The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced yesterday the launch of a nationwide competition aimed to raise awareness of the dangers and hazards of heat exposure in both indoor and outdoor workplaces.
According to OSHA’s Beat the Heat Contest webpage, the competition has four main goals:
- Educate stakeholders, especially workers and employers, about heat hazards in the workplace.
- Prevent heat illness by creating an awareness campaign that increases the public’s knowledge about this issue.
- Highlight the dangers of heat; and
- Motivate employers and workers to take action to prevent heat illness.
Contest submissions are open to OSHA stakeholders in all industries. To participate, stakeholders are invited to create and submit an awareness tool or resource that aids in increasing worker and employer knowledge about hazardous heat in the workplace. Submissions will be judged by a panel of subject-matter experts from OSHA and other federal agencies. Winners will be chosen based on the following categories:
- Innovation
- Creativity
- Strength of message
- Best non-English language entry
- Indoor heat emphasis
- Young worker emphasis
All eligible submissions will receive a letter of appreciation from Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Doug Parker. The contest winners will be announced in mid-July and displayed on OSHA’s website, featured in the agency’s QuickTakes and The Heat Source newsletters.
All submissions must be received by June 9, 2023. Visit OSHA’s website for contest rules and submission instructions. Questions regarding participation and eligibility can be sent to heatcampaign@dol.gov.