When the heat is more than just hot air

By MARCO Industries.

A new safety law sends a clear message to outdoor workers everywhere.

The sun doesn’t play favorites. Whether you're on a rooftop or framing a new build, the rising heat isn’t just uncomfortable — it’s dangerous. With temperatures already climbing, a new safety law should have every contractor, roofer and site manager paying close attention. According to MARCO Industries, it’s not just about rules — it’s about survival. And while the mandate may be regional, the message is universal: safety can’t wait until it’s too late.

Earlier this year, an unanimously passed heat safety ordinance requires local employers with outdoor workers to have a heat safety plan on the books. While some opposed the measure, thinking it was more red tape to deal with, the move was a sincere effort to protect outdoor workers from the sweltering heat — heat that contributed to the deaths of more than 600 people last year.

We know most of our readers don’t work in diverse climates, but plenty of you are beginning to feel the summer heat ramp up on your jobsites as we inch into June. The problem is that our human nature tends to classify this as uncomfortable, not potentially dangerous. The families of those 600 people would disagree.  

These steps should be a reminder to anyone working outside, especially roofers who are incredibly exposed to the heat, that the smart move is being prepared and taking safety precautions seriously.  

The heat safety plans mandated by the ordinance must include:

• Availability of free cool drinking water.
• Ability to take regular and necessary breaks (including water breaks).
• Access to shade and/or air conditioning.
• Access to air conditioning in vehicles with enclosed cabs.
• Acclimatization practices.
• Training on heat illness and injury.

This is a great outline for preparing your own heat safety plan. Not only will it help with the health of you and others on your crew, David Hondula, director of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, explained how it could benefit employers as well.

“It also makes good business sense for us to have and implement a heat response plan,” David told the city council prior to the vote. “For one, research shows us that workers who are not dealing with, recovering from or worried about heat-related illness are more productive on the job.”

Nationwide, OSHA has plans to develop a heat safety standard. On April 24, the OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health unanimously recommended that OSHA “move forward expeditiously” on a notice of proposed rulemaking for a new heat standard. But the agency says they will continue to seek input from stakeholders and the public and has not announced a timeline for implementation. That leaves this important task up to you. There are many resources online that highlight how to prepare for extreme heat and how to recognize the signs of heat-related illness. OSHA’s Protecting Workers from Heat Stress is a great download that should be in all your work vehicles. You can also get info from the Red Cross, Weather.gov, Ready.gov and more.

Original article and photo source: MARCO Industries