CORRELATION BETWEEN SHIFTWORK, SLEEP & FATIGUE AND INCREASED OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN A MANUFACTURING PLANT IN PAKISTAN
Abstract No:
1740
Abstract Type:
Student Poster
Authors:
A Malik1, M Akram1
Institutions:
1University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab
Presenter:
Mr. Abdullah Malik
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Muhammad Akram, PhD
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab
Description:
Fatigue due to shiftwork patterns is a silent problem in industries, which is mostly overlooked by employers as well as employees, resulting in occupational injuries. The modern society has moved towards a 24/7 work schedule. In many industries the shiftwork ensures continuity of production and services, making work at nights as common as at daytimes. Fatigue among shift workers due to sleep deprivation results in increase in accidents. This cross-sectional study, first in an assembling unit in Pakistan, was undertaken to evaluates the fatigue and its risk to workers employed in rotating shifts by using Fatigue & Risk Indices calculator (FRI) to determine its relationship with occupational injuries, six months shift schedules of 184 industrial workers (day workers n=84) & (night shift workers n=100) was selected. Five factors were associated for calculation of fatigue and risk indices, namely: (time of day, shift duration, rest periods, breaks and cumulative fatigue), the scores of each factor were added to provide an overall index for fatigue. Data for sleep quantity & accident history was collected through a questionnaire. The χ2 test was used to measure differences between variables. The results showed a significant relationship of shift work, sleep deprivation and fatigue that significantly increased the risk of occupational injury in the assembly unit in Pakistan (p<0.05). Results show a significant difference in sleep quantity, accidents, fatigue & risk indices among day & night workers (p<0.05). An average sleep time of 5.8 & 7.9 hours a day was found in shift workers & day workers respectively. Job fatigue is positively correlated with increase in risk of occupational injury, significant positive correlation between fatigue & shiftwork with occupational injury accident, finally, hours of sleep has negative significant correlation occupational injury accidents, fatigue & shiftwork that means risk of accident and cumulative fatigue will decrease as sleep hour increases. To improve safety of shift workers and to reduce accidents, employers must develop strategies while developing shift schedules, improves sleep quality, early detection of on the job fatigue, increase monitoring, do job rotations, shift critical tasks to daytime, provide frequent breaks, systematic accident investigation to determine whether fatigue was a casual factor, and if so, how to avoid the incident happening again as well as fatigue stress awareness training.
Objectives:
• To evaluate the association of shift work and increase in accidents due to sleep deprivation and fatigue
• To provide guidelines for designing shift-work schedules for stakeholders to cope with accident risks due to fatigue.
• Recommend control measures for employers, safety representatives and employees to reduce the negative impact of shift work.
Objectives:
• To evaluate the association of shift work and increase in accidents due to sleep deprivation and fatigue
• To provide guidelines for designing shift-work schedules for stakeholders to cope with accident risks due to fatigue.
• Recommend control measures for employers, safety representatives and employees to reduce the negative impact of shift work.
Situation/Problem:
Shift work and extended work schedule can contribute to employee's fatigue, increasing risk for occupational injuries and poor health. The work at rotating shifts, especially work at night, and for extended hours causes sleep deprivation, resulting in fatigue, which may cause from minor injuries to serious accidents. A fatigued worker is potentially dangerous, not only to himself, but to others as well. For example, some of the most serious accidents in the last three decades have been attributed to the shift worker's fatigue, like, world's worst nuclear power accident at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, all occurred between midnight and 6 am. (Gander et al., 2007)
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted at an assembling unit in Pakistan. Fatigue & Risk Index calculator (Spencer et al., 2006) was used to assess changes in work patterns and to determine whether work pattern can increase levels of fatigue & risk of accident. The study assessed six-month shiftwork pattern of 184 participants, 84 general day workers and 100 working in rotating shifts. using a self-administered questionnaire and six-months shift timing records of employees.
Six-month shift record was used to measure index of fatigue & risk. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data of sleep hours & occupational injury and accidents.
Fatigue & Risk Index (FRI), a risk assessment tool that contains two indices, a fatigue index and a risk index. The Fatigue index incorporates factors known to be related to fatigue including shift timing, shift duration, breaks, rest periods, cumulative fatigue and workload.
Fatigue Index FI=100{1–(1-C) (1-J-T)}
Risk Index RI = C * J * T
1. Independent Variable: Shiftwork
2. Dependent Variable: Sleep
3. Dependent Variable: Fatigue at work
4. Dependent Variable: Occupational Injuries
Descriptive methods were used for data analysis to obtain indices of central tendency, variability and dependence. The bivariate correlations between the independent variable "shift work" and the other dependent variables were assessed using the chi square test. Group differences were explored using independent sample t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. For all statistical analysis, a p-value of < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. All tests were two-tailed. IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 was used to analyze the data.
Limitations of the Fatigue and Risk Index:
It is important to note that it does not,
• consider factors such as individual differences (e.g. age, pre health conditions),
• specific work-related issues (e.g. exposure to chemical hazards)
• social factors (e.g. lifestyle, domestic responsibilities)
Six-month shift record was used to measure index of fatigue & risk. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data of sleep hours & occupational injury and accidents.
Fatigue & Risk Index (FRI), a risk assessment tool that contains two indices, a fatigue index and a risk index. The Fatigue index incorporates factors known to be related to fatigue including shift timing, shift duration, breaks, rest periods, cumulative fatigue and workload.
