The importance of a good rest for operators

published by Daniela Rodriguez on March 17, 2017

Every day we are surprised with a new celebration on the calendar, which is Taco Day, Kiss Day, Beer Day and why not, the one we celebrate this March 17: World Sleep Day. It seems like a very trivial celebration, however, a good rest is essential to stay healthy, be in a good mood and, of course, have a good work performance.

There are some jobs that are especially demanding, among which the operation of heavy vehicles occupies one of the first places. Throughout their lives, operators learn that sleep deprivation is one of the job requirements, so they learn to deal with fatigue; however, according to the Department of Transportation of the United States of America, fatigue is the cause of about 4,000 deaths per year related to heavy vehicles, so it is very important to have established rest periods to avoid an accident caused By this situation.

Alex Theissen, President of the National Association of Private Transport (ANTP), pointed out that one of the main causes of road safety is operator fatigue caused by long periods of time spent behind the wheel and, which in many cases, forces them to resort to chemical substances to stay awake.

The fatigue caused by the lack of regulation in driving hours, he said, is the main problem that must be tackled through the enforcement of a rule.

In this regard, he pointed out that the operators of the companies belonging to the ANTP do comply with a maximum number of driving hours. However, he stated that it is necessary for this regulation to be extended to the entire trucking industry.

He commented that this cannot be an isolated effort, because road safety is a problem that concerns the entire industry and society in general, hence the importance of sharing his proposal with other chambers and motor transport associations, which will favor a generalized application that increases the possibility of success of this measure. “There is much talk of prohibiting configurations, of eliminating weight, but as long as the human factor, the main cause of accidents, is not addressed, we will not be able to reduce accident rates,” he specified.

In the context of this celebration, Malysa O'Connor, Senior Director of Practice Distribution and Services at Kronos Human Capital, shares five tips to help prevent operator fatigue:

• Make sure they have adequate breaks between each trip.
• Make scheduling trips and schedule changes as easy as possible for operators. That their availability and preferences be taken into account.
• Provide more mobile applications and solutions for operators to have more control over their workdays from remote locations, as well as help swap schedules with a colleague who has the same skills and certifications without administrator intervention.
• Reinforce the use of mobile devices. It is important to help operators make their work more flexible with mobile applications to complete their work-related tasks.
• Invest in more health and wellness initiatives to promote the value of a healthy lifestyle for operators.