Review safety policies on late shifts

You can’t fault anyone boarding a red-eye flight these days for being nervous. With several air traffic controllers being caught literally sleeping on the job, it’s right to question how safe the skies are at night.

The Federal Aviation Administration is taking quick steps to make amends, and further review will be ongoing. At DuPage Airport, a second controller has been added to the midnight shift. O’Hare and Midway airports were found to have an adequate number already working it.

But the incidents in the towers shed light on a potentially much broader problem. Many government agencies and private businesses rely on round-the-clock staffing, and if workers’ sleep needs are not met, they could be placing themselves and others in peril. This should be a warning for all employers to review policies that help ensure workers aren’t too tired to do their jobs.

The dangers of shift work are nothing new. Studies show on-the-job injury rates are higher at nighttime, when attention levels can drop dramatically. Particularly onerous are rotating shifts. Those who work dayside one week and then move to a night shift the next are asking their bodies to make major adjustments that can lead to sleep deprivation. “Shift-work disorder” is now a clinically recognized condition.

Government regulations limit the length of time truckers can drive and pilots can fly. But beyond that, the law does little to design work schedules that reduce fatigue. Nurses care for patients for 12-hour stretches, and police and firefighters must be ready to respond to a crisis at any hour. Factories with dangerous equipment run graveyard shifts. Security guards and military personnel carry weapons. Cabbies and utility and rail workers work the wee hours. Policies must be geared toward ensuring a high level of alertness to promote their safety and the safety of others.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has quashed the idea of taxpayer-paid naps, but he’s allowing the controllers an extra hour of rest. In addition, they will have at least nine hours off between shifts, compared with eight now.

Safety experts suggest other steps, such as avoiding quick shift changes and keeping long work shifts and overtime to a minimum. Employers also should examine the length and quality of break times. Personnel programs could include advice on improved sleep strategies, exercise and diet to encourage workers to take individual responsibility for coming to work alert.

Once only found in big cities and at truck stops, a 24/7 lifestyle is now the modus operandi in the suburbs, too. Employers here must be aware of what’s happening with their night crews. While air traffic controllers and other shift workers have a responsibility to stay awake on the job, they also must be given every advantage to do so.