With the hot weather recently sweeping California, Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh advised employers to review and observe the requirements specified in the Heat Illness Prevention Standard. He also provided clarifications about the requirements as response to employers’ questions.

In 2006, the standard was codified as the new Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. It superseded the heat-safety workplace standards implemented as a temporary emergency measure in 2005. The said measure was a response to the significant number of on-the-job heat-related deaths then.

Now, two years after the codification of the standard, Welsh stressed its importance with the weather threatening to bring a heat wave throughout the state. Prevention indeed is better than cure and in this case, employers can get their ounce of prevention from the Heat Illness Prevention Standard.

Requirements provided in the standard are limited only to employers with outdoor farm employees or those whose work provide them with significant exposure outdoors. Construction-industry and agricultural workers are also included among these outdoor workers. Employers must take note that AT ALL TIMES the standard is applicable where employees are engaging in outdoor work.

Welsh expressed his concern about the possibility of outdoor workers developing heat-related illnesses with sudden changes in temperature. He said, “Measures have to be taken to ensure that employees are not going to be overworked and become overheated when the temperature suddenly changes. That means they have to work less, work less strenuously, and they have to be getting more breaks throughout the period of work if you want to be sure that you are protecting them from heat illness.”

The standard brings attention to four main requirements: water, shade, training and written procedures.

Water

According to the standard, adequate drinking water must be provided to every employee at the beginning of the work shift. To be more exact, “adequate” or “sufficient” means one quart (four cups) of water per employee per hour for the whole shift.

But Welsh pointed out that making water always available and accessible to employees poses logistical problems. Aside from making the facilities clean, employers must ensure that they are readily accessible and inviting. This way, employees can get to the facilities and back to their work conveniently.

He added, “When it turns really hot, you need to be thinking in terms of much shorter distances. For the average working day, the five-minute rule probably works fine, but for extreme weather, we are going to be looking at the exact circumstances and holding people to a much shorter distance.”

Shade

Shades must be provided for at least five minutes to employees suffering from heat illness. Employers, however, are not required to provide a shade for all employees on the shift at the same time. Instead, there must be the presence of an adequate shade so that outdoor workers can take a break when the weather gets hotter.

Welsh said trees used as shade must be substantial. This means that they must cover a large area, allowing the employee protection from the sun while assuming a comfortable posture. Outdoor umbrellas or canopies only set up when employees ask for a break do not qualify as adequate shades.

Training

Supervisory and non-supervisory employees must be trained covering the following topics: types of heat illness, its prevention and common signs and symptoms, importance of frequent water consumption (in small quantities) and employer’s emergency procedures.

Written Procedures

Employers must create written procedures stating how they comply with the standard. These procedures also include how they respond to symptoms of heat illness and how they will seek medical services should the need to do so arises.

Preventing heat illnesses can be a tricky business. Believe it or not, a sudden change in temperature could actually bring about fatalities. Welsh warned employers about this reality when he said, “Just an increase of two degrees in normal body temperature can affect mental performance, and an increase of five degrees can result in serious illness or death. It is critically important for those who work in high heat, and particularly those who supervise them, to understand how rapidly the human body can be damaged if simple precautions like drinking lots of cool or cold water, resting in shaded or cool areas, and responding rapidly to warning signs of heat illness, are not taken.”

For additional information on heat illness prevention and training materials, visit the Cal/OSHA Web site at www.dir.ca.gov. If you have work-related questions, feel free to contact us. You can also learn more about our Safety Program by clicking here.

Helpful Links:

• Heat-Related Deaths and Fines Appealed
  
• Heat Stress 101 – Part 1
• Heat Stress 101 – Part 2
• Heat Stress 101 – Part 3
• Common Workplace Safety Terms – Part 2
• Remember Your Safety Gear!