Write a toolbox talk on heat stress

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Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules Division 2 - (6) Emergency medical plan. The employer's Emergency Medical Plan must address employee exposure to excessive heat, in accordance with OAR [redacted phone](4). When employers are performing Construction activities, they must also comply with 29 CFR 1926.50. For those employers that fall under Division 7 Forest activities, they must comply with OAR [redacted phone]. These plans must address the types medical situations that employees could encounter, including those conditions relating to excessive heat exposure. - (7) Acclimatization plan. Develop and implement an acclimatization plan and procedures in writing. Employers must choose between two options, either (a) or (b) as described below, and implement the chosen plan. - (a) Employer-designed acclimatization plan option: Employers who develop their own acclimatization plan must integrate and implement the following factors into their program: - (A) Acclimated and unacclimated workers; - (B) The effects of clothing and personal protective equipment on adding to the heat burden of workers; - (C) The personal and environmental risk factors that put workers at a higher risk of heat-related illness; - (D) Re-acclimatizing workers as necessary, either due to changes in the weather or a worker spending more than seven days away from the job; and - (E) The use and maintenance of auxiliary cooling systems such as watercooled garments, air-cooled garments, cooling vests, and wetted overgarments. - (b) NIOSH acclimatization plan option: Employers that choose not to develop their own acclimatization plan must follow the acclimatization plan developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIOSH; see section 4, Appendix A: Mandatory Information for Heat Illness Prevention. - Note: Based upon the variable weather patterns across the state, Oregon OSHA recognizes that there is no 'one -size-fitsall' acclimatization plan. Emp…

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J Division 2 AO 1-2025 Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division - (B) NIOSH work/rest schedule: Implement a written heat illness prevention rest break schedule using the information found in section 3 of Appendix A: Mandatory Information for Heat Illness Prevention based on NIOSH recommendations. - Note: The NIOSH work/rest schedule uses unadjusted ambient temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit), and employers must follow the instructions underneath Table 3.1 in Appendix A: Mandatory Information for Heat Illness Prevention. Employers must be aware that different work/rest schedules exist for those wearing chemical-resistant suits; see Table 3.2 in Appendix A: Mandatory Information for Heat Illness Prevention. - (C) Simplified heat illness prevention rest break schedule: Implement a written simplified heat illness prevention rest break schedule using Table 2. Table 2 - Minimum simplified rest break schedule: Note: The Table 2 heat illness prevention rest break schedule is only required during the specified heat index. - (f) The heat illness prevention rest breaks under subsection (5)(e) are only required during the specified heat index, and may be provided concurrently with any other meal or rest period required by policy, rule or law -if the timing of the preventative rest break coincides with the otherwise required meal or rest period. However, the heat illness prevention rest break must be calculated using only the time spent in the shade and w hen employees are not performing work other than 'rest' or 'light' work. The requirement for heat illness prevention rest breaks does not prohibit 'rest' or 'light' work -related activities conducted in a temperature-controlled environment, such as paperwork, at the discretion of the employee. - (g) Except when the heat illness prevention rest breaks coincide with the existing unpaid meal break, the heat illness prevention rest break is a work assignment. Heat illness prevention rest b…

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Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules AO 1-2025 Division 2 - (c) The shade must be located as close as practical to the areas where employees are working. - (d) Shade present during meal periods must be large enough to accommodate the number of employees on the meal period that remain onsite. - (e) If trees or other vegetation are used to provide shade, such as in orchards or forests, the thickness and shape of the shaded area must provide sufficient shadow to protect employees. - Exception: When the employer can demonstrate that providing access to shade is not safe or it interferes with the ability of employers and employees to complete the necessary work in a particular situation, for example, during high winds or when an employee is walking through range land, employers must identify and implement alternative cooling measures that provide equivalent protection such as providing cooling vests (either with fans or ice packs), water-dampened cotton clothing, or similar effective measures. The Heat Illness Prevention Plan under section (8) must include the use, care, and maintenance of the alternative cooling methods, in writing. - (4) Drinking water. Ensure that a sufficient supply of drinking water is immediately and readily available to exposed employees at all times, at no cost, when the heat index in the work area equals or exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. - (a) Supplied drinking water must be either cool or cold, see subsection (2)(b). - (b) Supply each employee with enough drinking water to enable them to consume up to 32 ounces per hour. Employers are not required to supply the entire quantity of drinking water needed for all employees on a full shift at the beginning of the shift. Employers may begin the shift with smaller quantities of drinking water when effective procedures are established to replenish the water consumed during the shift. - (c) Employees must have ample opportunity to drink water required under this…

