How do I use the ACGIH guidelines?

What is the ACGIH?

For over 75 years, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) has been dedicated to advancing worker protection by providing timely, objective, and scientific information to occupational and environmental health professionals. The ACGIH is a prominent scientific organization in the occupational and environmental health spaces that publishes the well-known Threshold Limit Values (TLVs®) and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs®) guidelines. These health-based values are established by committees that review existing published and peer-reviewed literature in various scientific disciplines (e.g., industrial hygiene, toxicology, occupational medicine, and epidemiology).

What are the ACGIH's guidelines for heat stress?

The ACGIH has created Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) specifically for heat stress exposure for workers. They determined these limits to represent conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, over a working lifetime, without adverse effects.

How does the SlateSafety BAND V2 implement the ACGIH's guidelines?

The ACGIH partnered with SlateSafety to enumerate these guidelines so they could be implemented on SlateSafety's wearable, the BAND V2. The guideline sets Alert thresholds and Return-to-Work thresholds based on the metrics: Heart Rate Limit Value (HRLV) and Core Body Temperature.

The threshold values are taken from: TLVs® and BEIs® book and/or Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices, © ACGIH 2022.

This means that whenever a worker wearing a BAND V2 exceeds the Alert thresholds, an alert will trigger. This Alert will notify the worker and their supervisors, if configured. In order to follow the guideline, the worker should then stop work to let their body rest until they trigger a Return-to-Work notification.

How do I use the ACGIH heat stress guidelines for my organization?

To implement the ACGIH heat stress guidelines for your organization, you will need to set a Loadout to "Use ACGIH Thresholds". Note: you must be an Admin for your organization in order to create or edit Loadouts.

1. Login to the SlateSafety web application or SlateSafety Go mobile application (on iOS and Android).

2. Navigate to the Organization page.
3. Click on the Loadouts tab.
4. Click on the Loadout you would like to implement the ACGIH heat stress guidelines. This will open a form to edit or create a Loadout. Note: The Default Loadout is the Loadout your organization will use if no other Loadouts are created. If you are unsure which Loadout to use, then use the Default Loadout.

5. In the section of the Loadout form named Biometric Notification Thresholds, select Use ACGIH® Thresholds.
6. Scroll to the bottom of the Loadout form, and then hit Submit.

Note: SlateSafety cannot guarantee the effectiveness of Biometric Alert or Return-To-Work thresholds. It is the responsibility of the organization to implement thresholds that follow their safety guidelines. Read more here.