August 2026 Volume 8

SAFETY

OSHA REVEALS PLANS FOR HEAT ILLNESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE RULES

H eat exposure is not limited to outdoor work. For forging operations, furnaces, presses, heat-treating equipment, and other hot processes can create significant indoor heat hazards. This update from EHS Hero outlines OSHA’s latest regulatory plans for heat illness prevention and emergency response, as well as potential changes to lockout/tagout requirements. OSHA Reveals Plans for Final Heat Illness, Emergency Response Rules The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently revealed plans to issue final rules for heat illness prevention and emergency response. In the Department of Labor’s (DOL) summary of its 2026 regulatory plan, it states that OSHA would finalize the heat illness prevention standard it first proposed in 2024, with plans to avoid excessive employer burdens identified by commenters. OSHA still relies on the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act’s General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) to protect workers from heat hazards. It states that a standard specific to heat related injury and illness prevention would more clearly establish enforceable employer obligations for protecting workers from excessive heat. OSHA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in 2021. Since then, the agency has taken several steps to develop a standard: • OSHA held a virtual public stakeholder meeting. • It established a Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). • The Work Group presented its recommendations to the full committee, and the NACOSH submitted the recommendations to OSHA. • The agency convened a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel to conduct a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) review of the rulemaking. • The agency presented its framework for the proposed rule to the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH). • The agency published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings in 2024. The public comment period for the NPRM closed on January 14, 2025. From June 16, 2025, through July 2, 2025, OSHA held an informal public hearing to receive additional public input, and the hearing was extended to October 30, 2025. According to the DOL’s regulatory plan, OSHA will issue a supplemental NPRM in December.

In 2024, OSHA issued an emergency response proposed rule to replace its decades-old fire brigades standard. OSHA currently regulates aspects of emergency response under several standards, but a new rule would offer the regulated community a comprehensive emergency response standard. According to the DOL’s regulatory plan, OSHA will issue a final rule in April 2027. OSHA will also propose a comprehensive industry-specific standard for the tree care industry and amend its lockout/tagout standard to recognize new control technologies that both reduce employers’ costs and improve worker safety. Stay Current with EHS Hero EHS Hero is available as an included benefit to FIA member companies, providing safety professionals with access to the latest regulatory news, training presentations, toolbox talks, compliance guidance, and customizable safety resources. FIA members who need access to EHS Hero may contact Tricia Abruzzino at tricia@forging.org.

SUPPLIERS GUIDE AND RFQ

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30 FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2026