As extreme heat becomes increasingly common, addressing heat stress in the workplace is crucial for ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of our workers.
In July 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its proposed standard for heat injury and illness prevention in the workplace. If finalized, this would mark the first federal standard requiring employers to evaluate and control for heat-related hazards in the workplace. The proposal brings into focus growing global concerns regarding occupational heat stress, a phenomenon impacting virtually all industries and occupations.
Heat stress occurs when the body’s cooling mechanisms (i.e., sweating, increased blood flow, vasodilation) are no longer capable of maintaining the temperatures required for normal body functions. Excessive heat exposure can lead to a range of potentially life-threatening illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. According to NSC Injury Facts®, over the past decade, exposure to environmental heat has contributed to an estimated 335 fatalities and more than 20,100 illnesses or injuries resulting in days away from work.
However, the good news is that through the adoption of multi-layered controls, employers can reduce the potential impact of heat stress on their workers. Administrative controls, for example, aim to change the way people work in order to reduce the duration, frequency or severity of exposure. Such examples might include implementing work/rest schedules, scheduling activities for times when the heat index is lowest, instituting a heat acclimatization plan, and providing heat stress training for employees and supervisors. Engineering solutions, such as the use of cooling technologies and ventilation, should also be adopted where possible. Finally, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including cooling garments or moisture-wicking fabric, can add an additional layer of defense against heat stress.
In addition to the controls mentioned above, there are technologies available on the market today which can help prevent or mitigate heat-related serious incidents and fatalities (SIFs) in the workplace, with one example being vital signs monitoring wearables. In the mainstream market, similar devices have garnered immense popularity through devices such as the Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin fitness trackers. In the workplace, these wearable devices offer a noninvasive and portable means of monitoring the body’s physiological response to heat, such as heart rate, core body temperature and fluid loss. For workers, individualized insights can allow them to make informed decisions to reduce their exposure to heat and promptly address symptoms of illnesses or injuries. For employers, these data can be used to inform the organization's heat mitigation practices to proactively address related SIF risks.
However, as with all technologies, the adoption of vital signs monitoring wearables faces several notable, yet navigable, challenges toward widespread adoption. A lack of validation and use cases for environment, health and safety (EHS) applications, cost and resource limitations, and concerns regarding data privacy and security may be potential barriers to the widespread adoption of wearable technology. Furthermore, because the technology does not eliminate or substitute the need for workers to be exposed to hot environments, wearables should be combined with other controls to ensure a comprehensive heat management approach. By holistically approaching workplace risks and prioritizing a human-centric approach to innovation, organizations can harness the potential of vital signs monitoring technologies to prevent SIF risks in the workplace.
Our mission at the Work to Zero initiative, a National Safety Council program funded by the McElhattan Foundation, is to eliminate workplace fatalities through the use of technology. To learn more about this topic, including use cases, best practices and strategies for overcoming barriers to adoption, check out our recent white paper Best Practices and the Use of Vital Signs Monitoring for Heat Stress Mitigation. Additionally, watch our recent webinar on this topic.
With a century-long legacy, the National Safety Council is a global center for safety expertise. Let's work together to align resources. We look forward to learning about ways we can join efforts to expand safety everywhere!
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