Protect Your Workers From Summer Heat

Posted by Christina Herrick|August 2, 2011

With the dog days of August now upon us, and few parts of the nation escaping from oppressive heat, it’s a good time for fruit and vegetable growers review heat illness regulations. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA’s) Heat Illness Prevention Standard requires employers to:
● Provide drinking potable water at all times as close as practicable to where workers are working.
● Provide shade upon the request of workers who feel they need to rest in the shade.
● Provide enough shade for at least 25% of the crew.
● Provide shade at all times when the temperature exceeds 85° Fahrenheit.
● Train workers about heat illness, its risks, and symptoms and prevention.
● Train supervisors on your plans for compliance with the Heat Illness Prevention standard.

In addition, when temperatures exceed 95°:
● Watch workers who are unaccustomed to working in the heat more carefully during the first 14 days they work in high heat conditions.
● Ensure effective communication with workers so that aid can be immediately rendered if needed.
● Ensure your compliance procedures are written, and are available to Cal/OSHA enforcement personnel upon request.

Source: Farm Employers Labor Service, a subscriber organization affiliated with the California Farm Bureau Federation.