Fatigue and Shift Work

Question 1

Physical exertion, physical discomfort, lack of energy, lack of motivation, sleepiness are all included under the term ______

Answer 1

Fatigue

Question 2

Reducing fatigue is important as is maintains/increases __________ and allows a person to have ‘optimal’ stress

Answer 2

productivity

Question 3

Most jobs have peaks and valleys of demands, fatigue increases exponentially with time, and rest is more beneficial if it occurs _________

Answer 3

before the muscle is too fatigued

Question 4

Value of rest declines exponentially with ______

Answer 4

time

Question 5

Different body parts have different ______________

Answer 5

recovery rates

Question 6

During ‘working rest’ the shift to another task allows work and rest to occur simultaneously

TRUE/FALSE

Answer 6

True

Question 7

• -

Answer 7

• How fatigued the muscles are to begin with
• length of the rest (response)
• What happens to the muscle (cardiovascular system, brain) during rest (the response)

Question 8

Using Spitzer’s model for rest hours (allowances) M is?

Answer 8

Between 4 and 8

4

Question 9

Using Murrell’s model for rest hours (allowances) M is?

Answer 9

M is greater than 8

M>8

Question 10

Spitzer’s Model:

R% =

Answer 10

percent of working time allowed fore rest-recovery and light duty (added to work time for total shift)

Question 11

Murrell’s Model:

Rt =

Answer 11

minutes of recovery time required per shift

Question 12

In both Murrell’s and Spitzer’s Models M =

Answer 12

M = net metabolic cost (kcal/min) of activity, or the gross energy demands less resting metabolism (approximately 1.7 and 1.4 kcal/min for men nd women respectively)

Question 13

In Murrell’s Model
T =
S =

Answer 13

T = total shift time

S = requirement of standard task, Murrell estimated this to be 5 kcal/min for males and 4 kcal/min for females

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of Spitzer and Murrell’s equations?

Answer 14

• Tell how much rest should be taken but not when it should be taken
• Useful for deciding the duration of rest during continuous dynamic work only when the work under consideration falls under the category of heavy work

Question 15

What are some safety concerns related to shift work?

Answer 15

• Cause of accidents
• Disturbance of circadian rhythms can affect concentration, motivation, and reaction time
• Combination can result in an increased risk of accident and injury
• Disagreement about whether shift workers have a greater risk of injury
• Lack of sleep heightens the decline in performance normally experienced at certain times of the day
• research has shown that the optimum mental performance level for workers occurs between 2 and 4 pm and maximum general awareness is between 1pm - 7pm

Question 16

Negative effects of prolonged hours of work and sleep deprivations depend on…

Answer 16

• Type of task performed
• motivation of the worker
• timing (wakefulness and sleepiness appear in cycles)

Question 17

In general, sleep loss (associated with long periods of work) deteriorates performance in terms of:

Answer 17

• reaction time (failure to respond or false response)
• slowed cognition
• diminished memory

Question 18

Forward rotating shift (day to afternoon to night) seems to cause the least amount of stress because…

Answer 18

circadian rhythms adjust better when moving forward

Question 19

Improvement strategies to shift schedule design can be made in an organizational approach, some examples of improvements include:

Answer 19

• Avoid permanent night shifts
• Keep consecutive night shifts to a minimum
• Avoid “mini-vacations”
• Time off at socially advantageous times
• Special shift system if production demands result in extended period of overtime work
• Design schedules well ahead of time - regular and predictable
• Workload distribution

Question 20

To improve shiftwork 2 basic levels of improvements can be made:

Answer 20

• Organizational level

- Individual level

Question 21

On an organizational level improvements strategies for shift work can include:

Answer 21

• Facilities
  (work environment, rest facilities, cafeteria service, exercise facilities, quality daycare)
• Education (on potential health and safety effects of rotational shiftwork and how to alleviate them , stress recognition and reduction techniques)

Question 22

On an individual level improvements strategies for shift work can include:

Answer 22

• Diet, eating patterns and exercise (maintain regular eating patterns, type of food, avoid antacids, tranquillizers and sleeping pills)
• sleep (set schedule, make family and friends aware of schedule, relaxation techniques, napping, lighting)