Manufacturing Safety Solutions

Transcription

1 Manufacturing Safety Solutions Inside this issue Fatigue Employee fatigue affects safety and productivity at work. Fatigue management is the shared responsibility of both employers and employees. Fatigue Workplace Wellness Introduction The National Institutes of Health, USA, says that approximately one in every five Americans claims to have fatigue that is severe enough to interfere with daily life. 1 Fatigue associated with extended hours, night shifts, and rotating shifts can have a negative impact on safety and performance. The initial thought process is that the amount or quality of a person s sleep is out of the employer s control. In order to prevent the negative impacts of workplace fatigue, it is important to understand the distinction between personal and work sources of fatigue. Personal sources of fatigue may include lack of sleep, poor diet, inactive lifestyle, stress, health factors, family issues, and personal habits. Some of these, such as stress and lack of sleep due to work schedules, may overlap. Work sources may include shift work, shift changes, overtime, and staffing issues. There may also be environmental factors such as vibration, light levels, noise, and job demands. Both personal and work sources of fatigue can be addressed through a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). Fatigue can also be the result of major catastrophes. Recent examples include: Titanic, April 1912 Exxon Valdez, March 1989 Derailed commuter train in New York, 2013

2 "Employer responsibilities to prevent fatigue at work may include limiting overtime and avoiding incentives for employees to work excessive hours." A semitrailer crashed into 13 cars in a construction zone near Summit, IL, June 2015 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that, annually, 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue, resulting in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losses. 2 Unfortunately, accurate figures to determine the percentage of workers' compensation injuries related to fatigue are not available. Employees are hesitant to mention that their state of fatigue may have been the cause of an incident, and employers do not consider their staffing or overtime to be a factor. Workers' compensation loss data reports do not normally include the amount of overtime leading up to the incident or the number of hours that the employee had been working on the shift when the incident occurred. Employer responsibilities to prevent fatigue at work may include limiting overtime and avoiding incentives for employees to work excessive hours. Work schedules should allow for regular, quality rest breaks during the shift, including extra breaks if the work is demanding or more than eight hours in duration. The more difficult and/or hazardous tasks should be scheduled for times when employees are more alert. For businesses that utilize rotating shiftwork, the rotation pattern should allow for employees to get adequate sleep prior to the next scheduled shift. Although employers cannot manage an employee s non-work related fatigue, they can provide training to increase employee awareness about the importance of adequate sleep and the consequences of fatigue. Employees should be encouraged to notify their employer if they are fatigued without fear of disciplinary action. Employees should also be aware that fatigue levels can be different depending on age, health, and fitness levels. Employees should also be encouraged to consult with a doctor if they are experiencing chronic fatigue, or contact the employee assistance program for emotional issues. Employees should be encouraged to plan social obligations within reason, to provide adequate time for sleep before a shift. A Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) should be implemented for any organization that has identified a fatigue hazard, or with shifts that: Are more than 48 hours in any consecutive five-day period Do not have at least two consecutive days off in any seven-day period Are between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. An FRMS should be specific to each organization and should address the specific hazards of the job. The plan should be supported by management, documented, and reviewed regularly and should be integrated with the overall Incident and Illness Prevention Plan and Wellness Plan. All employees and contractors should be expected to understand the policies and procedures in the FRMS and realize the importance of being well-rested and alert at work. The program should begin with executive support for a policy statement, and specifically list the roles and responsibilities of everyone concerned. Company executives should be aware of the potential hazards due to fatigue, understand the benefits of fatigue management, and provide the support and budget for staffing to prevent excessive overtime. Supervisors and foremen should be involved in the process and should comply with scheduling and planning for employee absenteeism, equipment breakdowns, or other scheduling issues. Decisions should also be made regarding a moonlighting policy. Based on the hazards of the job 2

3 References 1. "Fatigue: Why Am I So Tired?" Medical News Today, 28 Sept Web. 2. "Facts and Stats." Drowsy Driving Stay Alert Arrive Alive RSS. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. "Fatigue Management Overview." NSW Department of Industry Resoures and Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. "Managing Fatigue." Workplace Health and Safety Electrical Safety Office Workers' Compensation Regulator, 29 June Web. "Sleep and Sleep Disorders." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Mar Web. and fatigue exposures, it may be necessary to include a policy prohibiting employees from working second jobs. It is of paramount importance that training be provided to help employees understand their responsibilities in the fatigue risk management process. The training should include information about the importance of proper nutrition, physical activity, and adequate sleep in helping prevent fatigue. It's important that an FRMS include specific procedures addressing how to identify suspected fatigue and steps to take when a supervisor or foreman suspects that an employee is suffering the effects of fatigue. The procedures should also address what a supervisor or foreman should do if an employee reports that he or she is fatigued, whether it is a one-time occurrence or an ongoing condition. Employees should be encouraged to report problems of this nature without fear of recourse. Corrective action for prevention should be included. Procedures may include the hierarchy for control of fatigue risks, including: Eliminate: Eliminating night shifts in some areas or for high-risk tasks Substitute: Increasing the length of breaks in a shift Engineering: Improving the environment to improve alertness and reduce hazardous substance exposures Administrative: Using a checklist to help supervisors identify and assess fatigue impairment An effective FRMS program should include procedures for incident investigations to determine if fatigue was a factor. These could include the number of hours that an employee worked during the week and the day prior to the incident, the amount of overtime that the employee was working, and environmental factors and/or personal factors that may be contributing to the employee s fatigue. This information should be logged and reviewed regularly to determine trends. Finally, the program should be evaluated on a regular basis. Review should include any benefits of the program along with additional areas that could benefit the program if included. Consideration should be given to the impact of the program, employee feedback, and possible revisions that could improve the program. Conclusion It should be understood that fatigue management is a shared responsibility, extending to management, supervisors, and employees. Addressing fatigue will help reduce workplace injuries, reduce errors, and provide a safe and healthy work environment for everyone. 3

