Jobsite Lightning Safety Plan
Based on OSHA / NOAA lightning safety guidance for outdoor workers (OSHA 3863)
1. Project information
| Company | |
| Project name | |
| Site address | |
| General contractor | |
| Plan prepared by / title | |
| Date prepared | |
| Last reviewed |
2. Purpose and scope
This plan establishes the procedures for suspending and resuming outdoor work at this jobsite when lightning threatens. Lightning is a recognized hazard for outdoor workers, and OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to protect workers from recognized hazards. This plan follows the practices recommended in OSHA and NOAA's joint guidance, Lightning Safety When Working Outdoors (OSHA 3863).
This plan applies to all employees, subcontractors, vendors, delivery drivers, and visitors on the site listed above. Every person on site is expected to know the stop-work signal and the location of the nearest safe shelter.
3. Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Designated weather monitor (primary) | ||
| Weather monitor (backup) | ||
| Site superintendent (stop-work authority) | ||
| Safety manager |
The designated weather monitor is responsible for watching lightning alerts and weather conditions during work hours and immediately notifying the superintendent when suspension criteria are met. The superintendent orders and announces the stop-work. Regardless of these assignments, any worker who hears thunder is authorized to stop their own work and move to shelter without waiting for instruction.
4. Weather monitoring
Work is suspended when lightning is detected within miles of the site (NOAA and OSHA guidance recommends 10 miles — thunder is generally audible to about that distance, and lightning can strike well away from the rain column). This distance is called the trigger distance below, and it is the radius referred to in Sections 5 and 7.
This plan requires that lightning be actively monitored during all outdoor work — meaning someone or something is watching continuously, not that a person checks a phone when the sky looks dark.
A monitoring method is adequate for this plan if it can do four things:
| Capability required | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|
| A | Detect lightning at and beyond the trigger distance, near this specific site address | The trigger distance is when your crew must already be clear — not when they start moving. Regional forecasts and radar don't tell you what's over your job. |
| B | Notify the Designated Weather Monitor and crew leads without them having to check anything | A method that depends on someone remembering to look is a method that fails on the busiest afternoons. |
| C | Track the 30-minute all-clear countdown and restart it on each new strike | This is the step most often skipped. Crews return early because nobody was timing it. |
| D | Produce a written, timestamped record of each suspension and each all-clear | Without a record, the plan cannot be audited, defended, or improved. |
Any of the following can satisfy this plan. Whichever you choose, record it below and make sure A through D are covered — by the method itself, or by a person assigned to fill the gap.
| Method | Typical cost | Covers A–B | Covers C–D | Practical limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human observation — thunder heard, lightning seen | Free | Partial | No | Only detects storms already close. No record unless someone writes it down. Always required as a backstop regardless of other methods. |
| Free weather app or NWS radar on a phone | Free | Partial | No | Radar shows precipitation, not strikes. Requires someone to look. No timer, no log. |
| Handheld lightning detector | $100–200 | Partial | No | Detects nearby activity but range and accuracy vary. No notification, no timer, no log. |
| Software alerting service tied to the site address | $29–60 per site / month | Yes | Yes | Depends on cellular coverage and on contact lists being kept current. |
| On-site detection hardware with horn and strobe | $5,000–15,000 per site installed | Yes | Varies | Capital cost and installation. Usually justified only on long-duration or fixed sites. |
- Monitoring method selected for this site:
- Who receives the alert or watches the source:
- Backup method if the primary fails: (required — e.g. human observation)
- Who verifies the method is working each morning:
5. Suspending work
5.1 Work stops when ANY of the following occurs
- A lightning alert is received for a strike within the radius set in Section 4;
- Thunder is heard by anyone on site, regardless of what monitoring shows;
- The superintendent or weather monitor orders a stop for any weather reason.
5.2 How crews are notified (check all that apply)
- SMS alert to foremen and safety leads
- Air horn — blasts
- Radio call on channel
- Verbal notification / runner to crews without radios
- Other:
5.3 Order of shutdown
Shut down the highest-risk operations first. OSHA rules already prohibit scaffold work and crane hoisting during storms and high winds.
