Heat Stress Prevention

Heat stress can affect workers in both indoor and outdoor environments, reducing performance and increasing the risk of serious illness or injury. The Heat Stress Prevention online training course provides workers and supervisors with the knowledge needed to recognize heat-related hazards, respond appropriately to symptoms, and take practical steps to prevent heat stress before it becomes an emergency. Learners will explore the different types of heat-related illness, including heat rash, fainting, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, transient heat fatigue, and life-threatening heat stroke. The course explains common signs and symptoms, appropriate first aid measures, and when emergency medical assistance is required. It also examines personal and workplace risk factors such as dehydration, lack of acclimatization, strenuous work, high humidity, direct sunlight, poor ventilation, and the use of personal protective equipment. The training emphasizes prevention through the hierarchy of controls, hydration, healthy work practices, proactive cooling, acclimatization, work/rest schedules, and buddy monitoring. Learners will also discover how PPE can increase heat stress risk and why workers returning after an absence or beginning work in hot conditions require additional precautions. The course introduces workplace heat monitoring methods, including Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), Humidex, physiological monitoring, heart-rate monitoring, and wearable sensors. It explains how environmental conditions, workload, clothing, PPE, and worker acclimatization should be considered when assessing heat risk. Canadian employer responsibilities and the importance of following applicable provincial, territorial, federal, and site-specific requirements are also addressed.