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J Division 2 AO 1-2025 Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division - (C) Employees who work from home are subject only to the training requirements in sections (9) and (10). - (2) Definitions. - (a) Acclimatization - Temporary adaptation of the body to work in the heat that occurs gradually when a person is exposed to it. Acclimatization peaks in most people within seven to fourteen days of regular work for at least two hours per day in the heat. This time frame applies to fit individuals with no underlying medical conditions. - (b) Drinking water - Potable water that is suitable to drink and that is cool (66 °F -77 °F) or cold (35 °F -65 °F). - (c) Heat Illnesses - Medical conditions resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat load, and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat stroke. - (d) Shade - Blockage of direct sunlight is shade. One indicator that blockage is sufficient is when objects do not cast a shadow in the area of blocked sunlight. Shade is not sufficient when heat in the area of shade defeats the purpose of shade, which is to allow the body to cool. For example, a car sitting in the sun does not provide acceptable shade to a person inside it, unless the car is running with working air conditioning. Shade may be provided by any natural or artificial means that does not expose employees to unsafe or unhealthy conditions, and that does not deter or discourage access or use. - (e) Temperature-controlled environment -an indoor setting where the temperature is maintained with a mechanical cooling system. - (3) Access to shade. Establish and maintain one or more shade areas that are immediately and readily available to exposed employees that are outdoors when the heat index in the work area equals or exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The shade areas must meet the following criteria: - (a) The shade area must either be open to the outside air (at least three open sides) or provide m…

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J Division 2 AO 1-2025 Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division - (8) Heat illness prevention plan. Develop, implement, and maintain an effective heat illness prevention plan in writing. The plan must be made available at the worksite to employees and to Oregon OSHA upon request. The plan must contain at least the following information: - (a) How employees will be trained on the hazards of heat exposure and the necessary steps to prevent heat-related illnesses; - (b) How to recognize the symptoms of dehydration, and how to respond to suspected heat-related illnesses in others; - (c) How sufficient amounts of cool, potable water in work areas will be provided; - (d) How employees will be provided frequent opportunities and encouragement to stay hydrated by drinking water; - (e) How employees will be provided sufficient space to rest in a shaded area or cool climate-controlled area, and where heat-affected employees may cool off and recover when signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses are recognized; - (f) How the employer will implement the heat illness prevention rest break schedule when necessary to keep employees safe; and - (g) How the employer will implement heat acclimatization procedures for new employees or employees returning to work from extended absences of seven or more days. - (9) Supervisor and employee training. Provide heat illness prevention training to all employees, including new employees, supervisory and non-supervisory employees in a language and vocabulary readily understood, and in a manner that facilitates employee feedback. Such training must be provided annually before employees begin work that should reasonably be anticipated to expose them to the risk of heat illness, and include at least the following: - (a) The environmental and personal risk factors (for example, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, kidney disease, obesity, etc.) for heat illness that may limit an individual's toler…

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Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules AO 1-2025 Division 2 - (b) The employer's procedures for complying with the requirements of this standard, including, but not limited to, the employer's responsibility to provide water, heat index information (including the risks to experiencing a heat-related illness), shade, preventative rest breaks, and access to first aid, as well as how employees can exercise their rights under this standard without fear of retaliation; - (c) The importance of frequent consumption of small quantities of water, up to 32 ounces per hour, when the work environment is hot and employees are likely to be sweating more than usual in the performance of their duties; - (d) The concept, importance, and methods of the acclimatization plan pursuant to the employer's procedures under section (8); - (e) The different types of heat illness, the common signs and symptoms of heat illness, and the appropriate first aid and emergency response to the different types of heat illness, including how heat illness may progress quickly from mild signs and symptoms to a serious and life-threatening condition; - (f) The importance for employees to immediately report to the employer, directly or through the employee's supervisor, signs and symptoms of heat illness in themselves or in others; and - (g) The effects of nonoccupational factors (drugs, alcohol, obesity, etc.) on tolerance to occupational heat stress. - (10) Training documentation. Verify compliance with section (9) by preparing and maintaining written or electronic training records that can be provided to Oregon OSHA upon request. Such records must contain the name or identification of each employee trained, the date(s) of the training, and the name of the person who conducted the training. The most recent annual training record for each affected employee must be maintained. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 654.025(2), 654.035 & 656.726(4) Statutes Implemented: O…

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J Division 2 AO 1-2025 Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division In July, 2015 Oregon OSHA reposed rules for Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution. Three public hearings were held during August and September 2015. Most of the oral and written comments received concerned: the duties of a Safety Watch, the exception to the two-worker rule, and helicopters. Changes to the final rule include: Safety Watch: Safety Watch text was added to the final rule [redacted phone](13). Operating switches: [redacted phone](2)(b)(B) was changed to clarify that [redacted phone](2)(b)(E) must be followed for routine switching of load break elbows. Helicopters: Paragraphs were removed which were already addressed by, or were in conflict with, other regulatory agencies; or were unnecessarily restrictive based upon accepted industry practices. On October 5, 2015 Federal OSHA published in the Federal Register, minor language clarifications in rules related to Line Clearance Tree Trimming as well as correcting errors in Table R-6 (Alternative Minimum Approach Distances.) The note for enclosed spaces was removed from Appendix A-3 and placed in Appendix A-5. These corrections have been incorporated in Oregon OSHA's final rules. This is Oregon OSHA Administrative Order 3-2015, adopted October 9, 2015, and effective January 1, 2016. Note: Oregon-initiated rules appear in italics in this codebook in proximity to related federal rules. Note: Oregon OSHA adopted these permanent rules to prevent heat illness when employees are exposed to high ambient temperatures. Without specific rule requirements, Oregon OSHA recognized that both employers and workers may not clearly understand expectations of what must be done to prevent work-related heat illness. The deadly heat wave of June 2021, which contributed to multiple workplace hospitalizations and fatalities, underscored the need for such rules to protect workers against the serious risk …