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[quote user="zugmann"] <blockquote> <div><img src="/TRCCS/Themes/trc/images/icon-quote.gif" /> Bucyrus:</div> <div></div> According to the NTSB report, working irregular schedules causes sleep disorders including the inability to stay awake at times.  It this settled science?  Or is it agenda-driven junk science?    If it is settled science, it poses a very large problem for the railroad industry.  Many railroaders work irregular schedules.  How can it be acceptable that they are working at tasks where a loss of attention can prove fatal, and yet, they are subject to involuntarily falling asleep at any time?   If what the NTSB says about irregular schedules causing sleep disorders is true, then one of two things must be done:   1)      Eliminate irregular work schedules. 2)      Test all employees working irregular schedules for sleep   disorders, and remove from service any employees found to be afflicted.   <div style="clear:both;"></div>   </blockquote>   Anyone that works an irregular schedule can attest that it is not "junk science".  Just curious if you ever had the pleasure, Bucyrus?    With the railroads you get the double-whammy.  You get irregular schedules, and UNPREDICTABLE schedules if you are a flea on the extra list. So you don't know whether you are going to go to work in 10 hours or 30.  Try getting proper rest under those circumstances.    As for your suggestions:  (1.) will probably never be 100% achievable due to the nature of the beast.  There are ways to make the job more scheduled, but it would probably require new contract rules regarding territory covered and whatnot.     And (2.): I know if my railroad suspects someone has a medical sleep issue, they are pulled out of service immediately and won't be allowed to re-enter service without their doctor's and the company medical dep't's permission. <div style="clear:both;"></div> [/quote] Yes, I have had the pleasure of fighting that battle many moons ago.  I know first hand that nighttime railroading is incredibly sleep inducing.   <o:p></o:p> I am not saying it is junk science or settled science, but if it is anywhere in between, it should be full red alert to deal with it.  And yet, I don’t sense that it is taken that seriously.  So, I am wondering, why is there a disconnect between a newly discovered medical condition that can suddenly render a victim unconscious without warning, and the lackadaisical response to it?  Granted, it may not afflict everyone who works irregular schedules, but you don’t run trains until you know who is at risk and who is not.  So merely taking action against an employee suspected of having a sleep disorder is not enough.   <o:p></o:p> There has to be testing just like drug testing.  How else can you deal with this kind of threat?  You don’t discover a medical condition that is likely to affect many of your employees without checking to see which ones are affected, and which are not.  If it is a diagnosable condition, then every employee needs to be checked out to guarantee that they don't have it.
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