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6 Ways to Keep Them Safe, Part 1 of 2
People who work other than the standard daytime shifts face a host of challenges, including physical and mental fatigue, digestive problems, stress and a feeling of isolation from family, friends and the community. There is also a growing body of evidence to suggest that shiftworkers are at greater risk for accidents. So shiftwork requires some special strategies to maintain health and safety. Here are some ways that a supervisor can help.
1. Ensure Shiftworkers' Access to Safety Training
Those who work evening or midnight shifts need access to the same safety information as the day crews. But shiftworkers often get short-shrifted on safety meetings. Scheduling safety meetings can be a particular problem for workers on rotating shifts or on call. Here are some suggestions for overcoming this problem:
- Set up a regular schedule for safety meetings, holding them at the same times and places each week. Post these schedules and remind workers of the safety meetings when they get their new shift schedules.
- Use the time periods when shifts overlap as an opportunity to get workers from two shifts together for one safety meeting.
- Keep attendance records to confirm that every worker was present for each safety meeting held during the week.
- Put someone on each shift in charge of safety meetings. Supply them with the audio or computer CD, printed handouts and other materials.
- Send audio CDs of your safety material on the road with crews who travel to the worksites.
- Use PowerPoint versions of your safety material on the night shift to help a tired worker pay attention.
- Consider sending your safety material home with your workers. These safety meeting guides don't do much good gathering dust on a shelf. They are meant to be used anywhere and anytime.
- Shift your safety meeting schedule so you can include workers on all your shifts.
Conclusion
Ensuring that all your workers have access to safety training is, of course, one of the most important ways to keep shiftworkers safe. There are a few other things you can do, too. We'll cover those next week.
POP QUIZ
Test Your Sleep Knowledge
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Driving after midnight and driving while tired are two risk factors associated with many fatal car crashes. Shiftworkers commuting in the early morning hours face these risks, so safe driving must be a priority in your training program.
Here's a quiz from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Test your knowledge of sleep, then pass the test on to your workers, particularly those who drive as part of their job.
- Everyone has a biological clock.
True or False - Drinking coffee cures drowsiness while driving.
True or False - I can tell when I'm going to fall asleep.
True or False - I'm a safe driver so it doesn't matter if I'm sleepy.
True or False - I am incapable of napping.
True or False - Nearly everyone gets enough sleep.
True or False - Being sleepy affects your perception.
True or False - Young people need less sleep (than older people).
True or False - If I sleep a lot now I won't need to sleep as much later.
True or False - Even people who sleep eight hours may not be well rested.
True or False
Answers and explanations:
- True. Your biological clock tells you when it's lunchtime, gives you pep at certain times of day and affects your body temperature. Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. there's a lull in the body clock, which can cause sleepiness and leave people at risk for injury. Another lull occurs between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. - a particularly dangerous time for drivers.
- False. While coffee can temporarily reduce drowsiness, it is not a substitute for sleep. A coffee-fueled but sleep-deprived driver can lapse into micro-sleeps and crash (literally).
- False. Eight in 10 people think they can predict when they are going to fall asleep. They are often wrong. If you are drowsy or sleep-deprived you can fall asleep and never know it. Signs that you are at risk for falling asleep include constant yawning, difficulty focusing your eyes, no memory of driving the past few miles and lane drifting or tailgating. Stop and nap.
- False. The only safe driver is an alert driver.
- False. Many people insist they cannot nap, yet even people who say they are not tired will quickly fall asleep in a darkened room if they have not been getting enough sleep. Stop your car and recline. You may be surprised at how easily you fall asleep.
- False. One in two people report occasional sleeping problems. If you awaken rested you are getting enough sleep. If you have to drag yourself out of bed, you aren't getting enough shuteye.
- True. Have you ever driven at night and seen something that you thought was an animal, but turned out to be a paper bag? That's one way sleepy drivers misjudge their surroundings.
- False. Teenagers and young adults actually need more sleep than people 30 and older do, yet they are often sleep-deprived.
- False. You can't save sleep up ahead of time and borrow it back later. When your sleep debt gets big enough you will fall asleep, no matter what you are doing.
- True. If you wake up feeling tired and not rested you may have a sleep disorder. See your doctor.
UPCOMING EVENT
Calgary Safety Summit
Towers Perrin is presenting Building Sustainable Safe Work Environments - A Case Study on The Importance of Culture on November 13, 2007 in Calgary, Alberta.
During the session, presenters Wendy Poirier and Joseph Dettmann will share new thinking and research on the linkage between safety and workforce health and well-being, and how organizations can act to institute a sustainable culture that addresses both short-term safety issues and long-term safety practices. Highlights from Towers Perrin-ISR's new Process and Occupational Safety Culture Benchmarks will also be shared. The session will also include a series of hands-on industry case studies, demonstrating the importance of culture on lowering safety incidence rates, boosting employee morale and reducing your annual spend on illness and injury related causes.
The breakfast session will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 from 7:30-9:30 at the Calgary Petroleum Club.
For more information or to register, please contact Michael Crawford by phone at 403.261.4512 or email at michael.crawford@towersperrin.com.
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