b'(Continued from page 19)of the four risk categories on the heat illness app, you will note that they all indicate the necessity of water and shade. In fact, OSHA urges employees to always consider water, rest and shade to protect employees from heat illness. For example, OSHA suggests for the moderate risk category that employers encourage employees to consume one eight- ounce cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes if they are going to be work-ing in the heat for less than 2 hours. OSHA also sug-gests that during prolonged sweating lasting several hours,thattheemployeralsoencouragetheirem-ployees to drink electrolyte drinks in addition to wa-ter.OSHAalsoremindsemployersthatemployees should not consume more than six eight-ounce cups of water per hour. Again, this is a topic that should be discussed with your company physician to estab-lish the appropriate frequency and amount of hydra-tion.4.As I have already indicated, the fourth component of protection for the jobsite is to provide shade or a climate-controlled area for employees for cooling-off periods.Youshouldsetupcoolshadedrestareas with close proximity to the jobsite. OSHA also sug-gests that you provide shade, hats and sunscreen and encourage employees to use them when working in a high heat index environment and/or direct sunlight. There have been cases reported in which employees have been directed to go to a cooling-off area which wassomewhatremotefromtheactivejobsiteand, becausetheywerealreadyexperiencingthesymp-toms of heatstroke, wondered aimlessly around for a long period of time with unfavorable consequences. So, when you set up your cooling-off area, set it up close enough to the jobsite that someone can at least watch an employee heading for the cooling-off area until they get to that location.5.The final component of the NIOSH Criteria Doc-umentforheatillnesspreventionistraining.You should train your employees on all the illnesses that can arise from working in a high heat index environ-ment. You should train your employees regarding the hazards of those conditions, as well as the symptoms thatindividualsexperienceineachofthosecondi-tions. Again, the OSHA - NIOSH heat app provides goodinformationwithregardstothosesymptoms. Your employees should also be trained in how to rec-ognize those symptoms in themselves and others and the first-aid steps that should be taken for each of the conditions. The preceding five components summa-rize what OSHA considers to be feasible steps under theGeneralDutyClauseanemployercantaketo prevent heat illness in its employees. I urge you to download a copy of the app I have been (Continued on page 26) 22'