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Heat illness prevention plan template
A written heat illness prevention plan for one site, filled in on a phone and kept with the job. It follows the headings in California's outdoor heat rule, title 8 section 3395: water (with the quantity for your crew and shift worked out), shade and cool-down rests, high-heat procedures, acclimatization and emergency response with clear directions to the site. Then a training record, a daily heat log with the measured temperature and the checks made, and a record of each cool-down rest. Indoor work areas get the section 3396 prompts. For the crew briefing, use the toolbox talk template.
For superintendents, foremen and safety managers on California construction, landscaping and other outdoor jobs who need the written plan on site and a record that it is being followed.
- Every heading section 3395(i) asks for: water, shade, high-heat procedures, emergency response, acclimatization
- Water for the crew worked out at one quart per person per hour for the shift
- Daily heat log: forecast and measured temperature, high-heat procedures, water and shade checks
- A record of each cool-down rest: time, minutes in the shade, signs or symptoms, back to work
- Training record, actions with owners, and two signatures
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What must a heat illness prevention plan include in California?
A heat plan is useful when it is about this site: where the water and shade actually are, who checks the thermometer and when, who watches which crew, and directions an ambulance can follow. The daily log then shows the plan being used: the temperature, whether high-heat procedures were in effect, and each cool-down rest.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 27 October 2026 against California Code of Regulations, title 8, section 3395, heat illness prevention in outdoor places of employment, California Code of Regulations, title 8, section 3396, heat illness prevention in indoor places of employment and Federal Register, Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings (proposed rule notice, 25 September 2025).
How to write a heat illness prevention plan for a site
Write it before the hot weather starts and before anyone works in the heat, then keep the daily log in the same record.
Set up the plan
Enter the site, the employer, whether the work is outdoor, indoor or both, and the industry. Add the crew size and shift length, the languages the plan is written in and where it is kept on site.
Water and shade
Say where the water is, who fills it and how it is topped up; the form works out the quantity for a full shift. Describe the shade, where it is, who puts it up, how many it seats, and the cool-down rest procedure.
High-heat procedures and acclimatization
Say who checks the temperature and how, how workers reach a supervisor, how they are observed, who may call emergency services, and the pre-shift meeting. Then what changes on a heat wave day and how new workers are observed.
Emergency response
Write the directions to the site so they can be read out on the phone, who meets the ambulance, the nearest emergency room and the first aid the crew gives. Photograph the entrance.
Train, then log each day
Record who was trained and when. Each working day, log the forecast and measured temperature, whether high-heat procedures were in effect and the water and shade checks, and record every cool-down rest.
Act on gaps and sign
The form flags any day with a gap. Add actions with owners and dates, and sign the plan.
What makes a heat illness prevention plan useful
The daily heat log: measured temperature, high-heat procedures, water and shade checks
Medical office build in Indio, 7 October: forecast 99°F, 98°F measured at noon in full sun. High-heat procedures in effect, pre-shift meeting held, shade up. Water marked not OK: the level 2 cooler ran empty at about 1:30 pm while the reserve was in the office. Refilled by 1:45 pm, a second cooler carried up, and an action added to keep two full coolers on the deck.
Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.
A common recording mistake
Downloading a generic plan, filing it in the office and never writing down the temperature, so on the hottest day nobody knows whether high-heat procedures should have started.
What happens next
Train everyone before the hot weather, log every working day, and review the plan after any day with a gap or any heat illness signs.
Try the heat illness prevention plan form live
Answer a few questions and watch it adapt. Your answers are not saved, and any photos you add are deleted within the hour.
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Want to see one filled in? See a completed heat illness prevention plan report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Every question in the heat illness prevention plan template
A written heat illness prevention plan for a California site under title 8 section 3395 (and 3396 for indoor work): water with the quantity worked out, shade and cool-down rests, high-heat procedures at 95°F, acclimatization, emergency response with directions to the site, a training record, then a daily heat log and a record of each cool-down rest. 9 sections and 109 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
- General contractor or client: the project's customer
Site and plan details
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- General contractor or clientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Plan date*Date
- Plan prepared by*Short answer
- Employer*Short answer
- Work covered*Choose one
- Outdoor work (section 3395)
- Indoor work (section 3396)
- Both outdoor and indoor work
- Industry*Choose one
- Construction
- Agriculture
- Landscaping
- Oil and gas extraction
- Transport or delivery of agricultural products, construction materials or other heavy materials
- Other
- Plan covers fromDate
- UntilDate
- Most people on site at once*Number
- Usual shift length (hours)*Number
- Languages the plan is written in*Short answer
English and the language understood by most of the crew.
- Where the plan is kept on siteShort answer
- Person in charge of the plan on siteShort answer
- Weather on siteAnswer
- GuidanceCalifornia. Section 3395 of title 8 requires an employer with outdoor workers to have a written heat illness prevention plan, in English and the language understood by most of the employees, available at the worksite. At a minimum it covers water and shade, high-heat procedures, emergency response and acclimatization (3395(i)). This form holds the plan and the daily checks; putting it into practice is what counts.
