The topic of heat stress has been in the forefront of Federal OSHA, state regulators, and standards setting groups over the past five years and 2022 is “heating up” as well. The potential for a worker to experience heat stress related illness (heat illness) can be significant in many parts of the country in the coming months and Federal OSHA and state plan states are taking an active role in outreach and regulations. Most regulations address heat stress in both indoor and outdoor work settings (shops and construction sites) and some companies may need two programs to address the hazards unique to each work area.
Due to the variety of personal risk factors and the individuality of heat stress affects, regulating heat stress can be challenging. Several states currently have heat stress / heat illness regulations in place including California which was one of the first states to implement a standard, motivated by fatalities in the agriculture industry. To summarize the current California standard, it focuses on these main items: Water, Shade, Acclimatization, and Preparation including training and preparation of a Heat Illness Prevention Plan. Suffice to say, newer guidance and regulations will consider numerous other issues and terminology discussed above that many companies will need to be familiar with when preparing heat stress plans to meet upcoming standards and regulations..