Don Dressler Consulting

The new heat illness regulations are largely the same as the emergency standards which have been in effect since August of 2005. The basics are:

Training of employees and supervisors
Water - 1 quart of water per employee per hour
Shade – available for recovery periods for employees
(New) Written Plans – plans for compliance, available at each work site

Enforcement by Cal/OSHA will be significant this first summer of the new rules. 2005 was a long, hot summer which brought OSHA citations to 17 employers from investigations involving 25 heat illness cases -- 13 of which workers died. All cases involved male workers and spanned industries such as agriculture, construction, public safety, services and transportation. Eighty-four percent of the cases involved exclusively outdoor work that was moderate to strenuous, but mostly moderate.

The most striking lesson from 2005 was that lack of “acclimatization” was clearly the leading cause of death due to heat illness last summer. It was the first day on the job for almost half of the workers stricken, while 80% of them had been on the job for 4 or fewer days. Clearly, safety training on heat illness has to take place immediately upon hiring. It can not wait. Also, foremen and supervisors need to be on careful watch for the condition of new hires during the first days on the job. Are they showing the symptoms of heat illness?:

weakness
unusual fatigue
nausea or vomiting
fainting
rapid pulse
unusual behavior
muscle cramps
hot dry skin

Interestingly enough, the study found that potable water was present in all the cases and easily accessible 96% of the time. But in more than three-quarters of the cases, victims were dehydrated. In about a quarter of the cases, the work area was shaded and some type of shade was available 77% of the work areas. Four-fifths of the employers investigated had a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program, but only 20% of them had written heat illness prevention procedures.

In one particular case, Cal-OSHA alleged that even though the employees were working at a remote location there were no medical provisions available for employees, no one trained in first aid, and emergency transportation wasn’t quick enough.

Supervisors and foremen know who to watch out for and what symptoms to look for. Quick action to assist workers in distress can have an impact. Delay can be deadly, as last summer clearly demonstrated. Foremen need to know what to do, when to do it, and be prepared to act at once. That is really what the new Cal/OSHA rules require.

For more information and educational tools on health and safety issues, contact Dressler at DonDressler1@hotmail.com, or at (949) 533-3742.

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A sample Heat Illness Prevention Plan is available from Don Dressler Consulting. These written Heat Illness Prevention Plans are a requirement of the CalOSHA regulations for each outdoor job site which:

Lists procedures for responding to heat illness
States procedures for training, water and shade
Ensures how to handle an emergency, and provide directions to the work site

For a free copy Call Don Dressler at 949-533-3742 or e-mail DonDressler1@hotmail.com