Modeling the Impact of the Components of Long Work Hours on Injuries and “Accidents.”

Details

• Personal Author:
  Folkard S ; Lombardi DA
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Many of the industrial disasters of the last few decades, including Three Mile island, Chernobyl, Bhopal, Exxon Valdez, and the Estonia ferry, have occurred in the early hours of the morning. Follow-up investigations concluded that they were at least partially attributable to human fatigue and/or error. The potential impact of long work hours on health and safety is a major concern that has resulted in various work hour regulations. METHODS: The risk of injuries and "accidents" (incidents) associated with features of work schedules from published epidemiological studies are pooled using an additive model to form a "Risk Index." The estimated risks of an incident for various standard work schedules are presented using the proposed model. RESULTS: The estimated risk of an injury or accident associated with any given number of weekly work hours varies substantially depending on how work hours are comprised. The risk depends on the length and type of shift, as well as the frequency of rest breaks. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that placing a limit on the risk associated with a particular work schedule is likely more effective than setting daily, weekly or monthly work hour regulations in keeping workplace safety within acceptable limits. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Fatigue Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accidents Author Keywords: Work Hours Exposure Levels Health Health Effects Humans Industrial Hazards Injuries Long Work Hours Mathematical Models Models Regulations Risk Risk Factors Safety Shiftwork Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Worker Health Workers Worker Safety Work Schedules

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  49
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055671
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2006 Nov; 49(11):953-963
• Contact Point Address:
  Simon Folkard, Universite Paris Descartes, Faculte de Medecine, Laboratoire d'Anthropolgie Appliquee, UPRES Ergonomie, 45 rue des Saints Pe'res, 75006 Paris, France
• Email:
  s.folkard@swan.ac.uk
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:897349b9965d2579fe5c231f8fea4688a10c90732d5f139842c5e087fa98bc2a138a47f8cf7f4056946d1a0e47a8f9340205e19c905dd9bad8bc4a0478283c66
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213463/cdc_213463_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 220.32 KB ]