Normal Work Hours Research Articles

Containment testing of laboratory hoods in the as-used condition.

Airborne contaminants generated inside laboratory fume hoods during use leak into the breathing zone of the user. Concentration of the leakage is unknown and variable depending on laboratory design, work practices, arrangement of internal apparatus, face velocity, and sash height. Surrogate tracer gas tests have been developed using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and a manikin to estimate leakage. This study presents results of hood leakage tests using SF6 with a manikin and then a live operator performing a phenol:chloroform (P:C) extraction. Four hoods were tested in each of three institutions during normal work hours with the lab occupied. The purpose of the study was to determine leakage concentrations for the SF6-manikin with effects of sash height, hood contents as found and after being cleaned out, face velocity, and the actual P:C and SF6 exposure concentrations of the user during work. Results indicate P:C was not detectable in the breathing zone of the 12 operators (< 0.1 ppm) at their selected operating sash heights (7 to 15 inches). Simultaneous SF6 concentrations were also minimal (average 0.06 ppm). Average leakage was 0.02 percent for SF6 and less than 2 percent based on chloroform concentrations measured in the breathing zone of the operator and inside the hood. SF6 percent leakage was greater when sash height was above the breathing zone of the manikin (average 2.09 percent) and lower leakage (average 0.02 percent) when below the breathing zone (26 inches or less). Average face velocity did not appear to be a predictor of average hood leakage. Cleaning out the hoods did not reduce leakage in most tests. The data from this study shows that when providing training on proper work practices for lab hood use, lowering the sash should be stressed as being the major factor in reducing hood leakage.

The circadian melatonin and cortisol secretion pattern in permanent night shift workers

In permanent night shift workers the impact of environmental time cues on the circadian system is conflicting. Rhythm adjustments to the nocturnal work schedule have been described, and their significance for tolerance to shift work is under discussion. Reports concerning the effect of this work situation on the setting of the endogenous clock are, however, inconsistent. We examined nine healthy young male permanent shift workers with high work satisfaction at the end of a week on night work and seven male controls with normal diurnal working hours. All subjects were admitted to a research facility for 28 h, and blood was collected with a continuous-withdrawal pump in portions taken hourly for the estimation of the circadian melatonin (MT) and cortisol secretion pattern. One control did not exhibit a circadian secretion pattern. When compared with the other controls (n = 6), all except one of the shift workers showed no difference in the phase or phase relationship of their hormonal profiles. In the shift workers, a minor trend toward elevation of the MT amplitude and an increase in two indicators for the amount of MT secreted were noticed. One individual displayed inverse hormone rhythms with an undisturbed phase relationship of MT and cortisol and inconspicuous hormone amplitudes. He showed, however, an inverse day-night rhythm in his private life, too. The data collected suggest that even permanent night workers with a high degree of work satisfaction do not usually lose the diurnal orientation of their endogenous clock. Factors other than reorientation of the circadian system may be more important for high tolerance to shift work.

Transition from quality circles to total involvement in semiconductor manufacturing

AbstractEight years of experience with quality circles has shown a progression toward the achievement of total quality. Significant positive results have led to the evolution from a voluntary programme to the implementation of a non‐voluntary programme that includes functional supervisors. Each team meets for an hour per week during normal work hours as an integral part of the job. Over 83 per cent of manufacturing and support groups employee participation has been recorded to date and at present 62 teams are functioning. This article will present the details of this programme's progress towards quality excellence.

Hours of Work of Junior Hospital Doctors: Is There a Solution?

Proposed changes in medical staffing levels and pressure for reduced hours of work by junior doctors have focused attention on out‐of‐hours work by junior doctors in the United Kingdom. Junior doctors are on average on duty for over 90 hours per week, and preregistration house officers typically spend almost 70 hours per week actually working. There has been a decline in contracted hours for junior doctors during the 1980s, but an increase in the number of hours on duty and, in the cases of paediatrics and general surgery, an increase in the number of hours worked. Current policy is for expansion in consultant numbers and reduction in junior staff. Critics argue that the planned expansion of consultant posts is inadequate and the absence of registrars in some specialties is dangerous. Previous attempts to reduce the number of hours on duty had little success: suggested solutions have not been implemented widely. One possible solution may be reducing and reallocating out‐of‐hours work. It has been suggested that many of the current tasks undertaken by junior hospital doctors could be performed by non‐medical staff. A thorough examination of the tasks actually undertaken by junior hospital doctors outside normal working hours is required.

Continuing optometric education

Approximately one‐third of the total number of optometrists practising in New Zealand participated in an hour‐long session during which their views of continuing education were solicited using a questionnaire. These optometrists felt that continuing education was a necessary part of professional life from the time of entry into practice until (and even beyond) retirement. The majority felt that pressure should be brought to bear on optometrists to participate in continuing education but that compulsory continuing education in any form was not desirable.The most effective continuing education was said to be that gained from interactions with colleagues. The least effective method was said to be lectures which reported the results of research that could not be applied directly to clinical practice. The most commonly reported new general skills learned since graduation were management skills and ‘people’ (communication) skills. The most commonly reported new optometric skills learned since graduation were contact lens related and were learned in optometric practice and from interaction with colleagues.Significant differences were found between groups of practitioners with regard to the perceived importance of continuing education. Continuing education was held in higher regard by optometrists with more years in practice, female optometrists, optometrists working more hours per week, and practitioners located outside cities or suburbs. The optometrists participating in the survey were prepared to spend about two hours a week on continuing education during normal work hours and about two weekends or one week away from the practice each year pursuing continuing education. The implications of these findings for planners of continuing optometric education are discussed.

Personal organisation for effective time management

Normal work hours are the least productive of the working day for top managers, according to a survey by Omega Watch Corporation in the USA. The survey disclosed that, of one hundred chief executives of Fortune's 500 companies, the majority performed their most productive work either before 9 am or after 5 pm. 43 per cent selected the earlier time period as their most productive part of the day. 18 per cent achieved most after their employees had gone home. Three per cent chose the lunch hour. Of those who found they did their best work during normal working hours, three‐quarters claimed that mornings were more productive than afternoons.

EMERGENCY CHEMICAL PATHOLOGY SERVICE IN CENTRAL LONDON

Fourteen hospitals, with a total of 4500 beds, have collaborated to establish an emergency service for chemical pathology based on a central London laboratory. It provides more than 2000 determinations monthly outside normal working-hours and is economically viable. The service is manned by a rota of eight medical students who already hold an honours degree in biochemistry or chemistry. The major advantage of the service is accuracy, attributable to the initial intensive training and general proficiency of the students, the availability of modern equipment, and the use of adequate numbers of standards and quality control sera. Similar emergency services might be developed in other areas.

SAXTON AND OTHERS v. NATIONAL COAL BOARD

March 9, 10, 1970 Redundancy — Calculation of payment — Normal working hours — National agreement providing for remuneration based on shifts for a five‐day week — Provision for district or local arrangements to be negotiated “forthwith” for working additional shifts — Mineworker emloyed for 20 years as continuous shiftman on seven‐day week — Whether presumption that additional shifts arrangements made covering colliery or district in which situated — Continuity of operations ceasing — Employee working and paid for five‐day week — Whether consensual variation of contract of employment to be inferred — Contracts of Employment Act, 1963 (11 & 12 Eliz. II, c. 49), Sch. 2, para. 1 — Redundancy Payments Act, 1965 (c. 34), s. 1(1), Sch. 2(5)