Workplace safety and OSHA
Heat Illness Prevention
Recognize, respond to and prevent heat illness in hot indoor and outdoor work, and understand the current federal and state rules
Awareness · 1 hour · Certificate does not expire
Heat illness can turn from a headache into a life-threatening emergency within minutes, and it happens indoors next to ovens and furnaces as well as outdoors in summer. This course teaches workers and supervisors how heat harms the body, how to tell heat exhaustion from heat stroke, what to do in the first minutes, and the simple measures that prevent most cases.
You will learn how the body sheds heat, what the heat index and wet bulb globe temperature measure, and the environmental, work and personal factors that raise risk, including indoor sources such as reflow ovens, foundries, heat treat furnaces, hangars and uncooled warehouses, and the heat load added by PPE. You will learn the signs of heat rash, cramps, fainting, rhabdomyolysis, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, first aid for each and how the buddy system works. You will learn the water, rest and shade measures, the NIOSH acclimatization schedule for new and returning workers, and engineering and administrative controls. The final module explains the rules as of October 2026: there is no final federal heat standard, OSHA's proposed heat rule from August 2024 is still pending, and OSHA enforces heat hazards today through the General Duty Clause and its April 2026 heat National Emphasis Program. It also covers state heat standards in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maryland and Nevada.
What your employer must add. This is general awareness training. Your employer must train you on its own heat illness prevention plan: where water and cool-down areas are, the triggers your site uses, how breaks and acclimatization work for your job and how to call for help. Employers in states with heat standards have additional site-specific training duties for workers and supervisors under those rules. Employers outside the US follow their own regulations.
The course is for production, warehouse, maintenance, foundry, hangar and outdoor workers, and for the supervisors who manage hot work. No prior knowledge is needed.
The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion for the online instruction, with lifetime access to the course. The certificate does not expire, because federal OSHA and California set no fixed refresher interval for heat training. Some state rules do: Oregon (OAR 437-002-0156) and Maryland (COMAR 09.12.32) require heat training annually, and Washington's outdoor heat rule (WAC 296-62-09560) requires it at least annually, so employers there must repeat training each year.
What people learn
- Explain how the body sheds heat and how humidity, radiant heat, workload and PPE defeat it.
- Identify environmental, work and personal risk factors, including indoor heat sources in manufacturing.
- Distinguish heat exhaustion from heat stroke and give the correct first aid for each.
- Apply water, rest, shade and acclimatization measures, including the NIOSH schedule for new and returning workers.
- Describe engineering and administrative controls for indoor and outdoor heat and the elements of a heat illness prevention program.
- Explain the status of federal heat regulation as of October 2026, the General Duty Clause, the heat National Emphasis Program and state heat standards.