SEAA Submits Comments on OSHA's Proposed Heat Rule

SEAA, on behalf of its members, submitted comments to OSHA's proposed rule on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. The comments were developed with input from member companies and SEAA's Safety & Education Committee.

January 9, 2025

The Steel Erectors Association of America is comprised of more than 360 member companies representing erectors, fabricators, general contractors, services and suppliers. While the Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) supports protecting workers from heat-related illness and injury, we are concerned about unintended consequences that may result from compliance with some of the language in the proposed rules.

We feel there should be more emphasis on acclimatization to the climate of the workers. For example, workers acclimated to high humidity and temperatures working in warmer climates will have a much higher tolerance than workers acclimated to cooler climates. This makes the 80-degree trigger temperature extremely low for people used to working in warmer climates. We recommend basing triggers by geographic areas and worker acclimatization history.

Break times for steel erection crews will far exceed the 15-minute requirement due to the time required to make the active erection area safe, plus time to descend to the ground and walk to the break area. The required 15-minute break time will likely result in complete lost work times of up to 20 to 30 minutes per instance. Another unintended consequence is the added stress to workers that are required to climb and descend multi-level structures where it is not feasible to provide break areas at elevation.

Increased mandatory break times will drastically slow progress of the work, which will likely result in owners and controlling contractors demanding accelerated schedules to complete projects on time. This will greatly decrease the number of days off the employees will have during the course of a project due to working weekends and holidays to make up time. In addition to the impact this has on the physical and mental health of workers, this will increase workers’ compensation insurance costs due to increased work hours.

The proposed rule may also encourage owners and controlling contractors to require nighttime work to avoid working in the heat of the day which greatly increases risk for steel erection activities.

In closing we feel our members are vigilant in protecting their workforce from heat-related illness and injury and are always looking for ways to improve safety and quality of life for their employees. While we support increased awareness of heat-related illness and injury, we feel some of the unintended consequences could result in increased stress and risk of injury for our workforce.

Respectfully,
Jason Farris
Chairman, Safety and Education Committee
Steel Erectors Association of America