The HeatAlert™ is the first of its kind in heat index detection, as it does much more than just a thermometer.The HeatAlert® will monitor temperature and humidity, using wet bulb/dry bulb algorithms, convert the reading to Heat Index (NOAA/OSHA standard), alerting you and your employees when it is at moderate risk (amber flashing LED), and high risk (red flashing LED). This allows you to know when to enact your companies Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), in accordance to the NOAA/OSHA standards, keeping your facility safer from heat-related illnesses.

Heat index is described as: “a measure indicating the level of discomfort the average person is thought to experience as a result of the combined effects of the temperature and humidity of the air.” We need to be able to know the heat index, not just the temperature, as this is what NOAA/OSHA uses as a measurement of when to start to use caution for your facility to prevent heat-related illness. 

Expect a 4-6 week lead time

There are two versions of the HeatAlert™, one for indoors, one for outdoors. The indoor is meant to be used in a facility that can get hot, such as a processing or manufacturing plant, around heavy indoor machinery that can heat a building up, etc. The outdoor application is great for construction sites that are in warmer regions, military uses on base or overseas on deployment for training exercises, etc.

You can either purchase the HeatAlert™ directly through us, or one of our many safety distributors, which you can find on our website. 

With rising global temperatures and increasing severity of extreme weather events, OSHA recognizes the dangers of workplace heat in both indoor and outdoor work environments. To reduce the risks, OSHA created a standard by which these dangerous conditions can be measured and they have defined mitigating procedures which must be implemented to reduce heat stress injuries, and fatalities. 

The National Weather Service (NWS) uses a heat index to classify environmental heat into four categories: 

Caution                          (80 F - 90 F HI)

Extreme Caution        (91 F - 103 F HI)

Danger                            (103 F - 124 F HI)

Extreme Danger          (125 F or higher HI)  

OSHA recognizes that a heat index of 80 degrees F or higher may result in serious occupational heat related illnesses or injuries and these injuries are becoming more frequent especially in work zones where workers are performing strenuous work. The heat index may be a result of ambient temperatures and humidity or the source may be radiant heat from work processes or equipment. 

If you are an employer with more than 10 employees you must be in compliance with OSHA’s workplace heat stress alleviation policy. 

The first step is to monitor, measure, calculate, and record the heat index in every work zone.  It’s not enough to measure the heat index in one location and assume the index is the same across all work zones.  Microclimate are present in large work zones, created by sun exposure, overhead shade, ventilation, air flow, equipment, and other acerbating or mitigating environmental factors. 

The best way to measure the index is with HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations.  These OSHA compliant tools calculate the heat index 24/7 and are calibrated to OSHA’s hazard categories. When the index exceeds either the caution, extreme caution, or danger levels strobe lights flash to alert employees that the heat index has reached a dangerous level.  

HeatAlert™ also records these measurements, and can send an email to a supervisor when the index exceeds a safe level so supervisors can monitor the workforce and implement safety protocols.  

Additionally, OSHA compliance requires that you have a written Heat Illness Alleviation policy and that you train workers in the recognition of the symptoms of heat stress and follow OSHA guidelines to protect your workers. 

You can download a free guideline for creating your own Heat Illness Mitigation Policy here 

and read more about OSHA’s heat reduction guidelines here.

If you are an employer with fewer than 10 employees you may not need to worry about OSHA compliance, but your workers are just as much at risk as workers in larger organizations.  The same procedures are recommended to protect your workers.  

Develop a Heat Illness Mitigation Policy, 

Train your workers to recognize the symptoms of heat illness, 

Use HeatAlert™ to monitor and warn employees when the heat index reaches a dangerous level.

Heat stress or heat illness can range from dizziness to death.  It sneaks up on its victims which makes it all the more dangerous.  People who are not well acclimated to an elevated heat index are the most vulnerable so give yourself and your employees time to adjust to the rising temperatures.  The danger is not just in high temperatures because the presence of high humidity exacerbates the effect. The heat index is a calculation of both the air temperature and the humidity and the index is often described as what the temperature "feels like.”  It may only be 80 degrees outside but the high humidity makes it feel like 103 degrees and the effect on your body is closer to the 103 degree "feels like" temperature than the 80 degree air temperature.   

The symptoms of heat stress (heat illness) are dizziness, headache, muscle cramps, weakness, either profuse perspiration or the absence of perspiration, vomiting, high internal body temperature, unconsciousness, organ failure, and death.  OHSA records an average of 35 people die on-the-job each year from heat illness, but the number is believed to be under reported, because many deaths are recorded as heart attacks but the cause of the heart attack may well have been excessive heat exposure.

A heat index of only 80 degrees can be deadly.   Additionally, exposure to radiant heat sources or working in confined spaces will elevate the danger of heat stress, as will wearing heavy protective clothing. Other aggravating factors must also be considered, such as, having on access to cool liquids or not taking time away from strenuous work duties to cool down.  Unfortunately, employees often ignore the early warning signs of heat illness until it’s too late. At that stage, they could be experiencing organ failure, leading to deaths.   People have died from heat illness in as little as one hour of exposure. Heat Illness is a serious condition and must not be ignored.