Increase Productivity and Safety at Night Shift - Research Proposal Example

?Increase Productivity and Safety at Night Shift Introduction Production department is the most important section for the successful operation of thebusiness. Business organizations strive on the efficiency and capability of its production team who provide quality and quantity goods and services to the customers of organization. As the demands for the products grow in numbers, it has become necessary for the organizations to operate 24/7 and employ more number of people so that the market demand could be met easily. As Coleman (1995) pointed out that businesses can run 24 hours for various reasons which includes customers demand, can be considered as the most economical option or the process requires it. Even in organizations where the operations run on continuous basis without switching the process, the workload is balanced in every shift so as to increase the efficiency of processing during the night hours. Working on the night shifts is more difficult than the day shift. This is because there is the issue of fatigue and loss of concentration that affect quality. Aside this, there are also safety issues that relate to concerns about going to work, staying safe at work and going back home from work, if one is on the night shift. The present research proposes to conduct an intensive study into the measures and facilities that could be improved and developed to increase the safety and production capacity during night shifts Statement of the Problem Why there is a need to study the ill effects of working during night shifts; is a critical and serious question. Folkard and Tucker (2003) mentioned that efficiency and safety on shift systems is a topic of major concern mainly for two reasons, one includes major headline incidents such Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, the Rhine chemical spilling and the Exxon Valdez; all these have occurred at night drawing attention to the risk and safety of work during night. Other reason is to increase the maximum the use of costly equipment for economic benefits. In fact, Vernon (2007, p226) identifies that in industrial settings, night crews are involved in 20% more accidents than those who work during the day. These workers also get involved in 70% eye-related accidents than those who work during the day (Vernon, 2007 p226). Also, Thorpy & Billiard (2011, p412) identified that many motor accidents that occur before daybreak can be attributed to tired drivers who have worked through the night. In view of these risks associated with night shifts and it’s continuance in manufacturing industries in spite of so many tragic incidents, it is clear that maintaining a night shift enables a manufacturing company to do more and increase production volumes. It is therefore an important element of organizations and must be kept as productive as the daytime shift. The research therefore examines the issues with safety, security and productivity with the night shift and how these issues can be handled by management of a manufacturing entity. Problems with the Night Shift Demand for increased production due to global competition and just in time manufacturing methods have forced most of the companies to adopt 24 hours working schedule in order to stay economically active and meet the consumer demand. Operating industrial processes around the clock forces the employees to remain awake at night contrary to their normal biological rhythms resulting in increased fatigue and reduced alertness and productivity (Gupta, 2006). According to Sharman and Sharman (2008) working during night time upsets the body’s natural process and health effects go far beyond sleep deprivation, decreased concentration, creativity short term memory and decision making ability. According to Folkard and Tucker (2003) the number of people at work and nature of their work vary across shifts as long runs were often saved for night shift with reduced supervision of operations. It is further analyzed on the basis of three different studies on real job measures for 24 hour day operated organization that there was a relatively massive dip in the efficiency measures during the course of night shift. Risk at work was found to be huge during night hours in various five studies carried out to study the risk factors and measured that night shift had the highest threat of being getting injured or possibilities of occurrence of an accident. Many authors have argued that safety may be compromised at night since people are normally asleep during night hours and if awake to work at night shift, their alertness and performance capabilities typically reach a low ebb in the early hours of morning resulting in low performance, less productivity and enhanced risk of accidents or injury (Folkard, Lombardi and Tucker, 2005). Earlier studies have identified that there are certain risks associated with night shifts, both health wise and production wise, the present study intends to carry out intensive research to find the most suitable and probable solutions and recommendations to increase the productivity and strategy to enhance work culture during night so that safety is maintained reducing the accidents and injuries. What others have tried, with what results Night shifts are exhausting and can have a significant impact on individual’s health affecting the body’s circadian rhythms which regulate bodies function and programs when and how to respond to certain activities (Miller, et al, 2010 p3). In order to tackle with the drawbacks of night shift, many organizations formulated various strategies and framework for successful operation while minimizing the risks. In U.S Air Force where there is the need for alertness in the night, a lot of research has been done into efficiency with night crews. They have developed the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool (FAST) for their own personnel whcih can help any company schedule work shifts so that night workers will be at their most alert status (Hancock & Szalma, 2008, p241). This tool is a computer program that quantifies the