Skip to main content
AOHC 2026 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Item
Ticketed Item
Session Not Recorded
Session Not Recorded
Coffee Available
Coffee Available
Food Available
Food Available
NO CME
NO CME
Emerging Topic
Emerging Topic
Session Evaluation

AOHC 2026 Concurrent Sessions

Hazard Recognition, Evaluation, and Control

409 - Template for Heat Stress Management Programs

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM CT
Location: Sheraton Ballroom V
Claim 1.0 CME

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.


Disclosure(s):

Thomas E. Bernard, PhD, CIH FAIHA: No financial relationships to disclose
Session Description: Heat stress management is clearly required for many outdoor and indoor workplaces. OSHA has proposed a new rule for occupational heat stress and the ACGIH has published a guideline document in addition to the guidance offered by the NIOSH criteria document. There are key elements of heat stress management across these proposals for heat stress management. A template was developed and tested with companies in the southeast. This template can be used to develop individualized written heat stress management programs. It is the purpose of this presentation to walk attendees through the template and supporting Excel workbooks. The result will be an individual program or the basic understanding to help others develop heat stress management programs.

Educational Gaps: There are many recommendations to manage heat stress. The gap is the lack of a coherent and concise view of the problem and the essential content to address heat stress and emergency response.

Is this session being sponsored by an ACOEM Section or Component?: No.

Has this session previously been presented?: In safety and industrial hygiene venues. Never presented to ACOEM members or others with a clinical and health management perspective.

The AOHC 2026 theme is Healthy workers. Healthy world: Preserving the health and wellbeing of workers exposed to heat stress is the principal focus of this session. The outcome is a reduction in heat-related illness and accidents that can harm the person, coworkers, the employer and the environment.

Learning Objectives:

  • Prepare a written program of heat stress management that is informed by the OSHA draft rule, the ACGIH guidelines and the 2016 NIOSH criteria document.
  • Relate the key elements of heat stress management in terms of managing probability of a heat-related illness and managing the consequences of a heat-related illness.
  • Describe the general purposes of interventions and propose specific interventions.