Introduction

Know the signs and symptoms of heat and cold stress.

When the weather’s too hot or cold, workers can suffer.

Workers at greater risk of heat stress include those who are 65 years old and older, are overweight, have heart disease or high blood pressure, or take medications that may be affected by extreme heat.

If not treated, heat exhaustion – the symptoms of which include dizziness, headache, and sweaty skin – can lead to heat stroke. The symptoms of heat stroke include red, dry skin; confusion; and fainting. Heat stroke can kill you.

Workers who are exposed to extreme cold or work in cold environments may be at risk of cold stress. Extremely cold or wet weather is a dangerous situation that can cause occupational illness and injuries such as hypothermia - a condition in which the body uses up its stored energy and can no longer produce heat.

Prolonged exposure to cold temperature can result in frostbite, trench foot, and chilblains.

This course presents information to employers and employees on the hazards and measures they should take to prevent illness and death caused by extreme hot and cold temperatures.

Update: OSHA has initiated a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on heat stress which will remain in effect through April 2025. For more information download the pdf fact sheet.

Modules

To begin your training, click on the module links below. If you are just starting this course, you should start with module 1.

1. Heat Stress and Safety
2. Cold Stress and Safety

Course 602 Final Exam

After studying the course material and answering the quiz questions, it is time to take the final exam. We highly recommend answering the module quiz questions to check your understanding of the course material. The final exam questions are typically developed from these quiz questions.

OSHAcademy course final exams are designed to make sure students have gained a sufficient understanding of the content covered within each course. To help demonstrate this understanding, students must achieve a passing score on course final exams. It is OSHAcademy's policy to protect the integrity of our exams: as a result, we do not provide missed questions to students.

This is an open book exam. Students are permitted to use a separate browser window to review course content while taking the exam. If you do not pass a final exam, you will see a "Retake Exam" button next to the course on your student dashboard.

If you have already paid for your certificate

If you have already paid for certificates, your exam score will be displayed on your student dashboard after successfully passing the final exam. If you chose PDF certificates, you can view and print your certificate and personal transcript from your student dashboard. If you chose original printed documents, they will be prepared and mailed to the address in your student account.

If you only want free training

OSHAcademy provides free access to all training materials, including course modules, practice quizzes, exercises, and final exams. However, exam scores, certificates, and transcripts are provided only if you purchase a certificate package to document your training. If you do not require official training documentation, we will archive your exam results should you decide to purchase official certificates later.

Take the Final Exam

Please login to your student dashboard to access and download this FREE course PDF studyguide. You can save this study guide to your computer for offline studying, or print the study guide if you prefer.

Additional Resources