A new rule proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on heat injury and illness prevention is overly prescriptive and should be amended to allow employers the flexibility to implement alternate procedures that are just as protective as the standards set forth in the proposed rule, the American Public Power Association said in recent comments submitted to OSHA.
“As an industry, we are supportive of a rule that provides more guidance and focus on preventing heat-related injuries and illnesses,” APPA said in the comments, which were developed in collaboration with member utilities, including representatives from the APPA Safety Committee.
“As we reviewed the proposed rule, we believe the current language is overly prescriptive; does not take into account the many types of worksites, including linear and mobile, where outdoor heat injuries can occur; does not adequately address questions and comments raised by the Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR); and could create other serious injuries and fatalities as an unintended consequence,” APPA said.
APPA said the language within the proposed rule is heavily geared towards agriculture and construction work environments at large, static outdoor work environments.
“Like many other industries, electric utility outdoor worksites, such as linear construction projects, repairs to electrical equipment, switching operations, etc., that are constantly changing and moving.”
Further, many employees work in a crew environment “that allows for sharing of heavy loads, and employees are trained to successfully self-pace and implement controls to manage heat exposure. Employers need the flexibility to implement alternate procedures that are just as protective as the standards set forth in the proposed rule,” APPA said.
In addition, APPA said that employee knowledge, reporting, and practices on and off the job greatly impact their ability to prevent and/or recognize early signs of heat-related illnesses.
The proposed rule should be amended to incorporate worker’s responsibilities to implement preventative activities on and off the job, “including understanding predisposing factors; following proper work practices and control procedures; understanding effects of therapeutic drugs, over-the-counter medications, alcohol, caffeine, and lack of proper hydration; and self-implementing preventative measures on and off the job for work readiness,” APPA said. “Focusing on the critical role workers have in reducing heat-related injuries and illnesses is a necessary component.”
APPA also said it is critical that utility workers have the flexibility to rest when and for the duration needed to cool down and not on a prescribed schedule due to the nature of their hazardous and physical work environment, which includes working at significant heights from a pole, tower, or aerial device and during critical tasks, such as de-energizing power lines for other emergency responders.
Because of their awareness and understanding of the need to proactively prevent heat-related illnesses, public power utilities have already adopted effective practices, policies, and procedures to mitigate heat-related illnesses and injuries, it noted.
In anticipated high heat situations, public power utilities use weather forecasts to predict the local high heat index for the following day to provide real-time mitigation strategies as needed, such as shifting of schedules (i.e., start time 5:30 a.m.) to transition most of the work during cooler parts of the day and performing heavy exertion work tasks during cooler parts of the day.
In addition, weather and heat hazards have been specifically built into the Job Safety Briefing module that is a key part of the new on-line eSafety Tracker, which APPA released for its members.
In addition to the general comments above, APPA proposed changes to the language in the proposed rule.
In conclusion, APPA said its members welcome any discussion or follow up necessary to better understand the nature of electric utility worksites, response actions, hazards, and effective alternative means of compliance.
“Public power utilities support providing guidance, clarification, and tools to continue to reduce heat-related injuries and illnesses – much of which has occurred without additional regulations.”
Although APPA’s comments are focused on impacts to the electric utility industry, “many APPA member utilities provide other utility services and have similar concerns over the prescriptive nature of the language set forth in the proposed rule. We encourage OSHA to seriously consider these comments to amend the proposed rule in a manner that provides a path for compliance but is flexible and can provide the same results.”
The full text of the comments submitted by APPA can be found online.
It should be noted that President Trump issued an order on January 20th that halts the federal rulemaking process pending a review by his administration. OSHA’s proposed heat rule is impacted by this order.
