Replant.ca - Tree Planting Canada

This study (PDF attached) equates fatigue with the equivalent of being impaired. It suggests that being awake for 21 consecutive hours gives you the same level of impairment (due to fatigue) as you would have with a 0.08% BAC.

I note this study only talks about single time frame fatigue, and does not account for cumulative fatigue that may incur over a shift or a contract. I also note that the paper only discusses impact of fatigue on operating capability, and does not deal with the issue of how fatigue can affect susceptibility to other injuries and general physical breakdown. These are seemingly self-evident connections that anyone should be able to understand, yet they remain unstudied in our industry.

That being said, I am curious as to what exactly the licensees may be doing to help prevent impairment by fatigue among tree planters?

While only a small percent may be affected by impairment by drug and alcohol, nearly ever person that plants trees is affected by fatigue impairment. Logic dictates that the only way to mitigate fatigue, is to reduce the amount of physical exertion involved in the job. However, they cannot do this by limiting the number of trees a person is permitted to plant, otherwise nearly every planter would walk off the job. History shows that the licensees would never be able to get their trees planted on a quota system for anywhere close to the ridiculously cheap prices they now pay for piece rate.

This seemingly leaves only one option. They must increase the price per tree, and then take steps to ensure that workers do not overdo it. That is, between the contractors and the licensees, they must determine a way to reduce the exertion load on workers. This seems to be the only way of mitigating the very real and widespread problem of fatigue impairment which not only can lead to high risk motor vehicle accidents, but which can also play a key role in physical injuries incurred while planting. There may be other options perhaps, but I have not yet come across an idea that works within the unique structural, organizational, and cultural context of tree planting. These are not long-haul truckers we are talking about.

They can hardly get people to piss in a bottle to test for fatigue. I suggest if licensees are truly genuine in their recent campaign against impairment at work, that they take quick and effective steps to address the pernicious and pervasive issue of impairment fatigue. I have laid out a basic option here, however it is hardly original. Year after year, worker after worker, job after job, you hear people say that prices in the industry need to be addressed, that the bidding system needs to be amended, that workers can make a reasonable wage without working themselves to the borders of injury, physical breakdown, and...fatigue.

I write this somewhat facetiously in comparing fatigue impairment to drug and alcohol impairment. However, I am also very serious in suggesting that this is an issue, and that changes should be made. Somewhere out there, a worker is fighting the urge to fall asleep behind the wheel after slamming 15 cent trees into coastal ground, or perhaps 9 cent trees in the interior. Somewhere, some young man or woman is mustering their reserves of strength to push through fatigue to finish a bag-up to reach $200, despite nagging pain in their back or their knee. These people work harder than anyone in this country, and their health and safety matters. This isn't a matter of pointing fingers at any low-biding company, or a specific licensee that just turned their direct award over to open bid this year. It's the whole sha-bang. If there is such a thing as collective wisdom in this industry, I would hope that it might see the crude and obvious problem that is staring it in the face when it comes to issues of impairment, and collectively work towards a solution. Just my two bits.

Increase prices, strictly limit hours. If you can all make your $300-$500 by pounding for 7 hours, +0.5-2hours drive on either side, you're a shorter, less energy intense day. Use log and insurable hours to enforce.