Cold Work Warm-up Break Schedule
BENEFITS
Working outside in cold weather can endanger your workers and lead to frostbite, hypothermia and other conditions. So if your workers work outside in the winter or are exposed to cold weather conditions, you should have a cold stress policy or cold exposure control plan that spells out the safe work practices to be used to protect workers, including a warm-up break schedule.
HOW TO USE THE TOOL
This cold work warm-up schedule applies to moderate to heavy physical work activity in any four-hour period and to workers wearing dry clothing. At the end of the four-hour period, an extended break in a warm location is expected. Warm-up breaks should provide 10 minutes in a warm environment. Incorporate this schedule into your cold stress policy or cold exposure control plan and make sure that all supervisors and workers are trained on it.
Note that warm-up breaks aren’t intended to replace established cold weather work practices, such as the wearing of appropriate clothing and use of portable heaters.
OTHER RESOURCES: