10:04 am, Thursday 4 November, 2010

A new research has revealed that longer work hours are negatively affecting employees’ balance between life and work.

SafeWork SA’s Work Life Balance project and the University of South Australia’s Centre for Work and Life and its Centre for Sleep Research completed the research as part of Safe Work Week.

According to the report, overworked staff forgo sleep in an attempt to fit work into their lives. However, this causes them to be irritable and tired after work hours.

The study found that almost one in three workers does not get to sleep for at least seven hours a night and frequently feels tired at home and at work.

According to about 30 per cent of employees interviewed, work affects their fatigue levels since they don’t get enough sleep.

Longer work hours lead to less time to fulfill their responsibilities outside of work including family commitments, the research said.

Michelle Hogan, SafeWork SA Work Life Balance project manager, said fatigue and strain between personal and professional life were key indicators of a person’s wellbeing.

She said previous studies found that insufficient sleep and fatigue can increase the risk of workplace errors and accidents. She said the most recent study has uncovered that work can have an impact on the worker’s home life as well.

“Fatigue is a growing issue at work,” she said.

“Long and irregular working hours is one of the key issues people are working around to try to get some sort of control over work and the responsibilities in the rest of their lives.

“Work-life interference has been shown to contribute to a range of problems in the workplace such as increased turnover, reduced productivity and reduced job satisfaction and commitment.”

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02:07 pm, Saturday 2 October, 2010

The Queensland Government is making its presence felt in the construction sites across the state.

This move is part of the Government’s initiative to improve the sector’s safety performance.

According to Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick, the audit program will be spearheaded by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) and will focus on  falls from heights.

Mr Dick said inspectors will also look into fatigue, and licensing.

“Workers in the construction industry deserve to be safe,” he said.

“Workplace Health and Safety Queensland briefed about 90 representatives from the industry today on plans to target falls from height and other hazards over the coming year.

“Unfortunately, accident and injury statistics show that there is plenty of room for improvement within the industry when it comes to safety.

“In particular, falls-from-height claims have jumped from 8 per cent of all claims within the industry five years ago to 14 per cent in 2008-09.

“That’s why WHSQ will be focusing on falls from height over the coming year.”

Mr Dick said about 10 per cent of Queensland workers are employed in the construction sector. Over 4000 serious injury claims are made by construction workers every year. Forty eight per cent of these claims are made by tradespersons, including joiners, electricians.

“To help get these statistics down, the audits will be conducted by experienced inspectors focusing on legislative compliance, assessing health and safety systems and identifying areas for improvement.”

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02:41 pm, Tuesday 31 August, 2010

A Queensland accident research centre will take a closer look at the connection between heavy truck drivers.

Queensland University of Technology’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety will undertake a three-year study that will also look into the effect of safety regulations on driver behaviour.

PhD student Jason Edwards. a member of the research team, said a huge proportion of road fatalities in the state involve heavy vehicle crashes.

“When you look at the Queensland statistics, heavy vehicle crashes result in 20 per cent of all road fatalities and there’s been a lot of different laws that have been passed and a lot of different regulations that are going around,” he said.

“Despite everything that’s happening, even on a national level, there’s still just a really high number of fatalities.

“What we’re really wanting to know is what leads to those things. So there’s a lot of talk about heavy vehicle industry but what we want to look at is what are the cultural and organisational issues that actually contribute to fatigue happening in the first place.”

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02:05 pm, Tuesday 25 May, 2010

A truck driver’s union has been critical of the slow response by the Federal Government on a report released 18 months ago.

The union, who is pushing for reforms in the truck-related accidents since the release of the report.

A recent casualty involved a truck driver who crashed his vehicle on the Calder Highway at Wedderburn in May 17.

According to the union’s national assistant secretary, the industry needs a better payment system that discourages risk taking among drivers.

“Fatigue – just like resorting to using artificial stimulants, just like manufacturing entries in log books – they’re all symptoms of a greater problem,” he said.

“That problem is the economic pressure in the industry.”

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01:43 pm, Tuesday 25 May, 2010

WorkCover is pushing to minimise fatigue in long-distance trucking.

WorkCover has launched a campaign in recognition that fatigue is a relevant safety and health risk for the 36,000 NSW truckers.

According to WorkCover, everyone involved in long-distance freight driver, employer, carrier, consignor or consignee.

As part of the campaign, WorkCover staff will visit businesses connected with transporting freight and give guidance materials. WorkCover will also conduct driver awareness days.

The driver awareness days are aimed at informing businesses of good fatigue management practices and how to recognise the signs of fatigue.

For the workplace visits, inspectors will focus on issues such as safety training for drivers, and workers compensation and injury management systems.

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01:53 pm, Thursday 22 April, 2010

Mining companies within Broken have been urged to incorporate health issues in their management plans.

The New South Wales Department of Industry & Investment conducted sessions with representatives of mining companies in the area yesterday to discuss health management and musculoskeletal disorders.

Heather Jackson, the manager of the Mining Industry Assistance Unit, said mining businesses must note health hazard areas so their term health impact on workers can be minimised.

“We’re really having a focus on that and encouraging the mines to control the exposures to these hazards at the source and therefore reduce the likelihood of people getting an exposure level that would result in a sort of chronic illness or degenerative condition,” she said.

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10:00 pm, Saturday 10 April, 2010

A string of seminars across New South Wales will focus on the hazards faced in the mining industry, including their health and business implications.

The workshops are hosted by Industry and Investment NSW. For the next seven months, the workshops will centre on common issues among miners, including health and fatigue management and musculoskeletal disorders.

The workshops in Orange, Dubbo, Cobar and Lithgow have been organised following the Wran Mine Safety Review.

John Flint, the director of mine safety performance, John said the cost to staff and companies can be substantial if it is administered improperly.

“Best practice occupational health and safety, which includes best practice health management, is one of the pathway to high productivity,” he said.

“You cannot have a highly productive mine if you have poor health and safety.”

Mr Flint says the safety risks are not limited to the mining industry.

“They’re a problem for general industry as well but they’re specifically to address issues that have been identified as areas of need in the mining industry, not discounting that they are issues in other industries as well.”

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05:36 pm, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

WorkSafe WA has turned its attention to the increasing number of work hours among employees on the Gorgon gas project.

The safety agency says fly-in-fly-out semiskilled workers and tradesmen in Pilbara, which has agreed to 70-hour work weeks, could be more vulnerable to risks.

Under the new agreement, workers will work 70 hours per week in exchange for an annual $150,000 wage and 9-day breaks every 26 days.

Worksafe Commissioner Nina Lyhne warns the long hours could lead to fatigue.

“It’s very difficult to draw a line in the sand and say this does or doesn’t comply,” she said.

“I would say that 70 hours a week certainly sounds like it’s at the higher end of the scale, and there would be cause for concern if there weren’t appropriate arrangements in place for adequate breaks and those sorts of things.

“So, I think it’s a good opportunity to remind companies that there is a code of practice for working hours in place in Western Australia, and it’s important they take that into consideration.”

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