International Operating Engineer - Summer 2018

HAZMAT
There’s an App for That: Excavations 101
Fatigue: Serious Safety Hazard in the Workplace
THE NTF NATIONAL HAZMAT Program has released
an Excavation Safety app for handheld devices, available in
Apple (iTunes) and Android (Google Play) versions. Once
downloaded, the Excavations 101 app can be used without
Internet service.
Whether it’s a remote jobsite, in a big city, or at home,
you will be able to use the Excavations 101 app wherever and
whenever you need it.
The app incorporates the OSHA Excavation Standard,
29 CFR 1926 Subpart P, and resources that address issues
concerning Excavation and Trench Safety. These resources
include:
To download the Excavations 101 app, simply go to any
search engine and type “Excavations 101.” For questions
or more information, please call (304) 253-8674 or email
hazmat@iuoehazmat.org.
WORKER FATIGUE, often an overlooked hazard on the
job site, can be a debilitating and deadly problem. So what
exactly is fatigue? According to the National Safety Council,
fatigue describes the feeling of tiredness, sleepiness, reduced
energy and increased effort needed to perform tasks at a
desired level.
A 2012 guidance statement from the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine defines fatigue
as the human body’s response to sleep deprivation or lengthy
physical or mental hard work. One researcher notes that even
dealing with other people can result in fatigue. Going to work
and having poor social interactions with your coworkers can
also be a cause of fatigued.
• Sleep loss – less than 7 hours of sleep a day (43%)
• No rest breaks – lack of short rest break during his/her
shift (10%)
• Quick shift returns – less than 12 hours off between
shifts (14%)
• Long commutes – commute of 30 minutes or more
(31%)
• Work overtime
• Work many days in a row
• Work where they are exposed to harsh environmental
conditions
• Work in noise and/or vibration
• Perform heavy mental task loads for long periods of
time
• Key definitions
• Soil classification and procedures/methods to
determine the soil classification
• Protective systems
• Excavation hazards
Interactive tools include a Slope Calculator that shows
the degree of an existing slope when the device is placed
against the slope, and a Sloping or Shielding Calculator that
compares sloping vs shielding for a proposed excavation.
Enter data into the Slope Calculator for soil classification,
trench depth, width of bottom, and length of trench, and
this tool will configure a drawing of the cross-section with
measurements including the total top width of the trench,
and a tentative yardage of material that would be removed if
sloping were used for the trench. This can be used to assist
the competent person to determine if a protective system
should be used or if the trench should be sloped instead.
Fatigue is cumulative and the result of inter-related
factors. These factors include:
• Sleep loss (lack of sleep)
• Time of day
• Time on task
• Long work hours
• Heavy work load
• Environmental conditions
• Medical conditions
• Job demands
• Shift work—works a non-daytime shift (difficult to get
proper sleep in their time off)
• Rotating shift work—worst for working against our own
biology and putting ourselves at risk for sleep debt
The effects of fatigue can include slower reaction
time, more errors and decreased cognitive ability. David
Lombardi, principal research scientist at the Center for
Injury Epidemiology at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute
for Safety in Hopkinton, MA, is quoted as saying, “Fatigue is
an increasing health and safety problem in our lives due to
the 24-hour society with decreasing emphasis on sleep.”
Research has shown that fatigue can be equated to
the same amount of impairment from alcohol intake and
therefore the same amount of cause for concern.
IUOE National
HAZMAT Program
Phone: (304) 253-8674
Email: hazmat@iuoehazmat.org
www.iuoehazmat.org
Indicators that you work in an industry that may be at
high/highest risk for fatigue include:*
• Shift Work – non-day shift (17%)
• Demanding jobs – work tasks that require sustained
attention for long periods of time, or tasks that are
monotonous, tasks that are repetitive or mentally
demanding (81%)
• Long shifts/Long work hours – as shift duration
increases, safety risks also increase (21% work 10
hours or more each shift)
• Long weeks – weeks of 50 hours or more (22%)
Now that the effects and indicators of fatigue on the job
site has been covered, look in the next issue of International
Operating Engineer magazine for further discussion on
different ways to handle fatigue and be safe on the job.
*Fatigue in the Workplace: Causes & Consequences of Employee
Fatigue; National Safety Council, 2017
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SUMMER 2018 11