Here Comes the Sun — and the Heat
“Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s alright…”. Hopefully this fun Beatles tune is familiar and if not you should definitely check it out because yes, here comes the sun. Oregonians wait months for a peek at the sun through rain soaked skies but recently the sun has been bringing with it even higher temperatures. These higher temperatures have prompted the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to publish new rules around heat awareness and heat related illness prevention.
These new rules require every employer with employees working in high heat conditions to provide very specific heat awareness training. While these rules do not apply to every employee at Pacific University it is important to acknowledge the fact that our faculty, staff and students may be just as susceptible to high heat regardless of their work environment.
It is recommended that every manager, supervisor, etc. take the time during staff meetings or other gatherings to provide education and outreach to your teams. It is required for employees who will be actively working in extreme heat conditions. Here are some key steps to Heat Awareness and Illness Prevention:
- Review the Extreme Heat - Awareness Training document with your faculty staff and/or students.
- Take advantage of the free Heat Illness Prevention online course offered by Oregon OSHA.
- Visit the Heat Awareness folder provided by the Health and Safety Advisory Committee (HSAC). This folder contains several valuable resources for heat awareness and illness prevention.
- Visit the General Preparedness web page and review all of the information related to Extreme Heat
If you take the time to do all of these things and prepare for the heat, then it really will be alright when the sun comes.