Heat Illness Prevention for Printing and Packaging Operations

As summer temperatures climb, heat illness prevention deserves renewed attention in printing and packaging operations. Although OSHA has proposed but not yet issued a final heat illness prevention standard, it is actively enforcing heat-related hazards through its updated April 2026 National Emphasis Program (NEP) for indoor and outdoor workplaces. While printing operations are not identified as a priority industry under the NEP, companies should not assume that the absence of a federal standard means the absence of enforcement. Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from known hazards under OSHA’s General Duty Clause and may be cited when recognized heat hazards are not adequately controlled. The NEP focuses on water, rest, cooling, acclimatization, training, monitoring, emergency response, and documentation. Accordingly, these factors should be addressed by employers.