What do these infamous calamities have in common: the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and The Challenger Explosion? Each of them happened when the crews had been at work for hours and were sleep deprived and fatigued, leading to the mistakes that caused them. These events serve as tragic reminders that sleep is an essential part of staying safe at work. 

 Some of the world’s most disastrous accidents are related to sleep deprivation and fatigue; Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and The Challenger Explosion.  These well-known global catastrophes are a reminder that sleep is utterly crucial.

 When push comes to shove, many of us, when confronted with completing a task will extend our work day by first robbing our sleep time. Our sleep time is simply undervalued. The common link between these 5 disasters are; lowered alertness, inattention, and delayed reaction due to sleep deprivation.                 (also see Harvest Safety - Preventing Fatigue)

When the weather during harvest is good and the crop is ready, it’s hard to stay out of the field if you can run.  As the season progresses, weather delays, equipment problems and other issues that delay harvest can make for long days that stretch the limits of our endurance.  Fatigue can set in, creating an even more hazardous situation around very hazardous equipment.

We need to keep everyone safe during the extended harvest season.  Without adequate sleep we can become irritable, quiet, withdrawn and unfocused.  We can also experience poor memory retention, blurred vision, extended yawning and increased illness due to a compromised immune system.  All these potentially negative outcomes require us to take action to prevent fatigue.