Category
Risk Assessment
The framework that turns 'we know it gets hot' into a documented, defensible control plan.
About this category
A heat risk assessment is the structured process of identifying who is exposed to heat, how severely, under what conditions, and what controls are in place to keep that exposure from causing harm. It is the connective tissue between regulatory expectation (OSHA, state plans, EU directives) and operational practice (work/rest cycles, hydration cadence, supervisor training). Done well, it doubles as the written documentation an inspector, insurer, or plaintiff's attorney will ask to see.
This category walks through the full assessment workflow: inventorying heat-exposed roles and tasks, measuring environmental conditions (heat index for outdoor, WBGT for indoor radiant-heat environments), profiling personal susceptibility factors, scoring residual risk after current controls, and prioritizing additional controls using the hierarchy of controls (elimination → engineering → administrative → PPE). We also cover the mechanics of repeating the assessment annually and after any significant change in process, season, or workforce.
Risk assessment is where many heat programs fall short — not because the controls are wrong, but because they were never tied to a documented evaluation of actual workplace conditions. The articles below give you templates, scoring rubrics, and the 16- and 18-point checklists that turn an informal sense of risk into a written plan you can defend.
Why this matters for employers
A written, current heat risk assessment is the single most useful artifact in an OSHA inspection, a workers' comp claim, or a state-plan audit. It demonstrates the employer identified the hazard, evaluated it, and chose controls based on actual workplace conditions rather than guesswork.
Risk assessment is also how heat programs scale. A 40-person crew can run on supervisor intuition; a 400-person operation needs a documented framework so controls are applied consistently across shifts, sites, and supervisors. The framework is the same — only the depth of documentation changes.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we re-run a heat risk assessment?+
At minimum annually, before the start of the warm season. Also re-run after any significant change: new equipment, new process, new shift pattern, workforce composition changes, or an actual heat-related incident.
Heat index or WBGT — which should we measure?+
Heat index (temperature + humidity) is appropriate for most outdoor and naturally ventilated indoor environments. WBGT (wet-bulb globe temperature) is required when radiant heat sources — ovens, furnaces, machinery, direct sun on roofing — meaningfully add to thermal load. Many warehouses and kitchens require WBGT.
Do we need to assess individual worker susceptibility?+
Assess it as a category (acclimatization status, workload, PPE, age/health risk factors) without collecting protected medical information. The right approach is pre-shift wellness self-checks, supervisor observation, and a buddy system — not invasive medical screening.
What goes in the written assessment?+
At minimum: scope (sites, roles, tasks), measurement method, current controls, residual risk score, additional controls planned, responsible owner, and review date. Many state plans and the proposed OSHA rule require this written record.