Each year thousands of workers across the nation become ill when exposed to excessive heat. Approximately 50 to 70 percent of heat illness cases happen during the first few days of working in warm or hot weather. Some examples of heat illness include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat rash.

Heavy activity, lack of time to adjust to the new conditions, or wearing clothes that hold in body heat can increase the risk of heat illness. If you have employees that work outdoors, here are some things you need to provide to help protect them from heat illness:

1. Plenty of drinking water that is

  • Free of charge
  • As close as possible to where the employee is working
  • Fresh
  • Pure
  • Suitably cool

For proper hydration, provide one quart of water per hour for each employee. For example, a 10-person crew working an 8-hour shift requires 80 quarts or 20 gallons of water (4 quarts per gallon). Use the following formula to determine how much water your crew needs:

Number of people x number of hours worked x 1 quart per hour x .25 (to convert from quarts to gallons) = number of gallons per shift.

If you can’t provide the water all at once, make sure to replenish throughout the day. More importantly, encourage your employees to drink it on a regular basis, even if they aren’t thirsty. And, remind your employees that when it comes to hydration, water is the best option. According to Cal/OSHA, sodas, energy drinks, and coffee contain high levels of caffeine and/or sugar that can actually increase the chance of dehydration.