Heat Illness Prevention Training in Phoenix, AZ
Heat illness prevention and heat stress awareness training for Arizona employers, built around the ADOSH Heat Stress State Emphasis Program and the workplace heat guidelines the Industrial Commission of Arizona approved on April 9, 2026. Group and corporate bookings at your jobsite or our Phoenix Safety Training Center.
Arizona Has Written Heat Guidelines and an Active Inspection Program
On May 22, 2025, Governor Katie Hobbs signed Executive Order 2025-09, directing the Industrial Commission of Arizona and the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health to convene a Workplace Heat Safety Task Force and produce industry-specific guidance for employers. The task force delivered its final recommendations in December 2025. On April 9, 2026, the Commission unanimously approved those recommendations and folded the resulting employer guidance into Arizona's Heat Stress State Emphasis Program.
Arizona did not adopt a standalone heat standard with fixed temperature triggers the way California did. What was approved is guidance. ADOSH enforces heat hazards through the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, which requires employers to furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
That distinction matters less than it sounds. The State Emphasis Program directs ADOSH inspectors to evaluate heat exposure in outdoor and indoor workplaces, and the published guidance is what establishes a recognized hazard when a citation gets written. An employer with no written heat illness prevention plan and no documented training has little to point to. Training is the fastest and least expensive part of the plan to put in place.
Heat Illness Prevention (Heat Stress Awareness), 2 Hours
A focused course for employees and supervisors who work in or oversee work in high-heat conditions, indoors or outdoors. Covers how the body sheds heat and why the mechanism fails, the progression from heat rash and cramps through heat exhaustion to heat stroke, the risk factors that make one worker go down before another, hydration and electrolytes, shade and preventative cool-down rest, acclimatization for new and returning workers, the added heat burden of clothing and PPE, buddy-system monitoring, and emergency response for a suspected heat stroke. Closes with a walkthrough of the written heat illness prevention plan elements ADOSH expects to see. Certificate of Completion with a 2-year expiration. Class size: 24 maximum.
Aligned to ADOSH Heat Stress State Emphasis Program CPL 03-00-024 and OSH Act Section 5(a)(1)
The Elements of an Arizona Heat Illness Prevention Plan
The approved guidance describes a written heat illness prevention plan built from the following elements. Training is one of them. The course covers all of them, because crews follow the training better when they understand the plan it comes from.
Drinking water
Cool drinking water available to employees, in a quantity and location that makes frequent drinking practical.
Shade and cool-down areas
Shade that is open to the air on at least three sides or mechanically ventilated, and large enough for the employees taking their break to sit in a natural posture without touching each other.
Preventative cool-down rest
Employees may take a preventative cool-down rest whenever they feel they need one, as frequently and for as long as they feel is necessary. It does not require supervisor approval.
An acclimatization plan
A written plan covering acclimated and unacclimated workers, the heat burden added by clothing and personal protective equipment, the individual risk factors that put some workers at higher risk, and re-acclimatizing workers returning from time away.
Training for employees and supervisors
Training made available and understandable to workers, covering heat risk factors, prevention, recognizing and reporting symptoms, first aid, and how to summon emergency medical personnel. Supervisors need it as well, since they make the calls on rest, hydration, and escalation.
Emergency response
Procedures for responding to a suspected heat illness, including how to contact emergency medical services and how to direct them to a worker on a large or remote site.
The Industrial Commission publishes an example heat illness prevention plan and an employer heat safety checklist at azica.gov/heat, and ADOSH offers free consultation visits that do not trigger citations. Arizona has also introduced THERMAL, a voluntary recognition award for employers with strong heat programs.
Course Topics
- Arizona's heat guidance and the ADOSH Heat Stress State Emphasis Program
- General Duty Clause exposure and what inspectors look for
- How the body sheds heat, and why the mechanism fails
- Heat rash, heat cramps, and heat syncope
- Recognizing and responding to heat exhaustion
- Heat stroke as a medical emergency
- Rhabdomyolysis and delayed-onset effects
- Personal risk factors including age, medication, medical conditions, and prior heat illness
- Hydration and electrolyte practice
- Shade, cool-down areas, and preventative rest
- Acclimatization for new and returning workers
- Heat burden from clothing and PPE
- Indoor heat in warehouses, foundries, attics, and vehicles
- Buddy-system monitoring and symptom reporting
- Emergency response and summoning EMS
- Written heat illness prevention plan elements
Built for Employers Whose Crews Work Through an Arizona Summer
Our heat illness prevention training is used by construction and roofing contractors, concrete and paving crews, landscaping and agricultural employers, utilities and linework contractors, warehousing and distribution operations, manufacturing plants and foundries, and any employer whose people work outdoors or in buildings without climate control. Heat is not only an outdoor hazard. The Arizona guidance covers indoor workplaces explicitly, which puts warehouse and foundry employers squarely in scope.
We specialize in group and corporate bookings. Training can be delivered at your facility or jobsite anywhere in Arizona, or at our Phoenix Safety Training Center. Bilingual English and Spanish instruction is available on request. The guidance expects training to reach workers in a language and vocabulary they understand, so it is worth planning for. If you need help building the written plan itself, our safety consulting team can work alongside the training.
Request Group TrainingIndividual seats may be available through our open enrollment schedule. View upcoming classes →
Arizona Heat Training FAQ
Is heat illness prevention training required by law in Arizona?
Arizona does not have a standalone heat-specific OSHA standard. The material approved on April 9, 2026 is employer guidance, not an enforceable heat standard. ADOSH enforces heat hazards through the General Duty Clause, supported by the Heat Stress State Emphasis Program that directs inspectors to look for heat exposure. The practical effect is that the published guidance now establishes what counts as a recognized hazard, so an employer without a plan and without trained workers carries real citation exposure even though no rule names a specific training requirement.
What is the Arizona Heat Stress State Emphasis Program?
The Heat Stress State Emphasis Program (CPL 03-00-024) is an ADOSH enforcement and outreach program targeting heat-related hazards in outdoor and indoor Arizona workplaces. It directs inspectors to evaluate heat exposure and drives programmed inspections in high-risk industries. It was updated effective April 9, 2026 to incorporate the Workplace Heat Safety Task Force recommendations.
Does Arizona set a temperature that triggers heat requirements?
No. Unlike California, which sets numeric trigger temperatures in its heat standard, the Arizona guidance sets no fixed temperature or heat index thresholds. A majority of the task force recommended enforceable rules defining hazardous temperatures and minimum rest periods, and those were not included in the final approved guidance. Arizona employers are expected to assess risk for their own conditions and write the triggers into their own plan.
Do supervisors need separate training?
Supervisors should be trained alongside or in addition to their crews. The guidance calls for supervisor training specifically, because supervisors are the ones deciding when work pauses, whether a rest break is honored, and when a suspected heat illness becomes a call to 911. We can run a combined session or a supervisor-focused one.
How long does it take and where is it delivered?
The standard course runs about 2 hours, in person, at your site anywhere in Arizona or at our Phoenix Safety Training Center. Participants receive a Certificate of Completion valid for 2 years. We can compress it into a toolbox-talk format or extend it with plan-building work for supervisors and safety managers.
Can you help us write the heat illness prevention plan?
Yes. Training and the written plan are separate deliverables, and many employers need both. Our consulting team builds site-specific written programs. ADOSH also publishes a free example plan and offers no-citation consultation visits if you would rather start there.