ABSTRACT
In the last 50 years, work scheduling practices have changed significantly. The number of workers employed in around-the-clock, 7-days-a-week operations has increased. This expansion in work hour use appears to be a global trend, evident within most industrialized nations. It does not appear to be restricted to a specific industry. To some degree, it is a by-product of
• Unfettered introduction of automation • Development of continuous process methods • Use of just-in-time manufacturing practices • Expanding global shipment of goods and materials • Ease of doing business across multiple time zones • Increased public demand for around-the-clock services
From a human factors and ergonomics perspective, around-the-clock operations appear to increase the likelihood that workers will be exposed to additional health and safety risks. These are risks associated with long work hours, night-shift work, and irregular hours. On a positive note, however, it is also possible that these same workplace changes can lead to increases in employment, decreases in overtime use, and more flexible lifestyles. In contemporary legal cases, the primary task of the human factors expert is often one of identifying whether the specific work schedule system under question has a significant (positive or negative) health and/or safety impact on the workers in question or the public in general.
