Hours of work and rest in the rail industry

Recognizing the significant role that fatigue plays in occupational accident risk, Australia's National Transport Commission is currently considering the content that will form the regulatory framework for the National Law of Rail Safety with respect to fatigue. In this article, the authors argue that such frameworks should include a traditional hours of service (HoS) regulation. They suggest that shift durations that are greater than 12 hours double the risk of accident and injury and, with each successive shift without adequate rest, fatigue cumulatively builds. Therefore, any regulation intended for fatigue management should incorporate limits on work and rest that include maximums on shift duration and successive number of shifts. The authors also suggest that a fatigue management system should use validated biomathematical models and technologies and include a comprehensive sleep disorder screening and management program.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.12159
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/14440903
• Authors:
  • Anderson, C
  • Grunstein, R R
  • Rajaratnam, S M W
• Publication Date: 2013-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 717-721
• Serial:
  • Internal Medicine Journal
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Asia
  • ISSN: 1444-0903
  • EISSN: 1445-5994
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1445-5994

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatigue (Physiological condition); Hours of labor; Occupational safety; Railroad transportation; Regulations; Rest periods; Shifts
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• Subject Areas: Policy; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01489948
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 25 2013 12:21PM