Australian fly-in,fly-out operations: Impacts on communities,safety,workers and their families

1.1 Compressed work schedules, shift work and work hours

As FIFO/DIDO operations become increasingly popular, organisational working arrangements and hours of work become an important practice to manage due to costs [7]. Much research has investigated the impacts of compressed schedules, shift work and extended working hours on employees in various sectors including manufacturing, nursing, oil and gas operations and mining. There is no universal roster design for FIFO/DIDO workers with over 70 different schedules among mining and energy employees identified [11]. Rosters can either consist of even-time (i.e. 14 days on, 14 days off) or asymmetrical designs (i.e. 21 days on, 7 days off). Scheduling may include day shift, night shift or rotation between night and day shift. Although there are many combinations and patterns of compressed work schedules found in FIFO workplaces, employees reported more satisfaction when compressed work schedules followed a pattern of 14 days on, 7 days off. An investigation of the effects of different roster cycles on miners finding regardless of shift type, sleep debt accumulated for all workers, and home periods required adequate days off for recovery [12]. In addition to the compacted roster schedules, employees often work extended hours (10 or 12 hour shifts), with some FIFO/DIDO workers expected to travel to/from sites in their own time which posed additional safety hazards in relation to fatigue management [13].

The concern for workforce safety through shift work and extended working hours in mining is supported by research conducted by Muller and colleagues who measured the performance of employees working an asymmetrical roster of 28-days on, 5-days off working 12-hour shifts, finding particularly on night-shift, performance deteriorated beyond a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) reading of 0.05% [14]. In contrast Baker and colleagues did not find any substantial differences on reported safety performance through changing of employee rosters from 8 hours to 12 hours, offering this may have been due to employees working shorter roster cycles (12 hour by 7 day cycle – study one, and 12 hour, 5 day schedule with uncapped overtime – study two) [15]. It was suggested safety performance may be affected by tasks performed, amount of overtime worked and time of day. In particular, incidents reported in the 12-hour shifts were most common for the day shift during the middle of the shift at 5-6 hours and towards the end of the shift at 9-10 hours, and the first 4-5 hours for the night shift [15]. For the eight hour shifts, reports incidents for the day shift are more common at the beginning (within 2-3 hours), with the afternoon and night shifts towards the end (after 4-5 hours) [15]. The study does not report which days of the shift are more prone to incidents (i.e. first day, mid-shift or towards end of shift), in addition this study measured changes before and after a significant reduction in employees and changes were necessary to ensure survival of the mine where retained employees may have influenced findings. To determine if working extended hours increased stress, cortisol changes in FIFO workers and their partners were measured finding no significant differences in stress between employees working different rosters, concluding extended hours did not contribute to additional stress [16]. Participants included were from a broad range of mining occupations, rosters, and typically worked longer than 10-hour shifts. Australian coal and energy workers were surveyed, where more than 60% of respondents indicated they had no input into the amount of hours worked [11]. With workplace consultation forming a large part of managing health and safety, perhaps the lack of employee consultation on hours of work and shift work arrangements contributes to employee dissatisfaction with working arrangements compounding to influence performance and safety [17].

There has since been a substantial development in the management of working hours urging employers to adopt a risk management approach in controlling hours of work while considering the health and safety risks in relation to workplaces. Recommendations include insuring overtime and shift work should not extend beyond 12-hour shifts [18], with the Queensland Government advising regular, predictable, faster rotating shifts from day/night shift with adequate post-work recovery periods [19]. In addition, travel time to/from work should also be assessed for any additional risks for employees travelling home from sites or airports. Understanding the effects of different roster schedules, hours worked, adaptation to shift work and consultation may assist in managing the risks associated with shift work and extended hours for FIFO employees.

In light of current research, challenges are raised specifically for FIFO/DIDO workers to further understand how employees are affected by the particular times and days which pose hazards to the employee or organisation. A more clear understanding of how work tasks and job rotation can be managed by industry may assist with safety, performance and worker satisfaction [17]. Investigating the use of consultation in the design of compressed work schedules and how the different lengths of schedules may impact on safety, performance and satisfaction could be used to design an optimal schedule for FIFO workers within the resources industry [20, 21]. Finally, using the examination of appropriate length of compressed work schedules to implement a standard working arrangement, and policies in relation to developing appropriate lengths of schedules to minimise further risks posed to employees and organisations (for example limiting the use of longer schedules such as 21 days on, 7 days off) [17].

