Developed by leading OEHS heat safety experts from the AIHA’s Thermal Stress Working Group in partnership with East Carolina University, the AIHA Heat Stress Mobile App is an easy-to-use, free tool that allows users to input information that will factor into their overall heat stress risk and provide an individualized assessment including:
- Location (multiple locations can be selected)
- Intensity of workload (users can select light, moderate, heavy, very heavy)
- Clothing type (users can choose from six different options)
- Cloud coverage (degree of sun exposure)
- Preferred language (English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese)
By combining the data provided with local weather data from the user’s local National Weather Service, the app calculates the individual’s Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index—the gold standard for evaluating heat stress that incorporates air temperature, relative humidity, wind, and radiant heat—and associated heat stress risk level. The app delivers heat alerts based on the user’s work schedule and their location’s current heat stress risk level, as well as health recommendations such as rest breaks and water consumption based on their individual risk level. Additional resources available include fast reads on recommended heat stress prevention measures, warning signs of heat-related illness, and first aid recommendations to assist a worker in distress. The app also allows managers to manually input data about their workers and take heat stress precautions in real time.
“As climate change continues, AIHA recognizes the need to better protect workers from heat stress—which is why our team of occupational and environmental health and safety experts worked so diligently to develop an app that can more accurately gauge heat stress risks in real time, unlike any tool offered previously,” said Lawrence D. Sloan, CEO of AIHA. “We encourage outdoor workers and employers, large and small, to use our new app to safeguard workers from heat-related illnesses associated with heat stress.”
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