OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the first go-to for training on heat-related illnesses. Summer is associated with water parks, beach days, long lazy afternoons in comfortable chairs, with ice cold drinks, for many people, but for landscapers summer means something totally different. While many companies offer opportunities to begin work earlier in the day when morning temperatures may be more hospitable, many residential contracts don’t appreciate the early morning arrivals. Many municipalities have noise ordinances preventing earlier start times, leaving many landscapers working the bulk of their day in the hottest, sunniest hours.
What are the hazards the landscape crew faces during summer heat and humidity? You have probably faced many of those hazards and understand the importance of frequent breaks in the shade, staying hydrated, and preventing sunburn. You might erroneously think this is healthy, but the UV radiation builds up over the years making skin cancer more likely. Sun exposure requires more concentration on staying hydrated. Loss of liquids through sweating is healthy, but in high humidity for example, the sweat/evaporation loss is diminished and that makes it harder for the body to cool down. Knowing your body’s reaction to heat is essential for maintaining a healthy approach to your work outdoors in the summer and heat of autumn days in New England.
Training new crew members at the beginning of the season and offering review courses is helpful for returnees or seasoned landscape crew members. But it is important to think about heat related illnesses during the mid-season, where we find ourselves now. Some habits which were instilled at the early part of the season may have fallen off the daily check and balance lists at this point, with everyone feeling confident and comfortable with their knowledge and current practices. Facts show that the training at the beginning of each season is only as effective as the refresher courses are to rekindle the health and safety mindset of employees.
It’s not an act of bravery to brush off early signs of heat exhaustion. It should be constantly discussed that at the first sign of a headache, muscle aches or nausea, careful attention should be paid to those symptoms. Rest breaks in shade or air-conditioned vehicles are important, especially when there are multiple consecutive days of high heat or humidity. Crew members should look out for each other. At this point in the busy season, it’s unlikely that muscles are aching from using certain tools – everyone is probably well-conditioned to those early season muscle aches or tired feeling. Recognizing any type of fatigue is imperative to ward off heat related illnesses.
Various prescribed medications can affect the ways our bodies react to extreme heat or repeated long hours outdoors and sunlight. While medical records and prescription information are certainly confidential, it is up to each person to be aware of and to follow the instructions or recommendations on prescriptions, to avoid the problems associated with the warnings about sunlight or heat. Open-minded confidential conversations with crew captains or supervisors should be encouraged and respected in our workplace. Remember, if a company’s culture isn’t being fair and communicating effectively with clients, customers, and team members, and a crew member is out with a medical problem, heat-induced, that could have been avoided, the rest of the crew is taking on additional work.
Keeping a safe and healthy workplace environment will also mean word travels fast – you want to be associated with a company other people want to work for and not the company people want to avoid.
Some professionally vetted sources for training and understanding heat related illnesses and prevention include:
- OSHA – many training modules with one particularly interesting item available — the Heat Safety Tool App for smartphones. This offers the user the way to calculate the heat index factor for their worksite and provides information on that risk level for outdoor work. (OSHA.com)
- CDC (Center for Disease Control) has a heat risk dashboard which offers recommended actions for preventing heat related ill effects (CDC.gov)
- NSC (National Safety Council) offers resources on heat exhaustion and gives first aid recommendations for outdoor workers exposed to heat and sun. (NSC.org)
Speak up for health and safety and in doing so, you show your team members, crew members, supervisors, and even company management how much you care about being the best employee you can be and caring for your colleagues, too. It will soon enough be time for training to switch gears and we’ll discuss hypothermia and frost bite! Don’t wish summer heat to disappear, just wish it to be safe and fruitful!
~ by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP
Midsummer Reminders About Heat-Related Illnesses
2025 • Commentary • News
August 29, 2025
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the first go-to for training on heat-related illnesses. Summer is associated with water parks, beach days, long lazy afternoons in comfortable chairs, with ice cold drinks, for many people, but for landscapers summer means something totally different. While many companies offer opportunities to begin work earlier in the day when morning temperatures may be more hospitable, many residential contracts don’t appreciate the early morning arrivals. Many municipalities have noise ordinances preventing earlier start times, leaving many landscapers working the bulk of their day in the hottest, sunniest hours.
What are the hazards the landscape crew faces during summer heat and humidity? You have probably faced many of those hazards and understand the importance of frequent breaks in the shade, staying hydrated, and preventing sunburn. You might erroneously think this is healthy, but the UV radiation builds up over the years making skin cancer more likely. Sun exposure requires more concentration on staying hydrated. Loss of liquids through sweating is healthy, but in high humidity for example, the sweat/evaporation loss is diminished and that makes it harder for the body to cool down. Knowing your body’s reaction to heat is essential for maintaining a healthy approach to your work outdoors in the summer and heat of autumn days in New England.
Training new crew members at the beginning of the season and offering review courses is helpful for returnees or seasoned landscape crew members. But it is important to think about heat related illnesses during the mid-season, where we find ourselves now. Some habits which were instilled at the early part of the season may have fallen off the daily check and balance lists at this point, with everyone feeling confident and comfortable with their knowledge and current practices. Facts show that the training at the beginning of each season is only as effective as the refresher courses are to rekindle the health and safety mindset of employees.
It’s not an act of bravery to brush off early signs of heat exhaustion. It should be constantly discussed that at the first sign of a headache, muscle aches or nausea, careful attention should be paid to those symptoms. Rest breaks in shade or air-conditioned vehicles are important, especially when there are multiple consecutive days of high heat or humidity. Crew members should look out for each other. At this point in the busy season, it’s unlikely that muscles are aching from using certain tools – everyone is probably well-conditioned to those early season muscle aches or tired feeling. Recognizing any type of fatigue is imperative to ward off heat related illnesses.
Various prescribed medications can affect the ways our bodies react to extreme heat or repeated long hours outdoors and sunlight. While medical records and prescription information are certainly confidential, it is up to each person to be aware of and to follow the instructions or recommendations on prescriptions, to avoid the problems associated with the warnings about sunlight or heat. Open-minded confidential conversations with crew captains or supervisors should be encouraged and respected in our workplace. Remember, if a company’s culture isn’t being fair and communicating effectively with clients, customers, and team members, and a crew member is out with a medical problem, heat-induced, that could have been avoided, the rest of the crew is taking on additional work.
Keeping a safe and healthy workplace environment will also mean word travels fast – you want to be associated with a company other people want to work for and not the company people want to avoid.
Some professionally vetted sources for training and understanding heat related illnesses and prevention include:
Speak up for health and safety and in doing so, you show your team members, crew members, supervisors, and even company management how much you care about being the best employee you can be and caring for your colleagues, too. It will soon enough be time for training to switch gears and we’ll discuss hypothermia and frost bite! Don’t wish summer heat to disappear, just wish it to be safe and fruitful!
~ by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP
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