1.2 Sleep disruption

Shift work arrangements associated with FIFO/DIDO operations introduce a myriad of sleep issues often due to hours worked and rotating roster schedules. The impact of sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions has been a widely researched topic in many types of shift workers (for example see Wang and colleagues for a review on the potential health consequences) [22]. Bjorvatn and colleagues studied the subjective and objective impacts on employees who experienced increased concerns for night shift adaptation to sleep cycles on a FIFO oil rig. Those experiencing problematic sleep adjustments reported higher rates of sleepiness, yet functioned satisfactorily on performance tests, with night shift functioning improving over consecutive night shifts [23]. This may suggest the need to ensure sleep patterns are carefully considered to reduce the likelihood of performance based errors [24]. An investigation of the shift cycle changes at a Canadian underground mine revealed changes to employees shift cycles not encompassing the entire night period may have contributed to increased performance for night shift workers, with night workers working from 5pm–3am reporting increases in sleep quality warranting further investigation [25].

To better understand FIFO/DIDO adaptation to shift work in an Australian context, a study found circadian rhythm disturbances impact performance at alarming rates, particularly on night shift employees after the first two night shifts, noting an important need for organisations to manage work functions or job rotation [14]. Also reported was more than half of FIFO workers are sleeping six hours or less per day while working night shift, compared to reporting sleeping approximately 6.1–8 hours during day shift and while on leave. The insufficient number and quality of research available has previously been emphasised, and the difficulties in recommending ideal shift scheduling rosters to understand effects of roster schedules for sleep optimisation [26]. The Queensland Government makes a list of recommendations for control measures in the management of the risks associated with shift work for mining operations. These recommendations include: designing regular and predictable work schedules, developing schedules with adequate periods of rest between shifts, minimising impacts of circadian disruptions by using fast and forward rotating schedules, and discouraging engagement in additional employment while on rest periods [19].

The challenge posed to industry is for the implementation of practical measures to ensure sleep debt is minimised for FIFO/DIDO workers and to understand further how sleep can be managed to reduce circadian rhythm disturbances, ensuring safety, performance, and an increase in the quality and number of hours sleep while on camp. Future research may be required to investigate regulating sleep through adjusting start and finish times for night shift workers to determine if ending of night shift before sunrise helps to reduce sleepiness, and to provide industry with information to minimise sleep debt [25].

1.3 Fatigue

Occupational health and safety laws require organisations ensure risks are managed in relation to safety and performance. It is evident sleep disturbances and fatigue management forms a large part of those risks for FIFO/DIDO operations. Fatigue management has improved with government introducing guidelines for industry, focusing on shift management and understanding sleep disruptions to manage scheduling of work [27]. As it was found fatigue impacted substantially on employee performance after eight consecutive days on shift work, a suggestion of limiting shift work to a maximum of eight consecutive 12-hour shifts to limit occupational induced fatigue was made [14]. In addition it was reported the sleep quality influenced fatigue for night shift workers for the beginning of the shift cycle, and duration of sleep (net hours) impacted fatigue for the day shift cycle [14].

Tiernan recognises the importance of fatigue management by explaining industry is obligated to ensure risks are managed in relation to worker fatigue, and employers need to consider varying contributing factors to worker fatigue management [28]. The factors for consideration include shift design, overtime, travelling to/from sites for DIDO employees and airports for FIFO employees, any secondary employment undertaken on extended leave periods, and the actual tasks/responsibilities designated to the worker while at work, or at home. The length of time and actual task being performed can also influence fatigue [29]. In addition, the need to ensure fatigue is managed through rigorous risk management practices and need to include travelling to and from work and investigation of incidents in relation to fatigue is also required [28].

The safety implications associated with DIDO employees travelling long distances and driving at the conclusion of an extended night shift cycle was also investigated. These employees were found to experience excessive sleepiness, with some employees reporting instances of falling asleep while driving [30]. In addition, it was highlighted that the need for industries with FIFO/DIDO workforces to adequately manage risks associated with employees commuting after working extended hours was needed to reduce the likelihood of vehicle collisions [30]. Information presented to the Regional Standing Committee Inquiry revealed driver fatigue is often reported as a contributing factor to medical staff in relation to road traffic incidents [31], although no statistics or data has been formally collected in relation to road incidents, indicating an emerging need to capture this data.

The challenge associated is: Is industry listening, has fatigue management formed part of the risk management process, are policies and procedures adopted adequately implemented and maintained, and are the effects of fatigue and fatigue related incidents being captured and recorded to best understand its influence on safety. In essence, are the risk management principles provided by government working, and what are the best schedules that can be adopted to limit the effects of fatigue. Furthermore, are company policies restricting the practice of employees in engaging in secondary employment being investigated and does moonlighting impact on fatigue. Future research addressing risk assessments, effectiveness of fatigue management in FIFO workers and job planning may aid in identifying key strategies to improve fatigue management for FIFO employees. Most importantly, data in relation to road incidents in which FIFO/DIDO workers have been involved is required to capture the unique safety implications of this workforce [28, 31].

