FRAME BUILDER - VOL7 NO2 / 9 
that the concern for heat illness is not 
temperature or the heat index alone. 
OSHA expects you, as an employer, to 
consider the work effort (labor) expended 
by your employees and how that coupled 
with the heat index creates a significant 
safety hazard.
3.	 Were there sufficient amounts of cool 
water easily accessible to employees on 
the job site? Did the employer allow 
additional breaks for hydration, and were 
there scheduled rest breaks? The question 
to be answered is whether you have 
communicated to your employees that they 
can take breaks as needed (in addition to 
scheduled breaks) to hydrate. Also, have 
you established a schedule of rest breaks 
corresponding with your conclusions 
drawn for your efforts in paragraph 2, 
above?
4.	 The compliance officer is to question 
whether there was access to a shaded 
area. While there were no further details 
provided in the OSHA Instruction, I 
remind you that when selecting a shaded 
area, you should always consider the 
possibility and amount of radiant heat that 
will impact the effectiveness of shade.
5.	 Compliance officers are also asked 
to ensure the employer provided an 
acclimatization schedule for new and 
returning workers.
6.	 Another question to be answered is whether 
the employer applied administrative 
controls such as using earlier start times 
and adjusting the workload to limit heat 
exposure. 
7.	 Compliance officers also determine 
whether the employees and supervisors 
understand the heat illness prevention 
program.
8.	 They will need to determine whether the 
employer provided training on heat illness 
signs; how to report signs and symptoms; 
first-aid; how to contact emergency 
personnel; prevention and the importance 
of hydration to employees.
9.	 Finally, a new requirement (expectation) 
by OSHA, is whether the company’s heat 
program is properly implemented by a 
“designated heat safety representative.”
The new Instruction also provides citation 
guidance. The compliance officer is reminded 
that any citations issued will be General Duty 
Clause violations. This is not good news for 
employers as Area Directors will not usually 
reclassify a General Duty citation to OTS. 
This leaves you with two options – accept the 
citation and try to lower the penalty or file a 
Notice of Contest and place the citation before 
the Review Commission.
In addition, compliance officers are reminded 
that several other OSHA standards may also 
be applicable to address worker protection in 
hot environments. These include, but are not 
limited to:
The Recordkeeping Standard at 29 CFR 
1904.7(b)(5) which requires recording of any 
injuries, which require treatment beyond first 
 
 
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