PREVENTING HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES AND INJURIES
Confusion
Headaches, Mood Change
Feeling Sick
Pale and/or Clammy Skin
Painful Spasms
Weakness
Painful Spasms
Red blisters, bumps, itching
What does heat stress do to the body? Keep an eye out for these major symptoms and know how to treat them.
How it happens: Sweat ducts become clogged and sweat can’t get to the surface of the skin
How to treat it: Keep the skin dry and rest in a cool place
How it happens: Salt and moisture levels are depleted through excessive perspiration
How to treat it: Move to a cool, shaded area, apply something cool, drink plenty of fluids
How it happens: Prolonged exposure to high temps and poor hydration
How to treat it: Move to a cool, shaded area, apply something cool, drink fluids and monitor
How it happens: When the body becomes unable to control its core body temperature
How to treat it: Seek medical attention immediately
Hazardous heat can impair job tasks related to complex cognitive function and also reduce decision-making abilities and productivity. Additionally, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated that these heat-induced impairments may result in significant occupational injuries that are not currently factored into assessments of the health hazards resulting from occupational heat exposure.
OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Heat is the agency’s first nationwide enforcement measure to protect millions of outdoor and indoor workers from the increasing threat of heat-related illness.
In September of 2021, the US Department of Labor announced enhanced, expanded measures to protect workers from hazards of extreme heat, including the deployment of a National Emphasis Program (NEP).
In September of 2021, the US Department of Labor announced enhanced, expanded measures to protect workers from hazards of extreme heat, including the deployment of a National Emphasis Program (NEP).
Get to know the simple yet crucial elements guiding the agency's efforts to protect workers from the heat.
From OSHA's mouth to your ears. These three words have long been the agency's straightforward prescription for safety in the swelter.
WATER
REST
SHADE
Workers must have access to fresh, pure and suitably cool water at all times, which means the water needs to be cooler than ambient air.
More frequent and shorter periods of heat exposure are better than fewer, longer exposures. New employees and those returning from long absences should be especially mindful of work to rest ratio.
Workers in high heat conditions need a place that will block the direct sunlight and give them a place to rest, get hydrated and keep cool.
Get to know the simple yet crucial elements guiding the agency's efforts to protect workers from the heat.
“Body cooling is one of the most underutilized strategies. If [workers] have some sort of body cooling such as vests... that is going to be huge [in helping] them tolerate the heat.”
Along with the biggies of water, rest and shade, experts recommend cooling PPE as a simple way to maintain safe body and skin temps throughout the shift.
WET EVAPORATIVE COOLING
DRY EVAPORATIVE COOLING
PHASE CHANGE COOLING
By proclamation of the noble patrons of the worksite realm, let it be known far and wide: others may dabble, but we, purveyors of the finest protective gear in all the land, have ascended to the throne with a heat stress selection that reigns supreme.
Feeling like a human salt lick? Instantly transform sweat and water into hours of sweet cooling relief. It’s not magic, it’s science!
Sop up sweat to turn hot n’ bothered into heat-beating happiness—because keeping your cool (and keeping perspiration out of your eyes) is not only smart, it’s safe.
Tell hard hat heat to take a hike. Integration-ready cooling liners and sweatbands prove that cool and compliant don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Cover up, cool down and work smart in our cooling shirts and sleeves—the frostiest fashion statement under the sun.
When the gig flips you from frying pan to fire, cooling vests deploy advanced tech to keep you cool to the core.
Industrial coolers, hydration packs and water bottles for a convenient source of cool, clean refreshment that encourages crews to keep on chuggin’.
Carelessness, machismo and misinformation are at the center of thousands of heat-related injuries every year. The good news? They’re 100% preventable with a little training, planning and common sense.
