Prevention of accidents by transportation shiftworkers

For commercial transportation operations, around-the-clock operations are not a recent development. Despite the tenure of these practices, many accidents related to hours worked continue to be a problem. Although efforts by shiftwork experts to solve these problems are often mode specific, the transportation field does suggest several alternative approaches, which may be relevant to general shiftwork problems outside the transportation area. Four contemporary approaches to transportation shiftwork are discussed: environmental design, equipment design, organizational design, and information access systems. Examples are presented within each of these approaches.