Vector Solutions, a provider of training, compliance, and performance management solutions for critical industrial sectors, announced that the company's heat stress courses saw a milestone 60,000 completions and a 25% increase in year-over-year usage statistics following a season of extreme heat across the globe. The company is planning for an even larger increase in demand in 2024 as organizations focus on safety and compliance training to reduce risk and protect their employees.

In 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created an emphasis program to help employers better protect their employees and reduce the number of deaths and injuries due to heat-related issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are 702 deaths, 67,512 ER visits, and 9,235 individuals hospitalized per year due to environmental heat exposure. While OSHA is in the process of developing a potential heat-specific workplace standard, several states have already implemented their own heat stress standards to assist with this ongoing concern. As the Earth's average temperature became the hottest on record in 2023, it is essential for organizations to enact a prevention-based strategy that includes educating employees to recognize the symptoms of heat-related illnesses and to know which ones require emergency care.

Industries where workers are at an increased risk of heat stress include construction, mining, manufacturing, utilities, and transportation. Vector Solutions' heat stress courses educate employees on a range of critical heat stress topics including:

• Heat Stress Causes: This course shares how to keep oneself and other workers safe while working in extreme temperatures, including background on how the body reacts to heat and the causes of heat stress. Additionally, viewers learn the different factors that affect how individuals tolerate heat.
• Heat Stress Symptoms and Prevention: This course discusses the different forms of heat stress, including heat rash, heat cramps, heat syncope (fainting), heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Viewers learn to recognize the signs, symptoms, and treatment needed for each one of these conditions along with next steps for each, whether it's a simple action or hospitalization.

The company is continuing to develop new resources for heat stress that resonate with today's frontline workers including case studies and microlearning modules.

"As workers deal with rising rates of extreme weather across the country, consistent heat stress training is critical for employee safety and making sure all teams can recognize the symptoms of heat-related illnesses," said Clare Epstein, General Manager of Commercial at Vector Solutions. "The record high usage of Vector Solutions' two heat stress courses demonstrates the mounting importance of having this knowledge on hand for all employees and that it's essential in preventing medical emergencies and, ultimately, saving lives."

Informed by the latest scientific and medical findings as well as OSHA and state labor agencies' recommended standards, these courses provide critical information and in-depth training for the commercial sector. Vector Solutions' Heat Stress Causes course is free to anyone via Vector Cares. Vector Cares, a social good program, includes free access to selected courses that cover a range of safety and well-being topics. As temperatures continue to reach new heights, it's essential that individuals have access to life-saving heat stress prevention resources in order to make their organizations and communities a better, safer place.

To learn more about the heat stress courses and other health and safety training from Vector Solutions, click here.