Time to fight risk

Long working hours, night work and extended tours of duty can increase risk for both health and safety.

“Some people think working time is primarily a question of pay,” says Elisabeth Vaagen at the PSA. “But it’s also a risk factor, which the companies must include in their overall risk assessment. 

“Research shows that working shifts, at night and for long hours can have negative consequences. The risk of undesirable incidents and work accidents increases with the time spent at work, particularly beyond 12 hours a day.” 

Vaagen, who is a member of the PSA’s occupational health and safety discipline team, notes that many shift workers struggle to function at work and to get enough sleep between shifts. 

Onerous 

Figures from the RNNP process show that the more overtime you work, the more these extra hours are perceived as onerous. Long working days also leave less time for rest and restitution. 

The proportion of workers on the NCS who do so much overtime that it is felt to be a burden has increased steadily – from 11 per cent in 2015 to about 19 per cent in 2021. 

In recent years, the PSA has identified a number of breaches of the regulations related to overtime, extended offshore periods, high workloads, insufficient rest and restitution, and inadequate capacity and competence. 

“Our concern is that such conditions increase the risk of reduced attention and weakened understanding of the position,” says Vaagen. 

“That can lead in turn to errors and serious incidents. Long working days and a high workload over time have negative health effects for the individuals, too. 

“We’re also getting whistleblowing reports related to such conditions.” 

The working environment, health and safety are interdependent

The working environment is a broad concept, comprising many factors that have an impact on both health and safety. The companies must assess the various working environment factors, safety risks and health risks both individually and collectively.

Read more: The working environment, health and safety are interdependent

Legal limits 

“We see examples of companies operating at the edge of the law as defined in the regulations without adequate management of the risk which working time can represent,” Vaagen adds.

She emphasises that hours at work must comply with the regulatory restrictions. And companies must make good assessments to be sure that workers are not exposed to unfortunate physical or mental burdens – and that safety considerations can be met.

Rules on working time in the safety regulations are not always viewed in association with the regulatory requirements on risk reduction and organisation, she notes.

“We expect the companies to assess the risk both for the individual’s health and for making errors. You can’t simply operate at the minimum of all the regulatory requirements.

“An integrated approach must be taken to the regulations – in other words, both their safety provisions and other requirements.”

In recent years, the PSA has identified a number of breaches of the regulations related to overtime, extended offshore periods, high workloads, insufficient rest and restitution, and inadequate capacity and competence.

Relevant: Assessment of extended periods spent offshore and the consequences for employee health and accident risk

Management

Observations made by the PSA in its audits provide many examples of poor working-time management.

• Working more than 16 hours a day. The RNNP data show that almost 16 per cent of survey respondents say they have done this once or more over the past year.
• Working more than the maximum permitted hours over a year.
• Frequent use of extended offshore periods and extra outcalls.
• Failure to record working time and to follow up such records, as well as inadequate use of these data – which are significant for health, safety and the environment.
• Working-time arrangements not in compliance with the regulatory requirements.
• Working more than 12 hours per day for many days in succession.
• Insufficient work-free periods because of both working overtime immediately after normal working time and outcalls at night.
• Inadequate knowledge of the regulations and their interpretation – for example, the main rule requiring an 11-hour period free of work is little known.
• Working time is seldom taken into account when assessing the overall workload.

Exposed

“The longer the working day and the more weeks worked at a stretch, the more employees will be subject to both physical and mental burdens,” Vaagen observes.

“That all adds up to making this an area which must be given a higher priority by the industry. The companies have a special responsibility for ensuring that manning levels are adequate at all times to meet all circumstances and requirements.

“That includes coping with conditions which involve high workloads, sickness and unforeseen events, and also involves responsibility for ensuring that working hours are prudent.”

She adds that the PSA will be continuing to maintain its follow-up of working hours during 2023.

Affects health and safety

Research shows that extended periods of offshore working (overtime, long work sessions and lengthy periods away from land) affect health and safety through general mechanisms. 

These include insufficient time for and reduced quality of sleep (sleep disruption), inadequate restitution between work sessions, and increased exposure to chemical, physical and mechanical factors.  

Night work disrupts the diurnal rhythm and sleep, and increases the risk of fatigue and reduced cognitive function (Stami, 2021). 

More about shift work and sleep: Dealing with daytime in the dark