The American National Standards Institute/American Society of Safety Professionals A10 Committee recently took the first step in creating a document that will identify industry best practices for properly managing heat stress for workers in construction and demolition, according to assp.org.
The proposed American National Standard under ANSI, BSR/ASSP A10.50, will establish minimum requirements to prevent heat illnesses and manage heat stress hazards and exposures encountered on the job site.
“There are tens of thousands of heat-related illnesses that impact the construction and demolition workforce each year and, unfortunately, construction workers are still dying from exposures to excessive heat,” says John Johnson, chair of the ANSI/ASSP A10 Committee. “The proposed A10.50 standard will provide the industry with proven solutions to avoid heat illnesses that impact the construction and demolition workforce.”
There currently is no federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard or voluntary consensus standard that addresses the issue of heat stress, although many groups have requested guidance regarding best practices. The committee hopes creating such a document will help employers develop effective heat stress policies and procedures.
"A handful of state regulatory agencies have provided guidance to their employers via regulation,” Johnson says. “This consensus standard will utilize best industry practices and real-world experiences to provide clear direction to users, bridging the regulatory gap that presently exists.”
