Write a toolbox talk about OSHA heat stress prevention

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Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules AO 1-2025 Division 2 - (e) Develop and implement a written heat illness prevention rest break schedule that protects employees exposed to a heat index equal to or greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Employers must choose and implement only one of the three options; choose either (A), (B), or (C) as described below. Note: The purpose of the heat illness prevention rest breaks is to allow the body to cool down and recover from working when the heat index equals or is greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: Option (A) allows an employer to implement a self-designed schedule by building on a minimum rest break schedule using four specified elements. Option (B) allows an employer to implement a schedule by using an example heat illness prevention plan designed by NIOSH. Option (C) allows an employer to implement a schedule by using a simplified schedule designed by Oregon OSHA and based on a high-heat scenario in the NIOSH plan. - (A) Employer-designed heat illness prevention rest break schedule: Implement a written employer-specific, heat illness prevention rest break schedule using the minimum rest break durations and intervals in Table 1. Employers must protect employees from heat illness by integrating the elements in subsections (i) through (iv) into to their heat illness prevention rest break schedule, which may increase the duration or interval of the rest break beyond the minimum requirements to be protective. - (i) The effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) on the body's ability to retain heat; - (ii) The effect of the type of work clothing on the body's ability to retain heat; - (iii) Relative humidity, whether work activities are indoors or outdoors; and - (iv) The intensity of the work being performed. Note: Employers should consider the effect of exposure to direct sunlight when developing employer-specific heat illness prevention rest break schedule. Table 1 - Mini…

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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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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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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…