1.4 Safety performance

It is no surprise that shift work, extended hours, sleep disruptions and fatigue impact severely on safety and performance. The difficultly here lies in accessing safety data in relation to FIFO/DIDO workers to accurately determine the extent of these influences on safety and performance. Data available from mining health and safety reports provides an industry wide snapshot for mining health and safety. In the 2012-2013 period, Queensland reported two fatalities and a total of 947 Lost Time Injuries (LTI), increasing from one fatality, and a decrease from 1,182 LTI’s [32]. Western Australia reported two fatalities, and 10,337 initial injury LTI’s, a decrease from four fatalities and an increase from 9,018 initial injury LTI’s for 2010-2011 [33, 34]. It is reported a majority workers utilised in mining are contractors [5], as mine owners prefer to subcontract out work to those that specialise in particular tasks. This increases performance and production, allowing mine owners to concentrate on operations as a whole, while contractors focus on performing mining operations [35]. Alarmingly, contractors represent a substantially large proportion of fatalities in the mining industry, with nine in ten fatalities in the coal industry and 50% of fatalities in the metalliferous industry being contractors [36]. This phenomenon is not limited to Australia, in the United States of America it was found that contractor fatalities in the mining industry were 2.9 times higher compared to operators [37].

Contributing factors to fatalities were experience, length of hours worked, location of the mine, and the type of mine [37]. In one of the few studies conducted measuring the effects of safety performance at an Australian coal mine, the length of hours worked were compared against incident rates pre and post implementation of extended working hours in the mine’s maintenance, mining and preparation/processing facility [15]. They found higher incidents were reported on the 8-hour roster occurring for the morning shift in the beginning (approximately 2-3 hours in), and on the afternoon and night 8-hour shifts mid-way (4-5 hours). For the extended 12-hour shifts, incidents were most common for the morning shift during the mid-way point (5-6 hours) and towards the end of the shift (9-10 hours) and for night shift it was also the mid-way point (4-5 hours). It was concluded that safety performance may depend on the type of task carried out, amount of overtime worked, and the time of day. The study however, does not indicate which days into the 7 day shift cycle are more prone to incident and also found the preparation/processing facility reported a decrease in incidents after changing from an 8-hour to a 12-hour shift cycle [15]. As the authors noted however, the mine underwent a significant reduction in staff to ensure mine survival and suggest perhaps those employees remaining may have influenced the findings, speculating that those remaining employees were concerned for job security, more experienced, or safety conscious.

The challenge here is determining what proportion of safety incidents can be attributed to FIFO/DIDO workers (including direct employees and contractors), and understanding better the times and days of increased likelihood for an incident. Parkes reports in one of the few studies capturing this type of data, North Sea offshore workers recorded injuries requiring medical treatments peaked on the third day into shift [38]. When increased risk of incidents are better understood for Australian FIFO/DIDO workers, the allocation of tasks and responsibilities during particular times of the roster may be controlled accordingly [15], shifts and extended hours can be governed [14], and sleep and fatigue can be better managed [25]. Furthermore, with the emerging pattern of increased incidents relating to contractor fatalities, it is evident policy makers and industry needs to increase its vigilance in ensuring and capturing data on the health and safety of all personnel (including contractors) working in a fly-in, fly-out capacity. In addition, improvement may be required for mine operators to review contractor management processes, and to enhance regulators vigilance on auditing and compliance for contractor management practices.

1.5 Wellbeing (health and mental health)

The effects aforementioned are not limited to their influence on workplace safety and performance. They also include a range of individual risks and health issues associated with sleep disruptions, accumulated fatigue, and hours worked due to the FIFO/DIDO lifestyle [39]. In demonstrating the importance of implementing health interventions, FIFO/DIDO workers were found to more likely engage in unhealthy behaviours such as excessive smoking and drinking [40]. Workers were also reported more likely to be overweight or obese, placing FIFO workers in a similar category for unhealthy behaviours as low socioeconomic shift workers. It was acknowledged at the Standing Committee on Regional Australia that support and investigations into the health impacts associated with FIFO/DIDO culture and lifestyle is required by government and industry to improve issues of concern [6]. In light of this, the need to investigate short and long-term health effects, and for the consequent implementation of health intervention programs deemed to be urgently required [8]. In their mining wellbeing and wellness review report Carrington and McIntosh also state more research is required to understand how the uniqueness of the FIFO lifestyle be influenced by workplaces [39]. This comes after a forum held in 2012 aimed at evaluating and understanding the impacts of FIFO in Western Australia identified a number of key points of concern for the Western Australia FIFO industry [41]. The primary concerns for targeting future actions to support the industry in understanding the impacts of FIFO operations included establishing partnerships for improving the health of FIFO workforces, generating research into the effects of FIFO, delivering strategic services to families and workers, and building relationships with home and host communities.

