External Operations Experience
Update:
Distracted Working
Department of Energy
Operating Experience Work Group
May 12, 2015
Larry Stirling,
Office of Analysis (AU-23)
Distracted Working
• Cellular phone and mobile device technology
have advanced at an amazing pace in the past
decade
• According to Pew Research Center, 61 percent
of Americans have smartphones and 91
percent of Americans have some sort of cell
phone
• approximately 3 billion texts per day, most of
them during working hours
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Distracted Working
• Workplaces must catch up with technology
and broaden their assessment of the risks
associated with personal electronic mobile
devices.
• Chances are, improper usage affects much
more than driving safety.
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Distracted Working
• Instead of "Distracted Driving," broaden the
distraction of electronic devices to encompass
any unsafe task, referring to the action as
"Distracted Working" instead.
• Distracted working, especially in operational
environments, certainly poses a potential for
increased workplace hazards.
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Distracted Working
•
•
•
•
operation of heavy equipment
operation of motorized equipment
operation of power tools
maintenance activities associated with
energized equipment
• permit-required confined space attendants
• fire watch
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Distracted Working
• Defining a Scope of 'Distraction' As it Relates
to Workplace Safety and Mobile Devices
• Who Should Be Involved in Creating
Workplace Safety Documents?
• Creating Guidance for the Workplace Means
Making it Practical
• Consider This: No Differentiation Between
Work Use and Personal Use
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Distracted Working
• Consider This: No differentiation Between
Management and Employees
• Conclusion
Electronic devices such as cell phones are
powerful tools for sending and receiving valuable
information. When used appropriately they add
value to our lives, but when used inappropriately
they can create workplace hazards that may not
otherwise exist.
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Distracted Working
• Create a set of policies, rules, procedures, or
guidelines that really work for employees.
Keep it simple. Consider how it will affect
leadership; will my manager be able to follow
these rules? Give an opportunity for
employees to be accountable for their own
safety by having ownership, buy-in, and
opportunities to follow the rules that are set
out.
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Distracted Working
• A simple document should include the following
information:
1. What. Define the action (use of electronic devices or
other distractions) that will be prohibited in the
following circumstances.
2. Who. Define the group of people or positions who
perform a certain task, regardless of location.
3. When. Define the "while." This connects the action
to the activity.
4. Where. Define the environments where the action is
prohibited, regardless of task, including walking or
standing in the area.
•
Source: Jennifer Hill, Occupational Safety Administrator, City of Tallahassee, Florida; http://ohsonline.com/blogs/the-ohs-wire/2014/10/distracted-working.aspx
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Resources
• OH&S: http://ohsonline.com/blogs/the-ohswire/2014/10/distracted-working.aspx
• Mindtools.com:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/distrac
tions.htm
• Wall Street Journal: Workplace Distractions:
Here’s Why You Won’t Finish This Article, Rachel
Silverman,
• http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887
324339204578173252223022388
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Resources
• Fox Small Business: Survey: Distracted Workers
Costing Companies Millions, Kate Rogers:
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/technology
-web/2011/05/20/distracted-employees-survey/
• Inc.com: Top 6 Office Distractions:
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/technology
-web/2011/05/20/distracted-employees-survey/
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Resources
• Forbes: How to Ignore Distractions in the
Workplace, Jacquelyn Smith:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/20
12/06/22/how-to-ignore-distractions-at-work/
• New York Times: Distracted? It’s Time to Hit the
Reset Button: Eilene Zimmerman,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/jobs/toavoid-distractions-at-work-hit-the-resetbutton.html?_r=2
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Resources
• Huffington Post: Distractions at Work: Employees
Increasingly Losing Focus: Some Companies
Combating the Problem,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/wo
rk-distractions-employees-lose-focus-companiesproblem_n_2294054.html
• Safety and Health Magazine: Distracted on the
Job, Kyle W. Morrison,
http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articl
es/distracted-on-the-job
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Resources
• National Institute Occupational Medicine:
Quick Sleep Tips for Truck Drivers,
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2014150/pdfs/2014-150.pdf
• EHSToday: Conquer Distracted Driving by
Becoming an ACE, Terry L. Mathis,
http://ehstoday.com/safety/conquerdistracted-driving-becoming-ace
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Resources
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute: Reducing Driver
Fatigue, https://www.vtti.vt.edu/featured/071013reducingdriverfatigue.html
• North American Fatigue Management Program:
http://www.nafmp.com/en/
• Workplace Safety and Health Law Blog: Distracted
Workers… Not Just Distracted Drivers, Howard Mavity,
http://www.workplacesafetyandhealthlaw.com/post/2
013/07/09/Distracted-Workers-Not-Just-DistractedDrivers.aspx
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Resources
• Safety Topics.com: Destructive Power of
Distractions in the Workplace – Part 2, Carol
Potter, http://safetytopics.com/the-destructivepower-of-distractions-in-the-workplace-part-2/
• Washington State Department of Labor and
Industries: Distracted Walking – Pedestrian
Safety,
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Topics/AToZ/Distra
ctedWalking/default.asp
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Resources
• Science Direct: Interruptions in the
Workplace: A case study to reduce their
effects, Edward R. Sykes,
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article
/pii/S0268401210001568
• SCF Arizona: Eliminate Distractions to Reduce
Workplace Injuries:
http://www.arizonasign.org/SafteyArticles/jul
y2011_distractions.pdf
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Resources
• Entrepreneur: Distracted and Overwhelmed
Employees are Costing You Big. Try These 3
Fixes, Egan and Lahl,
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235968
• Michigan State University: Brief Interruptions
Spawn Errors,
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2013/briefinterruptions-spawn-errors/
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• Contact Information:
Larry Stirling
Office of Analysis (AU-23)
202-586-2417
john.stirling@hq.doe.gov
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