ILO Home
Go to the home page
Site map | Contact us Français | Español

CISDOC database

Document ID (ISN)107891
CIS number 08-428
ISSN - Serial title 0271-3586 - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Year 2006
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Folkard S., Lombardi D.A.
Title Modeling the impact of the components of long work hours on injuries and "accidents"
Bibliographic information Nov. 2006, Vol.49, No.11, p.953-963. Illus. 35 ref.
Abstract Many of the major industrial disasters of the last few decades 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. In this study, a "risk index" was developed based on published studies of the relationship between the risk of incidents and work schedules. The estimated risks of an incident for various standard work schedules are presented using the proposed model. It was found that 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 spread. The risk depends on the length and type of shift, as well as the frequency of rest breaks.
Descriptors (primary) human factors; fatigue; risk factors; major hazards; human failure; hazard evaluation
Descriptors (secondary) literature survey; shift work; hours of work; mathematical models; workbreaks; statistical evaluation; work time schedules
Document type D - Periodical articles
Country / State or ProvinceFrance; United Kingdom; USA
Subject(s) Occupational physiology
Broad subject area(s) Physiology, ergonomics
Fires, explosions and major hazards
Browse category(ies) Fatigue
Major hazards
Psychological factors
Risk evaluation