Heat Illness Prevention
Heat kills people in our line of work, and almost every time it does, it was preventable. Washington and Oregon both require this training every year before your crew works in the heat — but that's not why we do it. As foreman, running this right is your job.
Your duties as foreman
- Water & shade — cold water on the truck, a real cool-down spot every job
- Cool-downs — paid rest at the heat-index thresholds (80 / 90 / 100°F)
- Acclimatization — the 5-day ramp for new and returning crew
- Buddy system — pair up at 90°F and watch each other
- Emergency response — know the signs, know who calls 911
- Document it — the record is what protects the crew and the company
The Four Ways Heat Gets You
They stack — the early ones are the warning that the bad one is coming. Know them cold, and make your crew name them too.
- Heat cramps — muscle cramps in the legs, arms, or gut. The body is low on water and salt.
- Heat syncope (fainting) — stand up, get lightheaded, or pass out. Usually hits people not used to the heat yet.
- Heat exhaustion — heavy sweating, headache, dizzy, sick to the stomach, weak, heart racing. This is the last easy exit.
- Heat stroke — confusion, slurred speech, stumbling, acting strange, skin hot and red, sweating stops, seizures. People die from this and it can come on fast.
⚠ Heat exhaustion — early warning
🚨 Heat stroke — CALL 911
Water & Food
The number is 32 ounces of water per person, per hour. One quart — a full Gatorade bottle every hour, all day. On a long day that's two gallons.
Water
Cold water stays on the truck and gets refilled as needed — free, all day. Drink small amounts often; don't slam a bottle at lunch. Don't wait until you're thirsty — by then you're already behind and won't catch up during the shift.
Energy drinks (Red Bull, Monster) and coffee do NOT count as water. Caffeine pulls fluid out of the body and speeds the heart up — a fast heart in the heat is exactly what we're trying to avoid. Someone on nothing but an energy drink is dizzy by nine in the morning; that's the cause, not a mystery. Caffeine-free sports drinks are fine alongside water, not instead of it.
Food
Nobody works heat on an empty stomach. A real breakfast, not a can — the body needs fuel and salt to run its cooling system. Show up empty and you get dizzy, weak, and shaky, and then nobody can tell low blood sugar from the start of heat illness. Eat lunch, all of it.
Shade & Cool-Downs
Every job, every day, you set a cool-down spot — the truck cab with the A/C running, or real shade close enough that the crew will actually use it, big enough to sit in.
Point it out at the morning huddle
Name today's shade location out loud before you release the crew. If there's no shade where you are, you make some or you move the operation. Nobody needs permission to take a cool-down — if they feel it coming, they tell somebody and they go.
Gear holds heat
Long sleeves, chaps, respirators, hard hats, spray gear — all of it traps heat and stops sweat from doing its job. On a cool-down the heat-holding stuff comes off: hard hat off, sleeves open, vest off, respirator off if clear of the hazard. Sitting in shade in full gear is not a cool-down.
The Cool-Down Schedule
One company standard, both states. We use heat index (temperature plus humidity — what it actually feels like) everywhere. It's stricter, so it keeps us right in Washington and Oregon both.
| Heat index | What you do |
|---|---|
| 80°F+ | Water available, 32 oz per person per hour. Shade set up and pointed out. This training applies. |
| 90°F+ | 10-minute paid cool-down every 2 hours. Buddy system ON. Confirm out loud who calls 911 if needed. |
| 100°F+ | 15-minute paid cool-down every hour. Same buddy and emergency rules. |
Getting Used to the Heat
Bodies need one to two weeks to adapt to working in heat. Until then the risk is much higher — that's physiology, not weakness. Nobody goes straight onto a full day in the heat.
Who's on the ramp
- New hires — anyone not working in heat regularly yet
- Returning crew — anyone away from heat work 7+ days (vacation, injury, illness, out-of-state)
- Everyone, in a heat wave — when the temperature jumps suddenly, nobody is acclimated, new guy or twenty-year man
| Day | New | Back 7+ days | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20% | 50% | Shop, yard, staging, hose tending. Paired with an experienced buddy. |
| 2 | 40% | 60% | Half-day field, rotate out of direct sun. |
| 3 | 60% | 80% | Most of the day in the field, extra cool-downs. |
| 4 | 80% | 100% | Near-normal load, buddy still assigned. |
| 5 | 100% | — | Full duty. |
Your duties on the ramp
- Note the ramp day on the job ticket so the next crew lead knows where they're at
- Any symptom → restart at the previous day's level. No pushing through
- An unacclimated worker is never assigned to work alone in heat
- Avoid peak heat hours for unacclimated workers where the schedule allows
Buddy System
Any day the heat index hits 90, you pair the crew up. Assign the buddies out loud and write them on the job ticket.
Why a buddy, not just you
The first real sign of heat stroke is confusion — and someone going into heat stroke is often the last person to know it. He'll tell you he's fine. His buddy sees it before he does. They don't check once an hour; they just stay aware of their guy.
If anyone works alone at any point, you check in by radio or phone on a set schedule. If you can't reach them, somebody goes to find them.
If Somebody Goes Down
Symptoms, but talking normally
🚨 Confused, staggering, vomiting, passing out, seizing — CALL 911
On WSDOT & highway jobs, the address isn't obvious
Whoever calls 911 gives cross streets, the mile marker, and the nearest gate or pullout — and somebody goes out to flag the aid car in. The site directions are on the job ticket. Know where they are before you need them, and name who's calling 911 at the morning huddle.
Document It
The record is what protects the crew and the company. If it isn't written down, in a claim or an inspection it didn't happen.
What you document
- Training roster — every attendee signs the toolbox talk; keep the original, copy in each file. Retain 3+ years
- Ramp day on the job ticket — for every unacclimated worker
- Buddy pairs on the job ticket — on any 90°F+ day
- New-hire / return notification — the email to office & foremen when someone starts or returns from 7+ days off
Fitness for duty — progressive discipline
Showing up unfit for the heat — for example, nothing to eat and only an energy drink — is a work-rule violation like any other. This is about arriving ready to work; it never changes the company's duty to provide water, breaks, shade, and emergency response. Handle it in steps and document each:
Quick Check
Six questions. Get 5 right (80%) to sign off. You can retry as many times as you need.
Sign & Complete
You're signing this as yourself — you're signed in, so this is your legal record of training.