Delphi method scoring for consensus statement for occupational heat safety

The purpose of this consensus document was to develop feasible, evidence-based occupational heat safety recommendations to protect U.S workers that experience heat stress. Heat safety recommendations were created to protect worker health and to avoid productivity losses associated with occupational heat stress. Recommendations were tailored to be utilized by safety managers, industrial hygienists, and the employers who bear responsibility for implementing heat safety plans. An interdisciplinary roundtable comprised of 51 experts was assembled to create a narrative review summarizing current data and gaps in knowledge within eight heat safety topics: (1) heat hygiene, (2) hydration, (3) heat acclimatization, (4) environmental monitoring, (5) physiological monitoring, (6) body cooling, (7) textiles and personal protective gear, and (8) emergency action plan implementation. The consensus-based recommendations for each topic were created using the Delphi method and evaluated based on scientific evidence, feasibility and clarity. The current document presents 40 occupational heat safety recommendations across all eight topics. Establishing these recommendations will help organizations and employers create effective heat safety plans for their workplace, address factors that limit the implementation of heat safety best-practices and protect worker health and productivity.本共识文件旨在制定可行且基于证据的职业热安全建议，以保护遭受热应激的美国劳动者。制定热安全建议的目的在于保障劳动者健康，避免职业热应激带来的生产效率损失。本建议专为安全管理人员、工业卫生师以及负责落实热安全计划的雇主设计。本次研究组建了由51名专家组成的跨学科圆桌会议团队，针对8项热安全主题开展叙述性综述，梳理现有数据与知识空白：(1)热卫生（heat hygiene）、(2)补水（hydration）、(3)热习服（heat acclimatization）、(4)环境监测（environmental monitoring）、(5)生理监测（physiological monitoring）、(6)身体降温（body cooling）、(7)纺织品与个人防护装备（textiles and personal protective gear）、(8)应急预案落实（emergency action plan implementation）。各主题的共识建议均通过德尔菲法制定，并基于科学证据、可行性与清晰性进行评估。本文件共涵盖上述8大主题下的40项职业热安全建议。落实本建议将有助于各机构与雇主为其工作场所制定高效的热安全计划，解决制约热安全最佳实践落地的各类因素，最终保障劳动者健康与生产效率。