- GuidanceIndoor work. Section 3396 applies to indoor work areas at 82°F or above while employees are present, with more duties where the temperature or heat index reaches 87°F, or at 82°F where clothing restricts heat removal or there is high radiant heat. Its plan items can sit in this plan (3396(i)); check section 3396 for the measuring and control duties.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckSection 3395 high-heat procedures (page 4) are required only in construction, agriculture, landscaping, oil and gas extraction and heavy-material transport or delivery. You can still use them.Shown when “Industry” is “Other”
Water
- GuidanceDrinking water must be fresh, pure, suitably cool, free of charge and as close as practicable to where people work. Where it is not plumbed, have enough at the start of the shift for one quart per employee per hour for the whole shift, or less with an effective way to top it up (3395(c)).
- Water supply*Choose one
- Plumbed or continuously supplied
- Containers or coolers
- Both
- Quarts for a full shift at one quart per person per hourWorked out by the form
- GallonsWorked out by the form
- Where the water is kept*Notes
Near each work area.
- Who fills it, how it is kept cool and how it is topped up during the shift*Notes
- How drinking is encouragedNotes
For example cups at each cooler, reminders at breaks.
- Photos of the water stationsPhotos
Shade and cool-down rests
- GuidanceAbove 80°F shade must be up all the time people are on site, enough for everyone on a rest or recovery period to sit fully in the shade without touching, and as close as practicable. At 80°F or below, provide it or give timely access on request (3395(d)).Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Shade provided by*Tick all that apply
- Pop-up canopies
- Shade structure or trailer awning
- Building or structure on site
- Trees
- Air-conditioned vehicle, running
- Other cooling measures
- Other cooling measures and why they work as well as shadeNotesShown when “Shade provided by” includes “Other cooling measures”
- Where the shade is, and who puts it up when*Notes
- People the shade holds at once, seatedNumber
- Cool-down rest procedure*Notes
How anyone can take a rest in the shade at any time, how they are checked on, and when they go back to work.
- GuidanceAnyone taking a preventative cool-down rest is checked for symptoms, encouraged to stay in the shade and not sent back to work until any signs have gone, and never in less than 5 minutes plus the time to reach the shade (3395(d)(3)).
- Indoor cool-down areaShort answer
Kept below 82°F unless that is infeasible (3396(d)(1)).
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant - Photos of the shadePhotos
High-heat procedures
- GuidanceHigh-heat procedures start when the temperature reaches 95°F. Temperature here means the dry bulb reading in full sun, with the sensor shaded from direct sunlight while it is read (3395(b), (e)).
- Who checks the temperature, how and when*Notes
Thermometer and forecast, times of day, where it is recorded.
- How workers reach a supervisor*Notes
Voice, radio or phone. A phone counts only where reception is reliable.
- How workers are observed for alertness and signs of heat illness*Choose one
- Supervisor or designee observing 20 or fewer workers
- Mandatory buddy system
- Regular radio or phone contact with a lone worker
- Other effective means
- Who observes whomNotes
- People authorized to call emergency medical services*Short answer
Anyone else may call when none of them is available.
- Pre-shift meeting on high-heat daysNotes
Review the procedures, encourage water, remind everyone of their right to a cool-down rest.
- How workers are reminded to drink water through the shiftNotes
- CheckAgriculture: at 95°F or above each employee takes at least a ten minute net preventative cool-down rest every two hours (3395(e)(6)).Shown when “Industry” is “Agriculture”
- Indoor: how temperature and heat index are measured and recorded, and the controls usedNotes
Section 3396(e): record the greater of temperature and heat index with date, time and location.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Acclimatization
- GuidanceDuring a heat wave, everyone is closely observed by a supervisor or designee. A heat wave day is one forecast to reach at least 80°F and at least 10°F above the average high of the previous five days. A worker newly assigned to a high heat area is closely observed for their first 14 days (3395(g)).
- What changes on a heat wave day*Notes
For example earlier start, extra breaks, closer observation.
- How new workers are eased in and observed for their first 14 days*Notes
- Who does the close observationShort answer
Emergency response
- How to call emergency medical services*Short answer
For example 911 from a cell phone.
- Cell reception reliable across the site?*Yes or No
- Other way to summon help*Short answerShown when “Cell reception reliable across the site?” is No
- Directions to the site for emergency responders*Notes
Entrance, cross streets, gate code, where to meet. Clear enough to read out on the phone.
- Who meets the ambulanceShort answer
- Nearest emergency room or clinicShort answer
- First aid for signs of heat illness*Notes
What the crew does while help is coming.
- WarningSevere signs, such as decreased consciousness, staggering, vomiting, disorientation, irrational behavior or convulsions, mean emergency response. A worker with any signs or symptoms is watched, never left alone, and not sent home without being offered first aid or emergency medical services (3395(f)(2)).
