Citation

Batson A, Newnam S, Koppel S. Safety Sci. 2022; 150: e105676.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105676

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The health, safety, and wellbeing of heavy vehicle drivers is complicated by the isolation they encounter in a complex road transportation system. Heavy vehicle drivers work in an industry characterised by high incidences of workplace deaths and injuries. As they age in their careers, drivers face further barriers to maintaining their health, safety, and wellbeing on the road. There are many levels of the road transportation system which exert an influence upon the health and safety of heavy vehicle drivers including government, regulators, transportation company strategic management, local management, industry equipment, and the surrounding environment including other road users. Yet responsibility for creating a safe, healthy, and well workplace, is primarily directed towards the driver. A meta review was conducted to map out the existing workplace interventions to illustrate the control system for managing drivers, so any gaps could be identified. A search of published literature identified 65 articles that featured occupational interventions on health, safety, and wellbeing. There were no occupational interventions that specifically targeted ageing heavy vehicle drivers. There were two articles on the transportation industry, and one separate article on ageing workers. Mapping the interventions for all industries with a Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes framework found that most of the workplace controls were conducted at the Local Management level. This level of control features interventions aimed at changing some aspect of the worker's health, safety, or wellbeing behaviour, attitudes or skillset within the workplace. Thus, the findings of the meta review revealed that occupational interventions are generally conducted with a reductionist mindset in that both responsibility and reform in creating a better system, is directed towards the worker. In addition, this objective is expected to be completed with limited support from other levels of the control system. Ideally responsibility and reform should be shared throughout the system, with each level of the system complementing the other levels.

Language: en

Keywords

Ageing worker; Heavy vehicle driver; Meta review; Occupational health, safety, and wellbeing; Road transportation; STAMP; Systems thinking