Heat Illness Prevention Plan - Employees

 SF State has developed a Heat Illness Prevention Plan (HIPP) that includes steps to protect employees from heat stress resulting from work in hot environments.

Scope

This program applies to employees who work indoors or outdoors on campus properties or university business.

Cal/OSHA has developed two heat illness prevention regulations, one that focuses on outdoor work and the second that focuses on indoor work spaces. 

Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor Places of Employment

This Heat Illness Prevention regulation applies to all outdoor places of employment such as those in the agriculture, construction, and landscaping industries, as well as other field work that is part of university academic, maintenance, and research activities.

Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment

The Indoor Heat Illness Prevention regulation went into effect on July 23, 2024 and applies to indoor work spaces such as laboratories, fabrication shops, offices, and mechanical rooms.

Heat Illness Prevention Plan Forms

See the written Heat Illness Prevention Plan (HIPP) to help with filling out the checklist below and evaluating compliance.

See the written Heat Illness Prevention manual for details on training.

The Cal/OSHA standard goes into effect when indoor temperatures reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit. When an employee reports feeling symptoms of heat stress, such as heat exhaustion, to their supervisor or manager, addressing the employee's discomfort is important. Actions to take include providing water, rest, fans or other methods for cooling down.

The employee’s supervisor should consider (or consult EHS about) implementing strategies to mitigate any environmental risk factors for heat illness, some of which are  air temperature, air movement, relative humidity, radiant heat from the sun and other sources; conductive heat sources such as the ground, and workload severity and duration.  Certainly, relocating an employee to a cooler or more comfortable workspace should be strongly considered.  The J. Paul Leonard library is one such location.

EH&S is available to provide consultation, recommendations, and guidance.