Why is it important to put up a California Outdoor Hear Illness Prevention Poster?

by Violeta Wright IMS

In the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) early this year, the report on heat-related deaths show that an average of 702 heat-related deaths annually occurred in the United States from years 2004-2018.

This led to the coordinated approach across health care sectors to put regulations in place in order to prevent heat-related mortality. The guidelines include mandatory implementation of putting up a California Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Poster in every workplace that require outdoor work, development of facilities which will serve as cooling centers and the regular conduct of surveillance to ensure that each response plans are being implemented correctly.

The goal of the mandatory posting of California Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Posters is to serve as active reminders for employers to take the four steps to prevent heat-related illness among employees:

1. Training – educate and train all staff on how to prevent heat-related illness

2. Water – provide adequate potable water supply for each workers

3. Shade – provide necessary facility which will serve as cool-down areas for workers

4. Planning – development and implementation of all procedure related to California’s Heat Illness Prevention

Each California Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Poster should at least include:

- The symptoms of heat illness
- How to protect yourself against heat stress
- A copy of the Heat Illness Prevention Plan
- And where to call for help in case of a heat-related illness emergency

For easy access to this type of poster, you can check out: https://www.compliancepostersofamerica.com/california-outdoor-heat-illness-prevention-poster

What are heat-related illnesses?

Also called hyperthermia, heat-related illness is caused by extreme exposure to heat resulting to a rapid rise of body temperature. Some common symptoms of heat-related illness are having muscle cramps, fatigue, headache, nausea and dizziness. It can either manifest as a heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Apart from putting up a California Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Poster, an employer must regularly conduct training with their outdoor workers. Employers can check the schedule of trainings on the government’s website at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Heatillnessinfo.html

On the website, you can also check out the latest Heat Safety Fact Sheet, and some additional heat illness prevention sources.

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