effects of work-rest schedules on workers and helps supervisors plan shifts accordingly. The aim is for the planner is to attain a goal of 90% cognitive effectiveness by adjusting work and rest schedules (Spadanuta ,2011) It has been proven that working in poor light or low quality light might induce accidents and excessive straining of the eye can also lead to sight problems. One research conducted by Van Bommel et al, (2002 p7) which involved an experiment before and after an event shows that when the lighting system of a metal company was changed, there was a dramatic reduction in the rate of accidents. Prior to the experiment, 300lux of light was used and this was changed to 2000lux. Accidents were reduced by 52% with the night shift. It was obvious from the results that improving lighting in a factory can reduce fatigue and accidents amongst the night shift and also increases productivity by 8%. Whilst at work, there are a number of tendencies that can make the night shift employees make mistakes in the production (leading to defective goods) and decrease productivity more than day time workers.. Food pro, a food company established over 70 years ago and currently has 120 employees was tested and this produced empirical results supporting this position. To avert these issues, they strongly communicate with employees and have established a wall of fame to put outstanding operatives in the spotlight for bonuses whenever they exhibit excellent performance. The wall posted each person's weekly record of the number of pieces picked, number of cases pulled, and number of errors made an error rate per 1,000 cases. Posting individual records led to an expedite rate of error reduction amongst the workers in the night shift. Healthy competition between night crew selectors and supervisors began leading to greater working environment (Ribler, 2010). Plan for Implementation of Solution A systematic approach to the research paper is in very much need in academic investigations. In accordance to the systematic approach of research there are two types of research works that are generally optional and even complementary to each other. The primary research is the one that captures the originality that is present in the research done by the investigator or in other words the researcher himself. The secondary research on the other hand contains the disciplinary knowledge on the particular subject that is present in the literatures already existing and has similarity to the subject of the research chosen by the particular researcher. The methodology that will be used for primary research is a descriptive one as the researchers achieve a satisfaction in collecting the data personally. The primary research adds new data to the existing one and hence it is dynamic. The primary research made in this research work will mainly concentrate on a single manufacturing unit. It is proposed to select a manufacturing unit which generally has both shifts of works. The secondary research will involve the information used from the existing articles, literature and other journal papers. However inconsistency with the present research may remain along with certain biasness in the information which is beyond the scope of verification by the researcher. Thus a combination of primary and secondary research is to be conducted (Primary and secondary research). Plan for Evaluation The data generation in this particular research will generally involve direct interview of the participants through different questions incorporated in form of questionnaires. Samples will be selected from a single manufacturing unit who will be general workers along with their supervisors. The sample size selected for the primary research will vary between 25-30 depending on the availability of the workers and the supervisors on the particular schedule of the interview. The primary research will mainly be a qualitative one where as the scope of both qualitative and quantitative research is in the secondary technique of study. References 1. Coleman R.M. (1995) The 24-hour business: maximizing productivity through round-the-clock operations, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, New York, 2. Folkard, S and Tucker P (2003) Shift Work, Safety and Productivity: In Depth Review: Shift Work, Occupational Medicine, Vol 53, pp 95-101 3. Folkard, S, Lombardi D.A. and Tucker, P.T. (2005) Shiftwork: Safety, Sleepiness and Sleep, Review Article, Industrial Health, Vol. 40, pp.20-23 4. Gupta, A (2006) Industrial Safety and Environment, Firewall Media, India 5. Hancock, Peter & Szalma, James (2008) Performance under Stress Ashgate Publishing 6. Miller, Fredric, Vandome Agnes & MacBrewster, John (2010) Circadian Rhythm New Jersey, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons 7. Riber, Karen, J (2010) “Management trends, Competition keeps shift crews and departments primed” Available online at: http://www.myidaccess.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62610&Itemid=76 Accessed May 29th, 2011. 8. Sharman, R.L and Sharman C.H (2008) Night Shift NYC, University of California Press, US 9. Spadanuta, Laura (2011) Security Management, Night and Biology Conspire against Security Guards.Available online at: http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/night-and-biology-conspire-against-security-guard-vigilance-008441 Accessed: May 25th, 2011 10. Teran, Fernando (2008) The physiological effect of working the midnight shift. Human Factors, 1-11. Retrieved on May 23, 2011 from: http://jclauson.com/msqa/term_papers/the_physiological_effect_of_working_the_midnight_shift.pdf 11. Thorpy, Michael & Billiard Michel (2011) Sleepiness: Causes, Consequences & Treatment Cambridge University Press. 12. Vernon, Horrace Middleton (2007) Industrial Fatigue and Efficiency (original version, 1921): Digitalized, New York Ayer Publishers. 13. Von.Bommel Ir. W.J.M, Van den Beld Ir. G.J , & Van OOyen, Ir.M.H.F. (2002), Philips Experiment, Netheland Lighting Available online at: http://www.tvvl.nl%2Fcms%2Fstreambin.aspx%3Frequestid%3D75873E57-94EA-4547-8E74-4D57FAE607AF Accessed: 29th May, 2011 Read More