- Crane, hoisting, and rigging operations — land loads, secure the hook, and lower or secure booms per the manufacturer's storm procedure.
- Workers at height — scaffolds, steel erection, roofs, aerial lifts, and ladders.
- Open-cab equipment and workers in open areas — including flaggers and spotters.
- Make-safe steps for work that cannot stop instantly (e.g., a concrete pour in progress):
- All remaining outdoor work, then head to shelter.
Estimated time to make equipment safe and get all personnel into shelter: minutes. If this exceeds a few minutes, treat forecasted storms as the trigger to begin winding down high-risk work early.
6. Safe shelter locations
Acceptable shelter, in order of preference, per OSHA/NOAA guidance:
- A fully enclosed building with electrical wiring and plumbing (the wiring and plumbing give lightning a path to ground). While inside, stay off corded equipment and away from plumbing fixtures.
- A hard-topped metal vehicle with the windows fully rolled up — pickup cabs, crew trucks, vans. Do not lean on doors or touch metal surfaces.
Not acceptable: sheds, canopies, tents, covered walkways, porta-johns, equipment with open cabs, scaffolding, and trees. Site office trailers are not assumed safe — treat a trailer as shelter only if it has been evaluated (grounded, wired, plumbed) and listed below.
| Shelter location | Type (building / vehicle) | Capacity | Walk time from farthest work area |
|---|---|---|---|
If caught outside with no shelter reachable: avoid the tallest objects, open fields, water, and metal fences or rebar; do not shelter under trees or partially built structures.
7. Resuming work — the 30-minute rule
Work does not resume until 30 minutes have passed since the last lightning strike within the Section 4 radius (or the last thunder heard, whichever is later). Every new strike inside the radius resets the clock to a full 30 minutes. This is the NOAA standard reflected in OSHA 3863.
The all-clear is given by: , announced by: . No crew returns to work on their own judgment before the all-clear.
8. If a worker is struck by lightning
- Call 911. Give the site address from Section 1.
- Begin first aid immediately. Lightning strike victims carry no electrical charge and are safe to touch. If the person is not breathing or has no pulse, start CPR and use the AED.
- AED location: . Trained first aid / CPR personnel on site:
- If lightning is still active, move the victim to shelter before treating — rescuers in the open are themselves at risk.
- Report the incident to and preserve the event record. Work-related fatalities must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours; in-patient hospitalizations within 24 hours.
9. Training and communication
- This plan is reviewed with every worker — including subcontractors — at site orientation. Workers sign the acknowledgment in Appendix C.
- A lightning toolbox talk is held before storm season and again whenever this plan changes. Frequency:
- The crew poster (Appendix A) is posted at:
- Languages needed on this site for the poster and toolbox talks:
10. Recordkeeping
Each lightning event is documented: time of the first alert, how crews were notified, time of the all-clear, and total downtime. Records are kept by and stored at . Use the log in Appendix B, or the timestamped event reports generated automatically by your lightning alert service.
Appendix A — Crew poster (print and post)
Appendix B — Lightning event log
Skip this appendix if your alert service produces timestamped event reports automatically — file those instead.
| Date | Alert time | How crews were notified | All-clear time | Downtime | Monitor initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appendix C — Training acknowledgment (print and sign)
I have reviewed the Jobsite Lightning Safety Plan for . I know the stop-work signal, the shelter locations, and the 30-minute all-clear rule, and I understand I am authorized to stop work and move to shelter if I hear thunder.
| Name (print) | Company / subcontractor | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
This template is provided by Lightning Ward free of charge to support your lightning safety program. It is general information, not legal, regulatory, or safety-engineering advice, and completing it does not by itself establish compliance with any law or standard. Adapt it to your site's conditions and have it reviewed by your safety professional. Primary sources: OSHA/NOAA, Lightning Safety When Working Outdoors (OSHA 3863); NOAA lightning safety guidance (weather.gov/safety/lightning).