Research gaps and needs for preventing worker fatigue in the transportation and utilities industries.

BACKGROUND: The transportation and utilities industries include establishments engaged in the movement of passengers and freight, or the provision of public power, water, and other services. Along with the warehousing industry, they make up the US National Occupational Research Agenda's Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities (TWU) industry sector. In 2018 the sector composed 5% of the US workforce, with approximately 8 million workers. TWU workers experienced 19% of all fatalities among U.S. workers in 2018 and 7% of total occupational injuries and illnesses. METHODS: Around-the-clock operations, heavy workloads, long and irregular shifts, complicated schedules, and time pressures characterize work across the US TWU sector. However, there are considerable differences in worker priorities and concerns between TWU industries. Major areas of concern within the sector include disparities in work schedules; required training for employee fatigue awareness and prevention; physical and mental job demands; and safety culture. RESULTS: Strategies for fatigue mitigation are critical to reduce the prevalence of injuries, safety-critical events, and crashes in TWU workers. Further research on the incidence and characterization of fatigue among TWU workers will guide the development of effective mitigation strategies. The influence of work scheduling on missed sleep opportunities and disrupted circadian rhythms should be determined. Evaluation of fatigue mitigation strategies can lead to the adoption of the most effective ones for each TWU industry. CONCLUSION: Implementation of effective strategies is critical for the health, safety, wellbeing, and productivity of workers in the TWU sector.

Impact of a crime prevention ordinance for small retail establishments.

BACKGROUND: Ordinances requiring the implementation of robbery prevention measures have been enacted at the city level in many jurisdictions. We evaluated the impact of an ordinance requiring crime prevention measures on subsequent crime rates. METHODS: Crime reports for robbery and aggravated assault from January 2006 through December 2015 were linked to randomly-selected convenience stores and small retail grocers in Houston (n = 293). Store characteristics and compliance with a list of safety measures were collected by surveyors in 2011. Generalized linear mixed models were used to compare rates of crime before and after the implementation of the ordinance. RESULTS: Robberies decreased significantly after the ordinance went into effect (rate ratio = 0.38; 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.51). No individual safety measure was associated with decreased robbery rates. No similar decrease was observed for aggravated assault. CONCLUSIONS: City ordinances mandating crime prevention measures can be effective. We could not parse out the effectiveness of individual elements, suggesting a comprehensive approach may be more effective.