Summer is here, and with it comes our annual reminder about the dangers of working in hot environments, and the precautions necessary to reduce or eliminate potentially deadly heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Other illnesses such as heat cramps and heat rash are painful conditions that can increase a worker's risk of injury.

Helping employees avoid heat-related disorders requires employers to monitor the workplace and the environment. OSHA's heat safety tool app, available for Android and iPhones, can help them do just that. It uses the phone's location to display the current temperature and humidity and calculate the heat index for the worksite. A Spanish language version of the app is also available.

The app also displays the risk level to employees and suggests measures to protect workers, including information on:

For more information about safety while working in the heat, see OSHA's heat illness webpage, including new online guidance about using the heat index to protect workers.