Heat stress exposure control plan template
A complete written plan for preventing heat illness at work, outdoors in the sun and indoors near hot processes, in 14 editions: one for each province and territory and one for federally regulated workplaces. It sets heat response levels from a daily Humidex screen and WBGT measurement, and covers acclimatization, water, rest, shade, buddy checks and what to do when someone is overcome. Each edition sets out the law that applies there, with pinpoint citations. Every purchase includes all 14, in English and in French: 28 editable Word files you make your own.
A look inside
Sample pages from the plan, marked and cut short. Your copy has no watermark.
What’s in the plan
1. Purpose, scope and the law
The work the plan covers, the law that applies in your jurisdiction with pinpoint citations and the heat stress criteria it uses (section 1.3), and how the plan fits your program.
2. Responsibilities
The employer, the plan administrator, supervisors, everyone who works in heat, the committee or representative, contractors and other employers, and heat stress assessors and first aid.
3. Heat stress and heat illness
How the body gains and loses heat, heat illnesses from heat rash to heat stroke, who is at higher risk, and where heat stress arises in your work.
4. Heat stress assessment
How heat stress is assessed, the limits and our targets, work rate, heat response levels that set the work and rest, and when you reassess.
5. Heat stress controls
Controls chosen in order, from engineering controls and acclimatization to work and rest, what they cannot do, and a table of the controls for each task.
6. Safe work procedures
8 procedures: planning the day in hot weather, starting work in heat, water, rest and buddy checks, outdoor work in the sun, hot processes and radiant heat indoors, work in protective clothing, hot confined and enclosed spaces, and heat waves.
7. Clothing, protective equipment and personal cooling
Work clothing in heat, protective clothing that adds heat, personal cooling equipment, sun protection, and hard hats, respirators and other equipment in heat.
8. Water, rest and cool-down areas
Drinking water, shade and cool-down areas, and washrooms, hygiene and skin.
9. Heat stress monitoring
Who measures and with what, daily screening, WBGT measurement, watching for heat strain, when you measure, and sharing results.
10. Health monitoring and fitness for heat work
Health and heat work, fitness for heat work on the day, planning with people at higher risk, return to work after heat illness, and confidentiality.
11. Education and training
Who is trained and when, what the training covers, supervisors, the plan administrator and first aid, refreshers, and records.
12. Heat illness emergencies and incidents
Being ready, heat stroke (cool first, call for help), heat exhaustion and other heat illness, control failures, and reporting and investigation.
13. Records, communication, consultation and review
The records you keep, sharing the plan, consulting your committee or representative, and reviewing the plan.
Appendix A. Regulatory cross-reference
Every provision of your jurisdiction’s law the plan is written to meet, in plain words, with the section that meets it and whether an inspector will also want your records. Each entry links to its section.
Appendix B. Forms
7 print-ready forms, each with a form code: the heat stress assessment, the acclimatization record, the daily heat plan and crew briefing, the WBGT measurement record, the training record, the heat illness and incident report and the plan review record.
One plan, 14 editions
Each plan is written once and fitted to the law of each of Canada’s 14 jurisdictions: the ten provinces, the three territories and federally regulated workplaces under the Canada Labour Code. Each edition takes the name its law gives the document, and its own limits, terms and citations.
Every purchase includes all 14, each in English and in French: 28 Word files. The French editions follow the English section for section and form for form, and their cross-reference matches row for row. Laws published only in English keep their English titles.
Written to the law where you work
Section 1.3 of each edition sets out the law that applies there, with pinpoint citations: what that law calls the plan, the heat stress criteria it uses (the ACGIH values, its own table, or a general duty), and what the law adds, such as drinking water, rest areas, measurement or a written plan. Appendix A lists every provision the plan is written to meet, in plain words, with the section that meets it and whether an inspector will also want to see your records. Each entry links to its section.
Every legal reference was checked against the official texts between October 2 and October 4, 2026, and each edition lists its sources and the date each was checked. A template can’t make you compliant on its own, and we don’t claim it does: the plan works once a qualified person adapts it to your work.
Who it is for
Employers whose workers face heat outdoors or indoors: construction, roofing and road work, agriculture, landscaping and forestry, oil and gas, foundries, smelters and boiler rooms, commercial kitchens and laundries, and anyone working in protective suits.
You tick the work you do in section 1.2 and delete the procedures you never need. A Tailor note shows how to add a procedure for a task that isn’t there, under the same headings.
Lifetime updates
When the law changes, we publish a new edition and email everyone who bought the template. Every update is free, for as long as we publish it.
Version 1.0 October 4, 2026
- First edition, in 14 jurisdiction editions (one for each province and territory, and one for federally regulated workplaces), each in English and French.
- Every legal reference checked against the official texts between October 2 and October 4, 2026. Each edition lists its sources and the date each was checked.
More exposure control plans
Buy templates together and save on the whole order: 2 for 10% off, 3 for 15% off, 4+ for 20% off.
Questions
Which edition do I use?
The one for the law that covers the workplace: the province or territory where the work is done, or the federal edition if your business is federally regulated under Part II of the Canada Labour Code (for example, interprovincial trucking, airlines, railways, banks and telecommunications). If you are not sure which law covers you, confirm it with your regulator before you rely on an edition. All 14 come with every purchase, in English and French, so you never pay twice for the right one.
Is this legal advice? Will it make us compliant?
No. It is a template, not legal advice: a complete plan written to the law with every requirement cited, as a starting point. The plan only works once a qualified person adapts it to your work (your tasks, your materials and the exposure your own assessment finds) and you put it in place and follow it, so no template can promise compliance. If you want help with that, our team does it too.
Does it cover my province’s own rules?
Yes. Section 1.3 of each edition sets out the law that applies there, with pinpoint citations: what that law calls this document, the exposure limit, and what the law adds to the plan, such as monitoring, health checks, notices, records or training. Where the law changes something in the plan’s general text, section 1.3 says what and where. Appendix A then lists every provision the plan is written to meet, with the section of the plan that meets it.
What if we work in more than one province?
Use the edition for each place you work: every purchase includes all 14. Each edition is complete on its own, and they share the same sections and form codes, so crews moving between provinces work to the same plan and only what the law changes is different.
What format is it in, and can I edit it?
Editable Microsoft Word (.docx) files on US Letter pages: 28 of them, one for each of the 14 jurisdictions in English and in French. Type your company name once and desktop Word puts it on the cover, in every header and through the text. Shaded “Tailor” notes say what to check or change in each section, and highlighted placeholders mark every name, date and place you fill in. The files also open in Google Docs and Word on the web, where you use Find and replace to put your company name in.
What happens when the law changes?
We update the plan, and you get every update free for as long as we publish it: lifetime updates at no extra charge, for all 14 editions in both languages. We email you when a new edition is ready, with what changed and a link to download it.
Can I use it for more than one company?
Each purchase is licensed to one company. Consultants setting up programs for several clients should contact us.
Want it built for you?
Our safety advisors assess the hazards in your work and help you tailor the plan to it, from the risk assessment to the procedures your crews follow and the controls behind them.
Hazard assessments and control