Heat Illness Prevention and Response
Heat illness prevention program for warehouses without climate control, covering identification of hot work areas and heat index trigger conditions, cool drinking water availability and drinking cadence, rest breaks in shaded or cooled recovery areas, acclimatization schedules for new and returning workers, a buddy system during heat events, recognition of heat exhaustion versus heat stroke, the call 911 and cool aggressively response to suspected heat stroke, and supervisor monitoring duties on hot days.
- Audience
- All employees working in non-climate-controlled areas, employees assigned to trailer loading and unloading, yard and mezzanine work, supervisors and shift leads responsible for hot-day monitoring, and the person who owns the heat illness prevention program
- Review cycle
- annual
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-17
- Revision
- 1
Heat Illness Prevention and Response: what is in the procedure
7 sections. Regulatory language is fixed and passes through verbatim. Sections marked customized get rewritten around your facility, your equipment, and your job titles.
- 01
Purpose
FixedThis procedure establishes how this facility prevents heat illness in areas without climate control and how it responds when heat illness occurs.
- 02
Scope
CustomizedThis procedure applies to all work in areas of this facility that are not climate controlled and to all outdoor work on the property.
- 03
Responsibilities
CustomizedThe program owner maintains this procedure, sets the heat season dates, verifies that the heat index information source works, stocks the water stations and cooling supplies...
- 04
Procedure: Trigger Conditions, Water, Rest, and Cool-Down Areas
CustomizedTrigger conditions: this facility uses heat index, which combines temperature and humidity, measured in or representative of the actual work area, not the outdoor shade forecast alone.
- 05
Procedure: Acclimatization for New and Returning Workers, and the Buddy System
CustomizedAcclimatization: the body adapts to working in heat over one to two weeks, and a worker who has not adapted can be killed by conditions an adapted crew tolerates.
- 06
Procedure: Recognizing Heat Illness and Emergency Response
CustomizedEveryone who works in heat learns the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke, because the responses differ and the cost of guessing wrong is a life.
- 07
References
Fixed29 CFR 1910.141 Sanitation, paragraph (b), potable drinking water.
Regulatory references
Heat Illness Prevention and Response: 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)
Every SOP generated from this template cites the paragraphs below, with a plain-language summary of what each one requires. Citations are informational and are not legal advice.
Portable drinking water dispensers shall be designed, constructed, and serviced so that sanitary conditions are maintained, shall be capable of being closed, and shall be equipped with a tap.
| Standard | Title | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1) | Sanitation: potable water provision | Potable water must be provided in all places of employment for drinking. Portable drinking water dispensers must be designed, constructed, and serviced so that sanitary conditions are maintained, must be capable of being closed, and must be equipped with a tap. Open containers from which water must be dipped or poured, such as barrels, pails, or tanks, may not be used for drinking water whether or not they have a cover, and a common drinking cup is prohibited. This paragraph requires that potable water be provided; it does not itself set a quantity, temperature, or distance-to-water requirement specific to heat exposure. |
| 29 CFR 1910.151(a) | Medical services and first aid: availability of medical personnel | The employer must ensure the ready availability of medical personnel for advice and consultation on matters of plant health. For this program, that consultation resource supports decisions such as work restrictions during recovery from a heat illness and questions about medications and conditions that raise heat risk. |
| 29 CFR 1910.151(b) | Medical services and first aid: trained first aid responders and supplies | In the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace that is used for the treatment of all injured employees, a person or persons must be adequately trained to render first aid, and adequate first aid supplies must be readily available. For this facility that means trained first aid responders on every shift that works in heat, and first aid supplies that include the items needed to cool a heat illness victim. |
| 29 CFR 1910.38(c) | Emergency action plans: minimum elements | Where an emergency action plan is required, it must include, among its minimum elements, procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency and procedures to be followed by employees performing rescue or medical duties. A suspected heat stroke is a medical emergency reported and handled through those same emergency action plan procedures: the alarm is raised, 911 is called, and the employees assigned medical duties respond. |
Compliance checklist
Heat Illness Prevention and Response: what an inspector looks for
Cool potable drinking water is provided at no cost near each hot work area, from closable tap dispensers with single-use cups or personal bottles, never open or dipped containers and never a common cup
29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)
Medical personnel are readily available for advice and consultation, including on return-to-work after a heat illness and on conditions and medications that raise heat risk
29 CFR 1910.151(a)
Trained first aid responders are present on every shift that works in heat, and first aid supplies, including cooling supplies, are stocked and readily available
29 CFR 1910.151(b)
The emergency action plan reporting and medical-duty procedures cover a heat emergency, and employees know how to summon 911 and internal responders from every hot work area
29 CFR 1910.38(c)
Work-area heat index is measured or reliably estimated at the hot zones, including trailer interiors and the mezzanine, and checked on the stated schedule during heat season
Baseline protections activate at a work-area heat index of 80 F and high-heat protections, including the buddy system and scheduled cool-down breaks, activate at 90 F
Designated shaded or cooled recovery areas with seating and water are available within a couple of minutes of each hot work area
New, temporary, and returning workers are on a tracked acclimatization ramp, and no unacclimatized worker is assigned a full shift of hot-zone work
No employee works alone in a trailer or other hot zone during high-heat conditions, and solitary hot-zone tasks have a scheduled check-in
All covered employees and supervisors are trained on heat illness signs, the heat exhaustion and heat stroke responses, and the no-retaliation rule for drinking, resting, and reporting symptoms
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This page is informational and is not legal advice. Have a qualified safety professional review any procedure before it goes into service at your facility.