate them.
  • What onsite resources are available to prevent heat injuries, such as cooling and water stations.
  • What measures and resources are in place to monitor temperature data.

A plan like this can be developed and communicated quickly to workers. It’s critical, though, that these procedures are enforced and backed up at the worker level. When a worker suffers a heat injury, the first people to notice are the people he’s working with. With safety plan training, those workers will be better equipped to notice heat injuries and properly respond to them.

An Effective Tool Against Heat Injuries: Easy-to-Carry Thermometers

As an invisible hazard, heat has a tendency to sneak up on workers and safety personnel. It can creep into dangerous territory without anyone noticing, at least not until a medical emergency occurs.

Constant temperature monitoring is the only way to keep an eye on heat hazards, but that can be prohibitively difficult in cement manufacturing facilities. Heat hazards may be present throughout the facility and may develop as work conditions change. The sheer scale of a cement facility adds to this difficulty.

One solution is to empower workers to track temperature data where they’re working. There’s no better way to get location-specific data, and it can be done quickly and inexpensively with the use of liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs).

The crystals inside LCTs respond to changes in temperature, specifically by rearranging themselves and contorting into different shapes. This changes their optical qualities – which we receive as a change in color. LCTs are inexpensive, accurate and can be incorporated into compact, lightweight items.

For example, LCTs can be embedded in TWIC sized heat cards that provide clear data about ambient temperature. Each card can feature additional information about heat injury symptoms or prevention methods. They can also feature the organization’s branding. They can be kept on a lanyard, in a toolbox, or even in the worker’s back pocket.

In this way, workers maintain constant heat awareness and can remove themselves from hazardous conditions as soon as they arise.

Give Cement Plant Workers the Tools to Protect Themselves from Heat-Related Injury

Cement plant workers rely on their company and their safety personnel to maintain a safe workplace. And from a safety standpoint, there’s a lot to consider at cement manufacturing facilities. Don’t forget to account for heat, though, as it’s certainly capable of fatal injury. That means developing a detailed heat safety plan and providing the resources your teams need to protect themselves.