JULY 2020

The symptoms for heat-related illness often look very similar to other illnesses such as COVID-19.

These symptoms include but are not limited to fever, headache, nausea, and fatigue. Keeping workers safe should always be your #1 priority. During COVID-19, it’s especially important that workers do not get a heat-related illness, since this can make it harder to know whether someone has COVID-19.

 

SAFETY CHECKLIST

The checklist below lists a few ways you can be prepared and prevent heat related illness:

• Do workers who have preexisting conditions, are older than 65, are pregnant, or who had COVID-19 given more breaks in the shade and with food and cool fluids available?
• Are hot, physically-demanding jobs scheduled early in the day with more people scheduled to do these jobs, to reduce the load on each person?
• Have all workers been trained to prevent, recognize and treat heat-related illness in themselves and others?
• Does each worker have their own water bottle? Is it washed daily?
• Is the location where workers get water disinfected and cleaned after each use?
• Can workers explain their location if they need to seek medical attention?
• Do workers begin each shift by drinking plenty of fluids, including electrolyte-containing sports drinks?
• Are workers given more breaks to rest and hydrate as the temperature rises?
• Do workers end each shift resting and drinking plenty of cold fluids to ensure their bodies cool down? Heat stress can become magnified over consecutive days.
• Does each worker know (1) how and (2) which medical provider to call in case of an emergency? Does the provider speak the workers’ language(s)?
• Are workers being acclimatized? In other words, are workers gradually increasing their exposure time in hot environmental conditions over a 7-14 day period?

You and/or your employee(s) can download and print a pdf checklist to complete safety checks on your farm.  Keep the completed forms for follow-up, future reference and inspections.

DOWNLOAD PDF CHECKLIST

 

Disclaimer: The facts and information listed above are suggestions for your safety, but are in no way a comprehensive and exhaustive list of all actions needed to ensure your safety.