Heat stress in the workplace is an occupational hazard that many industries need to contend with.
Whether the environment is a warehouse, a kitchen, and/or any other heat-prone area, it is essential that companies protect their employees from extreme climate conditions.
This will ensure that they are able to work efficiently and not have their productivity falter due to heat stress. The last thing any company would want on their hands is a citation from a federal or state regulator or a lawsuit from an injured employee.
Various charts have been created to warn organizations which levels of heat have only some caution and which levels of heat are detrimental to the safety of workers.
There are many forms of heat stress charts that companies use when protecting their employees working in the heat. Guidelines typically include comparing the environment’s temperature with the environment’s relative humidity.
One of the most well known of these is the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health ) Heat Index. This divides various temperature and humidity combinations into four areas with varying degrees of risk.
The yellow area of the chart signals caution, the light orange area signals extreme caution, the dark orange area indicates dangers, and finally, the red area indicates extreme danger.
To protect workers and create a safe environment for all, many organizations rely on heat stress monitoring systems that allow for remote control of their facilities’ temperature and humidity levels.
A good heat stress monitoring will neutralize any excess heat created by the natural environment, the running of heavy equipment, or other factors.
In June 2021, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Jim Frederick, announced that OSHA was working on a new set of guidelines specifically geared toward the protection of indoor workers, particularly those in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers.
To that end, businesses with these types of facilities should take heed about how to go about ensuring the safety and compliance of all their sites.
Heat Stress In The Workplace Statistics
What is heat stress precisely? According to the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), heat stress is the term for when an individual starts to exhibit adversarial symptoms that are a direct result of the heat levels in which they are working.
Heat stroke awareness along with a heat stroke presentation are typically issues brought up in the training of firefights, bakers, farmers, construction workers, and any other type of professional who must work in the presence of heat, whether created by natural causes or the running of heavy machinery and equipment.
Some examples of heat stress in the workplace statistics can be quite alarming.
According to the Department of Labor, 50-70% of all outdoor deaths are linked to the first few days of working in hot environments because the human body needs time to develop tolerance to the new rise in heat.
In 2019, 43 deaths occurred that were associated with excessive heat exposure. This was higher than all but two years from 2011 to 2018.
That is why it is always important to pay attention to summer heat safety tips before beginning landscaping and/or other outdoor projects.
Heat Stress Prevention In The Workplace
With the stakes so high, heat stress prevention in the workplace should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
When it comes to heat stroke prevention, construction workers are one of the many professionals who need to be cognizant of this issue the most.
Here are some heat prevention strategies mentioned by Iowa State University.
- Giving employees time to adjust to hot environments
- Coordinate the work, so more strenuous activities are performed on cooler days
- Automate some workloads on the hotter days
- Train workers in heat stress awareness
- Do not assign “high risk” employees to labor on hotter days.
Heat stress training is usually provided in some form in the professions mentioned in the previous section, but OSHA is working to make sure that other workers are in safe environments as well.
Furthermore, these heat stress prevention guidelines should be part of those industries' onboarding processes.
If you are in a room full of computers that are constantly running, that is going to affect the environment, and employees need to put the tools in place to ensure the health and comfort of everyone.
Osha Heat Stress Standard
The OSHA heat stress standard was created taking into consideration what are the limits of the human body in regulating heat.
Heat stress occurs when an individual is incapable of shedding away excessive heat. When the body’s core temperature rises, so too does the heart rate.
The more and more heat the body stores, the individual loses the ability to concentrate and focus on the task at hand, which is a bad combination when working with equipment that can burn or injure you in any way.
That is a basic heat stress definition.
OSHA regulations regarding working in the heat outdoors provide parameters for organizations and employees to make informed decisions on when it is and is not appropriate to conduct their work in a certain degree of heat and humidity.
The heat stress toolbox talk pdf shows various symptoms of heat stress that workers can be aware of and what actions to take should they find themselves or a colleague experiencing heat stress.
Osha Heat Index Chart
The OSHA heat index is a chart that documents the relationship between temperatures and relative humidity levels and how severe the effects would be on the human body.
The heat index volume is the measure of how the environment really feels when you factor humidity into the temperature.
For example, a temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity level of 60% would have a heat index of 110, and that is labeled in the dark orange “danger” zone.
People can download the heat stress pdf for the chart, or they can plug their data points into a heat index calculator. A heat index chart celsius version is also available.
The heat index is a reference to taking preventative measures knowing what the environmental factors will be. The heat stress toolbox talk pdf is a reference for how to respond if heat stress occurs.
Heat Stress Hazards And Control Measures
The heat stress toolbox talk pdf also shows the symptoms of heat stroke vs heat exhaustion. It explains measures for heat exhaustion treatment.
As such, it is an integral part of heat stress training and other heat stress pdf documents and materials.
Heat stress awareness should encompass all these materials mentioned to implement the most robust and effective heat stress hazards and control measures.
One element of control measures is to realize who is the most at risk for heat stress. Here is a list of some of the most vulnerable in the population.
- Infants and children up to four years old,
- People 65 years of age and older
- People who are overweight
- People who are ill or on certain medications
It is rare that children under four years of age would be present in most workplace environments, but all the other groups listed may make up a sizable chunk of a business’s workplace population.
With retirement being pushed farther and farther away for many workers, having someone at least 65 years old in an industry like construction is not that uncommon.
Likewise, with 30.7% of the U.S. population being overweight, that is almost 1 in every 3 individuals, and that will most likely show in a single organization’s workforce.
Heat Stress Symptoms
Heat stress symptoms can be divided between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. What are the signs of a heat stroke in adults?
Mild heat stroke symptoms can include headache and light-headedness. Heat exhaustion symptoms can include nausea, feeling faint, and muscle cramps. How long does heat exhaustion last?
Typically it can last 30 to 60 minutes. After that, an individual will feel much better. Complete recovery may take 24-48 hours.
Here is a list of some of the symptoms of heat exhaustion.
- a headache
- dizziness and confusion
- lack of appetite and feeling sick
- excessive sweating
- cramps in the arms, legs, or stomach
- fast pulse or rapid breathing
- a high temperature of 100.4 degrees or above
- being very thirsty
Here is a list of some of the symptoms of heat stroke.
- feeling unwell even though the individual has spent half an hour drinking plenty of water and resting in the shade
- not sweating even while feeling too hot
- a high temperature of 104 degrees or above
- fast breathing or shortness of breath
- feeling confused
- a fit (seizure)
- loss of consciousness
- non-responsive
In comparing the list of symptoms we can see more fully the differences between heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Both can cause dizziness and both can cause rapid breathing, but the biggest difference is the lack of sweating in heat stroke and slow recovery time.
How can you know if you have heat exhaustion or COVID?
While some of their symptoms overlap, COVID-19 is most well known for the loss of the senses of smell and taste.
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