The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is going high-tech with its efforts to prevent heat-related illnesses. The agency announced on August 11 that it has released a free application for mobile devices that is aimed at helping workers and supervisors monitor the heat index at their work sites.
Available in English and Spanish, the app combines heat index data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with the user’s location to determine when outdoor workers should take protective measures. Such measures include reminders about drinking enough fluids, scheduling rest breaks, planning for and knowing what to do in an emergency, adjusting work operations, gradually building up the workload for new workers, training on heat illness signs and symptoms, and monitoring each other for heat-related illness. Also, users can contact OSHA directly through the app.
The app is designed for devices using an Android platform, but versions for BlackBerry® and iPhone users are planned shortly.
The new app is part of a broader OSHA effort to reduce the danger of working in extreme heat. Information for employers about how to use the heat index to calculate and address risks to workers is also available through OSHA’s new web tool called “Using the Heat Index: A Guide for Employers.”
Information on the website includes a heat index chart that details appropriate protective measures for the various risk levels posed by the heat index. Encouraging workers to wear sunscreen, enforcing work and rest schedules, setting up a buddy system, and instructing supervisors to watch workers for signs of heat-related illness are just a few of the protective measures detailed on the website.
The website also includes a checklist for planning for hot weather. Developing a list of hot weather supplies, creating an emergency action plan, determining how weather information will be used to modify work schedules, and training workers on risks are among the topics covered on the checklist.
OSHA points out that it doesn’t have a specific standard covering working in hot environments, but under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers have a duty to protect workers from recognized serious hazards in the workplace, including heat-related hazards.
More than 30 workers died from heat stroke in 2010, according to OSHA, and thousands become ill from heat exhaustion and other heat illnesses every year. Some of the highest illness rates occur among construction workers, farm workers, roofers, landscapers, baggage handlers, and other air transportation workers.