Do your employees often spend long days working outside in the heat? You may consider this just another part of the job, but when temperatures reach certain levels, it can become a serious health hazard. If proper measures aren’t taken, your team could be at risk for serious heat-related injuries, such as heat stroke, sun burn, heat cramps, heat rash and heat exhaustion.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) recently created a new app designed to help manage heat safety. The app allows both you and your team members to calculate the heat index for your worksite, which subsequently displays the current risk level for outdoor workers.

Using the OSHA App to Keep Your Workers Safe

After getting informed of the current risk level, the app offers helpful protective measures you can take to prevent heat-related illnesses. This includes actions such as staying hydrated, training your team on how to handle an emergency, scheduling regular rest breaks, making necessary operations adjustments to combat extreme heat, gradually breaking new workers in and knowing how to spot the onset of an illness brought on by heat.

Working in full sunlight can cause heat index values to rise by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit. If your team will be subject to these conditions, it’s important to take extra precautions to keep them safe and healthy.

Many people — especially those new to outdoor work — may think they know their limits, but will be in for a rude awakening when they realize how draining laboring in the heat can be on the body. Encouraging all workers to download the OSHA app is a great way to help them take control and exercise the necessary precautions. Informed workers have a much lower chance of succumbing to dangerous heat-related illnesses.

Ready to download the app?

It’s available in both English and Spanish for Android and iPhone devices.

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