4 Workplace Wellness Workplace wellness is an often ignored component in the injury and illness prevention process. A comprehensive program will include both safety and wellness to prevent injuries. Introduction Traditionally, the H in the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) positions has been to prevent injuries through hazard reduction. The often ignored component is protecting unhealthy employees from injuries. Both the aging workforce and the obesity epidemic have resulted in increased evidence that an employee s general health may be a factor when determining cause in the accident investigation process. Employees with comorbidities (coexisting medical conditions) are more likely to hurt themselves on the job, require more time and money to treat and heal, and take more time to get back to work. 1 The top six comorbidities include: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), obesity, hypertension, drug abuse, diabetes, and depression. According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) November 2012 key findings: 1 Workers compensation claims with a comorbidity diagnosis increased from 2.4% in 2000 to 6.6% in 2009 Claims with a comorbidity diagnosis have about twice the medical costs of comparable claims These health conditions impact workers' compensation injuries: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 2 6.4% (an estimated 15.7 million adults) had been told by a physician or other health professional that they have COPD (2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data) More than one third (38.0%) of adults with COPD were smokers at the time of diagnosis Activity limitations are common among adults with COPD Obesity More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese 3 Obese workers file twice as many workers' compensation claims, have medical costs that are seven times higher, and average 13 times more days off work 4 An increase in body weight results in a geometric increase in the pressure on the spine, and increases the risk of injury Hypertension About 70 million American adults (29%) have high blood pressure 5 Job stress increases blood pressure Stressful working conditions lead to increased absenteeism, tardiness and turnover 4

5 Drug abuse Abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs results in more than $700 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and health care 6 Substance abuse on the job decreases productivity, increases accidents, absenteeism, turnover, and medical costs Diabetes Diabetes affects 29.1 million people, or 9.3% of the US population 7 Diabetes accounts for 15 million work days absent and 120 million work days with reduced performance 7 Diabetes is directly correlated with obesity and affects the wound-healing process Depression Depression ranks among the top three workplace problems, following family crisis and stress 8 At any one time, one out of every 20 employees is experiencing depression 8 Depression can result in decreased productivity and morale, fatigue, unexplained aches and pains, excessive absenteeism, and alcohol or drug abuse Companies of all sizes need to implement an effective workplace wellness program, not because the health provider or Affordable Care Act recommends it, but because of the costs associated with unhealthy employees. A wellness program, just like an injury and illness prevention program should begin with executive support. Company executives must realize and understand the benefits of the wellness program and provide the time and budget for staffing, measurement tools, and associated programs. Staff from top management, human resources/benefits, safety, and employee representatives should be assigned to a wellness team. The team should include all demographics, and should not be limited to only the young and fit. When determining goals and objectives for accident prevention, the safety committee should review the OSHA Log summary report accident trends report. These reports do not contain names or personal information about employees. The same concept should be applied to the wellness program. The wellness committee should use only aggregate data in its analysis. Private medical information should be protected according to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The data collected by the wellness committee may include aggregate data and summary reports from: Health Risk Assessments, biometric screening, absenteeism records, productivity records, and health insurance costs. This data is used to set program goals, implement the program, and measure the results. The program should be assessed on a regular basis to evaluate its progress and allow for changes as necessary to achieve its goals. 5

6 References Research-Brief-Comorbidities-in- Workers-Compensation-2012.pdf mmwrhtml/mm6411a1.htm adult.html news_and_publications/news_office/ news/ facts.htm index.cfm?daw=home file_depot/ / /31946/folder/76278/ Depression%20in%20the%20 Workplace.pdf A successful, results-oriented wellness program should include: 1. Senior executive support, including a policy statement and budget 2. A wellness committee with assigned roles and responsibilities 3. A specific plan that includes: A mission statement Measurable goals based on both employees needs and requests Timelines Quantifiable data collection 4. Evaluation: Interventions such as education and coaching Data collection and analysis Once the program has been developed, the implementation plan should include specific strategies that identify how to achieve specific goals. A successful plan will include employee feedback and evaluation, noting the program's successes as well as areas for improvement. In the Quality of Work Life and Traditional models, employers could expect a return on investment of about 3:1 within a period of about eighteen months. 9 Conclusion Just like an effective illness and incident prevention plan eliminates the hazards at the workplace, an effective wellness plan will improve the health and productivity of your employees. These programs should be integrated to protect the employability of your workforce your most valuable asset. For more information, contact your risk engineer or the Absence, Health, and Productivity team at absencemanagement@ zurichna.com. The Zurich Services Corporation Risk Engineering 1400 American Lane, Schaumburg, Illinois The information in this publication was compiled from sources believed to be reliable for informational purposes only. All sample policies and procedures herein should serve as a guideline, which you can use to create your own policies and procedures. We trust that you will customize these samples to reflect your own operations and believe that these samples may serve as a helpful platform for this endeavor. Any and all information contained herein is not intended to constitute advice (particularly not legal advice). Accordingly, persons requiring advice should consult independent advisors when developing programs and policies. We do not guarantee the accuracy of this information or any results and further assume no liability in connection with this publication and sample policies and procedures, including any information, methods or safety suggestions contained herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of this information, whether to reflect new information, future developments, events or circumstances or otherwise. Moreover, Zurich reminds you that this cannot be assumed to contain every acceptable safety and compliance procedure or that additional procedures might not be appropriate under the circumstances. The subject matter of this publication is not tied to any specific insurance product nor will adopting these policies and procedures ensure coverage under any insurance policy The Zurich Services Corporation A A (12/15)