Night Shift Safety

Many different types of jobs require people to work shifts outside of “normal” daytime hours – convenience store clerks, hospital emergency room staff, law enforcement personnel, and firefighters, to name a few. Evening and night shift work can be challenging as it disrupts the body’s regular sleep/wake schedule. This leads to fatigue, stress, and lack of concentration, and increases the risk of operator error, injuries, and accidents.

This course describes some of the common hazards of night shift work and ways to deal with them. Specifically, it discusses sleep deprivation symptoms and prevention, nighttime weather and lighting needs, and best practices for working outside and operating mobile equipment at night.

• State the definition of extended and unusual work shifts
• List common hazards of night shift work
• Describe sleep deprivation causes, symptoms, and prevention
• Describe how nighttime weather can affect working outside
• List lighting needs for working outside at night
• Identify best practices for working outside and operating mobile equipment during a night shift