What is a Heat Action Plan?
A Heat Action Plan (HAP) is a comprehensive document and strategy designed to mitigate the health impacts of extreme heat events. This plan is typically developed by public health and emergency management agencies, as well as larger businesses, to address the increasing frequency and severity of heatwaves due to climate change.
Importance and Benefits
In the US, heat waves have begun to grow in intensity over the last few decades, making heat one of the most known occupational hazards. Having a heat action plan is essential for businesses in keeping employees safe during warm weathers, more so for those involved in working in construction sites, warehouse, farms, and restaurants. These plans help protect employees from heat-related illnesses and injuries, which can lead to increased emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and even fatalities.
A well-designed heat action plan can also help businesses maintain productivity levels by implementing strategies to manage work schedules and provide appropriate cooling measures. By prioritizing and improving workplace safety, employees can be more motivated to perform their best, as they know they are protected. Utilizing a heat action plan also ensures compliance with local and international safety guidelines related to heat stress management and heat illness prevention.
Key Components of a Heat Action Plan
Here is a list of what to include in a general heat action plan fit for any industry:
- Name of company
- Name of assessor or manager
- A section for conducting a heat risk assessment
- A section for ensuring control and preventive measures against heat illness and heat stress are in place and have been communicated effectively
- A section ensuring proper training sessions have been conducted before and that employees are currently aware of current heat safety procedures
- A section for ensuring emergency preparedness plans are in place and have been communicated effectively
- A section describing the plans to take after the heat wave or hot weather passes
- A section for employee feedback, concerns, and other notes
- Signature of assessor or manager
Here is a sample heat action plan in use for reference:
How to Use
A heat action plan is used to prepare, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of extreme heat events. Here’s how to use one effectively:
- For pre-heat waves, the plan can be used to do the following:
- Assess Risks: Evaluate local heat conditions, vulnerable populations, and existing infrastructure based on the contents of the heat action plan to identify risks and prioritize interventions
- Engage Stakeholders: Share the heat action plan with local governments, health organizations, and community groups before heat waves to align on interventions and responsibilities.
- Plan Communication: Create a strategy for disseminating heat-related health advice to the public, focusing on vulnerable groups
- For heat waves and hot weathers, the plan can help perform the following tasks:
- Activate Interventions: Implement measures like opening cooling centers, distributing potable water, and adjusting work schedules to reduce exposure when heat levels have passed healthy levels, based on data from temperature sensors.
- Monitor Health Impacts: Track morbidity and mortality rates associated with heat stress to identify immediate needs
- Provide Support: Ensure healthcare facilities are staffed adequately to handle heat-related illnesses
- For post-heat waves, the plan can be used to do the following:
- Review Effectiveness: Analyze the outcomes of interventions using performance indicators and data analytics.
- Improve Plans: Use gathered feedback and data to refine the plan for future heat events.
- Report Findings: Share results with stakeholders and the public to maintain transparency and improve community trust.
The best way to create and utilize a heat action plan would be to do so with a digital solution such as SafetyCulture. By going digital, businesses can easily share and fill out their heat action plan, as well as template it for later use. Digitizing the heat plan allows users to store their findings on the cloud for easy access whenever and wherever they may be, making it easier to create and implement heat safety actions as needed.
FAQs about Heat Action Plans
Both heat action plans and extreme heat preparedness plans share the same goal of keeping workers safe in extremely hot working conditions, sometimes even used interchangeably. However, there is a difference between them in their scope, as a heat action plan often covers more things than an extreme heat preparedness plan.
The best times a business can use their heat action plans are:
- when weather agencies warn of a possible heat wave;
- when the weather is growing warmer, with or without warning;
- when the heat wave is in effect; and
- when the heat wave has passed.
Heat action plans should consider the specific nature of different work tasks, including physical exertion levels, required protective equipment, and exposure to heat sources. These should be kept in mind when adjusting measures accordingly
Roselin Manawis