In one of the earliest reviews of on versus off-shore personnel for North Sea oil and gas installations, it was reported off-shore workers are more likely to smoke, drink, suffer from poor diets, and exercise less [38]. It was also stated as employees age, this increases the likelihood for requiring medical attention (including evacuations from site) and suggests further research including the evaluation of long-term effects of health, mental health, and how an aging workforce will impact operations [38]. This is of particular importance as Australia’s resource sector continues to grow [7, 39] and as we experience the worldwide phenomenon of aging populations [42].

In contrast, Sibbel found no difference in general health and psychological wellbeing between FIFO workers and the general Australian population. It was further suggested that an informed decision process to undertake FIFO work may have contributed to an increased satisfaction and motivation to endure this lifestyle [43]. Further, better health in UK off-shore personnel when compared to on-shore personnel, suggesting a contributing factor may be related to the offshore working medical screening process [44]. FIFO and DIDO were both considered overweight and reported an increase in alcohol consumption while on leave periods [16]. One suggestion made, was the higher incidence of increased weight may be attributed to the off-shore provision of meals and ability for those eat more frequently [38].

Aside from anecdotal reports of an abundance of poor camp food, combined with difficulties in maintaining proper diet and exercise, little investigation has been done to research quality, availability and education of healthy options while at home and away working. It becomes evident that more research is required to understand the sources of differences in relation to FIFO health, so we can begin to plan for the health and safety of future FIFO workforces. The challenge is while some employers may be encouraging a healthy lifestyle or meals for FIFO workers, is industry as a whole focused on health and healthy eating, to encourage employees continue to adopt a healthy lifestyle at work and at home, and would it improve the health and weight of the FIFO workforce. It will also be important to understand how an aging workforce will begin to pose additional risks in the workplace and to ensure workers continue to be “fit for work” through the provision of industry and government health initiatives.

In addition to the health concerns of FIFO workforces, the issue of mental health continues to be an important topic. Australia is working towards improving the nations views towards mental health and mental health disorders [45]. Mental health is still stigmatised within the construction and mining industries, with many FIFO/DIDO workers unwilling to seek assistance in relation to mental health issues [46]. Research investigating the strengths associated with coping mechanisms for adjusting to a FIFO lifestyle, thus increasing coping and satisfaction with FIFO has been conducted [43, 47]. It is suggested that effective communication and making informed decisions regarding electing to undertake FIFO employment contributes adapting to the FIFO lifestyle [10, 48], along with support from partners, social support websites and work colleagues [21].

The challenge for employers and recruiters is to explore possible links and to understand the stressors associated with the FIFO lifestyle are communicated effectively and individuals are making informed choices regarding undertaking FIFO employment [10, 49]. In addition evaluation of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP’s) should also be conducted, in particular, comparisons made with organisations who do not have access to existing assistance programs to determine their level of effectiveness.

1.6 Turnover

It is no surprise with a culmination of issues impacting on the FIFO workforce, the industry is experiencing turnover issues [50]. Very few researchers have collected data on turnover in FIFO operations. An exploration of turnover on three Western Australian mines and six Queensland mines found turnover was influenced by roster design, commitment to employee training, and workplace culture. Additionally, the average turnover rate was approximately 21% and within the sites, the highest turnover was associated with professional, managerial staff and employees in the mining operations areas [20]. The data did not include contractors. The authors noted while managing turnover is an important task cited by many sites, the implications of costs and productivity losses were often not considered or monitored [20]. In their report Watt and colleagues describes the leading concerns for industry include turnover and attraction and retention of talent, resulting in losses in efficiency and productivity for organisations with a FIFO workforce [50]. In addition, the report also explores a range of factors which may assist organisations to improve conditions associated with turnover including – roster design, training and development, communication, lifestyle and support mechanisms.

The challenge for industry is the need to conduct exit interviews preferably by third parties to capture accurate on information on reasons for exiting the organisation, or for leaving FIFO employment [20]. Additionally, comparison rates of turnover for contracting staff and FIFO versus non-FIFO workforces in mining and construction sectors would need to be compared for differences in turnover within similar industries. Future research should also focus on costs associated with turnover, training, development and cultural improvements, along with retention improvement strategies [20, 50].