Fatigue Index FI=100{1–(1-C) (1-J-T)}
Risk Index RI = C * J * T
1. Independent Variable: Shiftwork
2. Dependent Variable: Sleep
3. Dependent Variable: Fatigue at work
4. Dependent Variable: Occupational Injuries
Descriptive methods were used for data analysis to obtain indices of central tendency, variability and dependence. The bivariate correlations between the independent variable "shift work" and the other dependent variables were assessed using the chi square test. Group differences were explored using independent sample t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. For all statistical analysis, a p-value of < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. All tests were two-tailed. IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 was used to analyze the data.
Limitations of the Fatigue and Risk Index:
It is important to note that it does not,
• consider factors such as individual differences (e.g. age, pre health conditions),
• specific work-related issues (e.g. exposure to chemical hazards)
• social factors (e.g. lifestyle, domestic responsibilities)
Results / Conclusions:
Results shows that shiftwork increased the risk of occupational injury significantly due to sleep deprivation & cumulative worker fatigue in rotating shift schedules. In order to improve the safety of shift workers and to reduce the accidents from fatigue, a fatigue risk index was calculated to measure the fatigue. Implementation of a Fatigue Risk Management Program that includes employee education, health screenings, and an engaged management to provide adequate staffing, reasonable scheduling, and regular breaks. It includes review of accident and injury data to identify trends related to shift duration, number of consecutive shifts scheduled, and time of day.
Fatigue and sleepiness are corelated and are common casual factors for accidents among shift workers. The results show that day workers have an average sleep of 7.9 hours while night shift workers have an average sleep time of only 5.8 hours, a significant difference (p-value < 0.05). The mean value of fatigue of day workers was 16.50 (SD 5.65), while in night shift workers it was 52.08 (SD 3.6), a significant difference (p-value < 0.05). The mean value of predicted risk to day workers was 3.33 (SD 1.40) while night shift workers was 4.4 (SD 1.87), a significant difference (-value < 0.05). The occupational accidents mean value of day workers was 0.43 (SD 0.68) and the mean value of night shift workers was 0.93 (0.95), with a significant difference (p-value < 0.05), which shows that shiftwork, sleep deprivation and resulting fatigue increases the risk of occupational accidents.
Sleep deprivation and shiftwork significantly effect on workers fatigue. Development of strategies while developing shift schedules, improved sleep quality, examination of on the job fatigue symptoms, increased monitoring, job rotations, shifting of critical tasks to daytime, provision of frequent breaks, accident investigations to determine whether fatigue was a casual factor, and if so, how to avoid the incident happening again as well as fatigue stress awareness training.
It is recommended that strong effort should be made for the awareness of workers about the dangers of fatigue, and how to recognize and deal with fatigue and sleepiness.
Results show workers with rotating night shifts need special attention and frequent health checks due to high risk for occupational injury. Further studies are underway to analyze the burden of shift work on the health and well-being of workers.
Statistical analysis shows that on the job fatigue is positively correlated with increase in injury risk, as there is a significant positive correlation between fatigue & shiftwork. Also, hours of sleep have significant negative correlation for occupational accidents, fatigue & shiftwork, which means risk of accident and cumulative fatigue will decrease as sleep hour increases.
Fatigue and sleepiness are corelated and are common casual factors for accidents among shift workers. The results show that day workers have an average sleep of 7.9 hours while night shift workers have an average sleep time of only 5.8 hours, a significant difference (p-value < 0.05). The mean value of fatigue of day workers was 16.50 (SD 5.65), while in night shift workers it was 52.08 (SD 3.6), a significant difference (p-value < 0.05). The mean value of predicted risk to day workers was 3.33 (SD 1.40) while night shift workers was 4.4 (SD 1.87), a significant difference (-value < 0.05). The occupational accidents mean value of day workers was 0.43 (SD 0.68) and the mean value of night shift workers was 0.93 (0.95), with a significant difference (p-value < 0.05), which shows that shiftwork, sleep deprivation and resulting fatigue increases the risk of occupational accidents.
Sleep deprivation and shiftwork significantly effect on workers fatigue. Development of strategies while developing shift schedules, improved sleep quality, examination of on the job fatigue symptoms, increased monitoring, job rotations, shifting of critical tasks to daytime, provision of frequent breaks, accident investigations to determine whether fatigue was a casual factor, and if so, how to avoid the incident happening again as well as fatigue stress awareness training.
It is recommended that strong effort should be made for the awareness of workers about the dangers of fatigue, and how to recognize and deal with fatigue and sleepiness.
Results show workers with rotating night shifts need special attention and frequent health checks due to high risk for occupational injury. Further studies are underway to analyze the burden of shift work on the health and well-being of workers.
Statistical analysis shows that on the job fatigue is positively correlated with increase in injury risk, as there is a significant positive correlation between fatigue & shiftwork. Also, hours of sleep have significant negative correlation for occupational accidents, fatigue & shiftwork, which means risk of accident and cumulative fatigue will decrease as sleep hour increases.
Primary Topic:
Safety Management
Secondary Topics:
Management/Leadership
Risk Assessment and Management
Co-Authors
Please add your co-authors below. Co-authors are listed for professional courtesy and will not be communicated with regarding the decision notification or any on-site logistics, if accepted. Only the primary presenter listed is expected to attend and present the content on-site.
Mr. Azhar Ali, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, 54000, azhar.cees@pu.edu.pk;
Acknowledgements and References
List any additional people who worked on the project or provided guidance and support along with details on the role they played in the research. (Please include first name, last name, organization, city, state and country).
Dr. Muhammad Akram Senior Faculty Member, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, drakrampu@gmail.com;
Mr. Azhar Ali Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, azhar.cees@pu.edu.pk;
We are very thankful to the individuals who participated in the study and acknowledge the contributions & support of the manufacturing plant team.