- If needed, how a worker is taken to where an ambulance can reach themNotes
- Photos of the site entrance and meeting pointPhotos
Training
- GuidanceEveryone is trained before work with a risk of heat illness: risk factors, this plan, water (small amounts often, up to 4 cups an hour), acclimatization, types and signs of heat illness, reporting symptoms, and how emergency help is called and directed to the site. Supervisors also learn their duties under the plan and how to watch weather reports and respond to hot weather advisories (3395(h)).
- Training recordRepeat for each person. Each one asks:
- Name*Short answer
- Role*Choose one
- Supervisor
- Worker
- Trained on*Date
- Trained byShort answer
- LanguageShort answer
- People trainedWorked out by the form
- SupervisorsWorked out by the form
- How supervisors follow the forecast and heat advisoriesNotes
Daily heat log and cool-down rests
- hh_requiredWorked out by the form
- Daily heat checksRepeat for each day. Each one asks:
- Date*Date
- Forecast high (°F)Number
- Measured temperature (°F)Number
- Measured atTime
- Temperature bandWorked out by the form
- Heat wave day?Yes or No
- High-heat procedures in effect?*Yes or No
- Pre-shift heat meeting held?Yes or NoShown when “High-heat procedures in effect?” is Yes
- Water checked: enough, cool and close?*Yes or No
- Shade checked: up and big enough?*Yes or No
- Cool-down rests takenNumber
- ObservationsNotes
- Issues and what was doneNotes
- Checked by*Short answer
- d_flagWorked out by the form
- CheckWorked out by the form
- PhotosPhotos
- Days loggedWorked out by the form
- High-heat daysWorked out by the form
- Days with a gapWorked out by the form
- WarningA day shows a gap: water not checked, no shade above 80°F, or no high-heat procedures at 95°F or above. Say what was done in that day.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Cool-down restsRepeat for each rest. Each one asks:
- Date*Date
- StartedTime
- Worker (initials or ID)*Short answer
- Why*Choose one
- Worker asked for a rest
- Supervisor suggested a rest
- Signs or symptoms of heat illness
- Minutes in the shadeNumber
- Rest lengthWorked out by the form
- Signs or symptoms seen or reported?*Yes or No
- First aid given and who stayed with themNotesShown when “Signs or symptoms seen or reported?” is Yes
- Emergency medical services called?Yes or NoShown when “Signs or symptoms seen or reported?” is Yes
- Back to work atTime
- Monitored byShort answer
- Rests recordedWorked out by the form
- With signs or symptomsWorked out by the form
Actions and sign-off
- Items needing actionWorked out by the form
- ResultWorked out by the form
- ActionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:
- Action*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Today
- Before the next hot day
- Before the season
- Who will do it*Short answer
- Due byDate
- Status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Done, checked
- Photo when donePhotosShown when “Status” is “Done, checked”
- Actions still openWorked out by the form
- Decision*Choose one
- Plan in place for this site
- Plan in place: actions to finish
- Plan not ready: review before hot work
- Next check or re-inspection dateDate
- Summary for the clientNotes
- Plan prepared by nameShort answer
- Plan prepared by signature*Signature
- Site supervisor nameShort answer
- Site supervisor signatureSignature
See it filled in
A completed heat illness prevention plan report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Heat illness prevention plan FAQs
At what temperature do high-heat procedures start?
When the temperature equals or exceeds 95°F (section 3395(e)). They are required in construction, agriculture, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transport or delivery of agricultural products, construction materials or other heavy materials. Temperature means the dry bulb reading in full sun, with the sensor shielded from direct sunlight while it is read (section 3395(b)).
When must shade be up on site?
When the temperature in the work area is above 80°F, shade must be present at all times while employees are there, enough for everyone on a rest or recovery period to sit in a normal posture fully in the shade without touching. At 80°F or below, provide it or give timely access on request. Anyone may take a preventative cool-down rest in the shade at any time, and is not ordered back to work until any signs or symptoms have gone, and never in less than 5 minutes plus the time to reach the shade (section 3395(d)).
How much water does the crew need?
Where drinking water is not plumbed or continuously supplied, the employer provides enough at the start of the shift for one quart per employee per hour for the whole shift, or starts with less and has an effective way to top it up during the shift (section 3395(c)). The form multiplies your crew size by the shift length to give the quarts and gallons.
Does indoor work need a heat illness prevention plan?
In California, section 3396 covers indoor work areas where the temperature reaches 82°F while employees are present, with more duties where the temperature or heat index reaches 87°F, or at 82°F where employees wear clothing that restricts heat removal or work in a high radiant heat area. Its plan items can be included in the section 3395 plan. Choose indoor or both on page 1 and the form adds the indoor prompts.
Is there a federal OSHA heat standard?
OSHA has proposed a national standard, Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. The most recent Federal Register notice on it that we found, dated 25 September 2025, still treats it as a proposed rule and extended the post-hearing comment period. Check its current status before relying on it. This form is written for California's rules.
Does filling in this form make us compliant?
No. It holds your written plan and the daily record of what was done. Compliance depends on the plan being effective and actually followed on site: water and shade there when they are needed, trained supervisors watching the crew, and emergency procedures that work. Use the daily log and the cool-down rest record to show what happened each day.
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