2.1 Psychosocial impacts

Coping mechanisms and informed decisions about undertaking FIFO employment may aid in adjusting with these extended absences and disruptions, increasing employee mental wellbeing, and the same is true for coping with partner absences [43, 47]. The FIFO lifestyle often means workers forfeit family and social events, and increases the at-home partner responsibility which may have a negative effect on the FIFO experience [48], as the FIFO lifestyle is associated with long periods of leave from family and friends, employees often reported concerns regarding feelings of missing out on home life [43, 51]. In investigating support resources, it was reported FIFO employees have preferences for seeking support from colleagues rather than accessing resources available through EAP’s [51].

In investigating spousal experiences of off-shore workers in UK operations, it was concluded spouses often had more positive than negative experiences, with the majority of spouses experiencing difficulties adjusting to partner absences [52]. The authors did state that long-term relationships may have been overrepresented and those participating in the study may have adjusted well due to being survivors of the lifestyle, which is often cited as a limitation to many other FIFO studies [16, 52]. Further, high levels of family coping and functioning were found to be related to high levels of communication and cohesion in Australian FIFO employees, and suggest those families experiencing difficulties adjusting to FIFO lifestyle should consider relationship counselling [47].

In comparing psychosocial wellbeing in primary children of mining and military fathers who often had extended leave periods with a community sample of non-extended leave fathers, no significant differences in wellbeing were found [53]. In an Australian national survey of varied non-standard work employment it was found parents generally reported neutral feelings towards non-standard work conflicting with family life [54]. An important factor which may have been overlooked is the changing demographics of Australian families. Increases in dual income and single-parent families, changes in fertility rates and shared-parenting arrangements may become a concern for FIFO employees, particularly women [55].

The challenge presented for industry is the need to begin to capture data on non-surviving FIFO families in order to piece together variables which may be affecting these relationships and reasons for departing FIFO. Important research questions are sith changing family demographics how do FIFO employees and their families cope with increased responsibility, shared custody, and what is the impact on the away-parent in terms of relationship and bonding and how do these differ from other families. Furthermore, how can employers support changing family patterns, particularly with the rise of single and shared-parent families, and to understand the influences FIFO employment may have on children when compared with the general community and other non-standard forms of employment. With increasing pressures on equality within the workforce and more women participating in the labour force [56, 57] and with mining industries actively promoting for the recruitment and retention of females in the industry [58], how will employers and policy makers attract, retain and support women in FIFO careers when they elect to become parents within, or outside of dyadic relationships.

2.2 Community (home and host)

Pressures on local resources and infrastructure are increased as a result of FIFO operations aiming to become more economically viable [7]. Regional community strain becomes more evident as local governments push to discourage the use of FIFO work practices as the pressures on local resources (such as health, emergency services, roads and other facilities) increase due to temporary and permanent population growth [59, 60]. Integration, cohesion, safety, community contribution and the environment appear to be important issues among host community members [6]. A survey of Queensland mining communities regarding their perceptions on the effects of non-resident workers found a negative view towards mining developments within their communities [61]. Very few respondents saw any value brought by mining projects to their communities, with the majority supporting only those projects expecting to use FIFO force that made up a maximum quarter of the total workforce. The view is that mining creates a negative externality, where the social cost to the host communities is high – resulting in reduced trust between residents and workers, pressures placed on housing and accommodation, increased use in community resources and infrastructure with very little spending and reciprocity by the workers [7, 62]. It has been recognised that very little research has been conducted to fully understand the influence FIFO has on host communities [63]. What has been discussed is the need to raise awareness and to foster and build community/employee relationships [62, 65]. The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia recognises these concerns and provides guiding principles to assist with their management, which include conducting research into economic, social and environmental impacts and opportunities, planning to optimise performance strategies, integrating workers and communities and building trust among those actions necessary [10].

Issues which have been raised for the home communities of FIFO employees also vary, with the most prevalent concerns being raised in relation to the inability to regularly participate and feel a sense of belonging with their own communities, due to extended absences while on work periods [43, 61].

The challenge for FIFO operations is the need for improved practices for integration, resource sharing, the understanding and fostering of relationships between operations and their host communities [65]. Challenges for communities in which FIFO workforces are based require community-based programs which foster and encourage community participation. These programs could focus on actively encouraging FIFO workers to contribute to their community in different ways while at home, to create a sense of belonging. The challenge is fostering this relationship and learning how communities, government and industry support and promote these needs [43].