SC&RA to Comment on OSHA’s Proposed Standard for Heat Illness and Injury Prevention

(July 11, 2024) -OSHA released the text of its proposed standard for heat illness and injury prevention for indoor and outdoor settings last week. The full text is included on the agency webpage here. OSHA also included a two-page fact sheet summarizing the standard. Elements of the proposal include the following: 

• Training requirements for supervisors, heat safety coordinators, and employees;

• Developing and implementing a work site heat injury and illness prevention plan (a written plan must be created for employers with more than 10 employees);
• An initial heat trigger with a heat index of 80°F (or equivalent wet bulb globe temperature). Requirements for employers include providing drinking water, break areas for indoor and outdoor work sites, acclimatization of new and returning employees, paid rest breaks if needed, and more;
  
   
• A high heat trigger with a heat index of 90°F (or equivalent wet bulb globe temperature). Requirements for employers include a minimum 15-minute paid rest break at least every two hours, warning signs for excessively high heat areas, and more;
• Two different options for acclimatization procedures for new and returning workers; and
  
   
• Additional recordkeeping requirements.
  
   
  OSHA did not carve out specific activities and requirements, which SC&RA, along with its industry partners in the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), have been requesting since the beginning of this rulemaking process, and most recently during a meeting with the Office of Management and Budget. CISC plans to draft a response as OSHA is giving the public 120 days to comment. For more information, contact SC&RA Senior Vice President, Crane & Rigging Beth O’Quinn.
  
   
   

Lots more text.