July 2016 Newsletter

• FDRsafety VP Brad Giles receives top honor from Board of Certified Safety Professionals
• Heat Illness: Are Your Employees Protected?

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FDRsafety VP Brad Giles receives top honor from Board of Certified Safety Professionals

FDRsafety is proud to share the news that company Vice President Brad Giles has received a top honor from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, the 2016 Award of Excellence.

The award, which is in its sixth year, goes to one safety professional and honors their contributions to the safety profession and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

Before joining FDRsafety, Brad served as Senior Vice President of Safety, Health & Environment for AECOM’s Energy, Infrastructure & Industrial Construction Operating Group, and held a similar position with legacy company URS Corporation.

In this role, he initiated the first alliance between the OSHA and a private company. Giles also was instrumental in helping the company become the first engineering and construction company approved under OSHA’s Corporate Voluntary Protection Program.

Brad is a past President and Director of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He is a society Fellow with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), was twice awarded the President’s Award for his work with the Future Safety Leaders program and with young professionals, and received the foundation’s Distinguished Service Award. He is a member of the National Safety Advisory Committee for the Associated General Contractors, a Director at Large in ASSE, and a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the Health and Safety Program at Murray State University.

Heat Illness: Are Your Employees Protected?

By Fred Wilton

Living out here in California, we have many parts of our state that can get very hot and stay that way all summer long. One of the best things I have seen CAL/OSHA do in the past few years is address the hazards of working in hot environments through their Heat Illness Prevention law.

These hot environments, of course, occur all across the country, and in some industries can occur year-round. The law gives detailed information to employers on how to provide a workplace that gives everyone access to rest, water and shade when the temperature reaches 80 degrees or above.

Some important highlights of this law include:

Provide fresh, pure and suitably cool water at the amount of at least one quart per employee per hour.
Provide shaded areas that are open to the air, ventilated or cooled to accommodate all workers on recovery or rest periods.
Encourage employees to take preventative cool-down rest periods and monitor employees for signs and symptoms of heat illness.
Develop emergency response procedures to address employees who may be suffering from a heat-related illness.
Acclimatize employees who are not used to working in a high-heat environment, including heat waves that may occur in their workplace.
Train employees and supervisors on recognizing and responding to heat-related illness along with the procedures of their company’s written Heat Illness Prevention Program.

There are additional requirements that kick in once the temperature meets or exceeds 95 degrees as the risk for heat related illness becomes greater. CAL/OSHA has an excellent web page to educate both workers and employers on their Heat Illness Prevention law.

Please keep in mind that although CAL/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention law does not apply to other state or federal OSHA programs, it is still a great resource for employers who have workers in hot environments no matter where they may be located.

After all, great safety programs should not have boundaries!

Fred Wilton is Western Regional Business Manager for FDRsafety, based in Southern California. Contact him at fwilton@fdrsafety.com or 1-888-755-8010.