The Canadian Ergonomist Q and A

The Canadian Ergonomist Q and A

In this informative interview by “The Canadian Ergonomist”, Mike Harnett, President of Solaris Fatigue Management, answers questions about her career as a Human Factors expert.  

 

Mike Harnett Q and A

Published by Canadian Ergonomist on 

Mike Harnett is President of Solaris Fatigue Management, a consulting firm that optimizes worker health, safety and performance.  With a background in human factors and sleep neurobiology, she is regarded as a subject matter expert on the science of fatigue, and has been a researcher and consultant to various government agencies including the Canadian Standards Association, Transport Canada, US Federal Rail Association and NASA.

She is currently helping to establish a new CSA standard addressing Fatigue Management for First Responders and is serving on the Expert Advisory Panel to a European Coalition assisting in the research and development of new AI technology for monitoring driver performance and cognitive load.

Mike is active in guiding private industry in the development of fatigue risk management plans, including transportation, mining, maritime, energy, construction, motion picture, and manufacturing sectors.

Mike is recognized for her ability to take complex subjects and deliver their content in a simplified and innovative manner for all to understand. An award-winning speaker, she is an internationally sought-after presenter, educator and advisor.

Read the full article on The Canadian Ergonomist

 

 

 

 

Asleep At The Wheel

Brutally long days and erratic sleep lead to accidents, chronic disease and depression.

Sedentary Woes

Headaches, eye strain, repetitive strain disorder paired with disease from a sedentary lifestyle plague post- production.

Do you know where your fatigue-related risks are? Do you have the right strategies in place? If you’re worried about the impact of fatigue at the job site, or simply don’t know where to start, we’re here to help!

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SafeSets

SafeSets

Mike Harnett, Leading Fatigue Expert, is interviewed along with other experts in this series “SafeSets”.  Sleep deprivation is a common risk for anyone working in the film and television industry. In the first of these videos Harnett explains the dangers of fatigue and how it occurs . In the second video, Harnett discusses ergonomics and repetitive stress.

Host Paul Heinzelmann, MD, MPH, joins with cast, crew, and experts to discuss health and safety, and present fresh strategies for well-being in an industry full of hazardous conditions. Under pressure to meet tight schedules and long days, safety protocols get compromised to the determent of everyone in all areas of the production.

Heinzelmann hopes that newcomers, rebuking this unhealthy culture, will be the changemakers for these critical practises.

 

 

Asleep At The Wheel

Brutally long days and erratic sleep lead to accidents, chronic disease and depression.

Sedentary Woes

Headaches, eye strain, repetitive strain disorder paired with disease from a sedentary lifestyle plague post- production.

Do you know where your fatigue-related risks are? Do you have the right strategies in place? If you’re worried about the impact of fatigue at the job site, or simply don’t know where to start, we’re here to help!

Fill Out this form to Contact Us

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AMTA Platooning Profiles

Mike Harnett, president of Solaris Fatigue Management, with one of the two Cooperative Truck Platooning System trucks at the AMTA Rocky View location.

Mike Harnett, president of Solaris Fatigue Management, with one of the two Cooperative Truck Platooning System trucks at the AMTA Rocky View location.

Platooning Profiles: Mike Harnett, President, Solaris Fatigue Management

AMTA is releasing a series of profiles of the people involved with the Cooperative Truck Platooning System (CTPS) project. The project is currently processing data from the nation’s first pair of artificially intelligent semi-trucks of their kind, including human factors.

A key element of the CTPS project is the study of human factors – including fatigue – and for Mike Harnett, president of Solaris Fatigue Management, her company is the link between science and applying fatigue management in the real world of their customers.

“I always say, this career chose me, I didn’t choose it,” she said.

In her first job after graduating, Harnett focused on injury prevention with a Canadian railway company after a tragic freight train incident in which 23 people were killed.

“After an intense investigation, over 300 contributing factors were identified, but the key contributors to this tragic event was a combination of poor work culture and fatigued workers,” she explained. “From there, I was sent to Washington DC and Michigan to learn about these emerging topics called Human Factors and Ergonomics, and leaders in Australia were beginning to share their initial studies in Fatigue Management. They were really in their infancy. I’ve been augmenting my education and learnings ever since.”

Harnett said AMTA reached out to Solaris in 2020 regarding submission of a bid for the CTPS project to Transport Canada.

“I welcomed the opportunity to work with the AMTA and the other partners they had lined up, knowing that we were dealing with an issue that would have a strong impact on future regulations and the promotion of a fatigue risk management system beyond hours of service rules.”

Harnett explained most of today’s technology comes from experts in engineering and IT, but very few have employed human factors professionals into the mix.

“Thankfully, Transport Canada recognized this when they were reviewing the potential impact of a CTPS coming in to play. We already know that commercial drivers are subject to high levels of fatigue and decreased alertness while driving due to specific work factors including schedule designs, workload, sedentariness on longer routes, and personal factors such as poor sleep hygiene, sleep disorders, etc.

She added research clearly indicates when a driver is affected by fatigue, it negatively affects their reaction times (e.g., slower to brake), their situational awareness of traffic around them as well as their own driving behaviour (e.g., lane deviations), their visual acuity, and they are more likely to have difficulty with problem solving, reasoning and logic when something interrupts the normal driving experience.

While “fatigue is not something we are going to eradicate”, Harnett said organizations who accept that can turn their attention to mitigating risk through avoiding fatigue-promoting activities in the work system; looking at the task of driving through a fatigue lens; to see how much higher the risk is when driving while tired and supporting drivers with education and awareness on how best to manage fatigue.

“Fatigue management only works if you adapt it to fit into the context of your operations and what may work for one industry, or one company within that industry, does not always work for another,” she said. “That’s what makes Solaris different.”

 This article was originally posted February 10, 2022 on

Alberta Motor Transport Association

Platooning Profiles,

Platooning Profiles: Mike Harnett, President, Solaris Fatigue Management – AMTA – Alberta Motor Transport Association

Understanding and Managing Fatigue

The Injury Prevention Academy, Episode 30: Understanding and Managing Fatigue with Mike Harnett

After two years of a pandemic, fatigue has become a major issue for employers across all industries. More than two-thirds of American workers experience fatigue on the job, and the prevalence of sleep deprivation results in billions of dollars in costs from lost productivity and increased injury rates. And with unprecedented turnover rates, employers need every available tool to combat fatigue and keep employees safe and engaged on the job. In the latest episode of the DORN Injury Prevention Academy Podcast, we’re joined by Mike Harnett, President of Solaris Fatigue Management. A prominent authority on the issue of fatigue, Mike shares a wealth of insight into the root causes of fatigue and how employers can better manage the problem among their workforces. We cover: – Fatigue in today’s workforce and what causes it – The negative mental health effects of fatigue and how they drive up costs for employers – Cost-effective, holistic solutions for fatigue management

Tardigrade Talks

S02 E07 Mike Harnett

Like a Girl: Fighting fatigue (& the boys) for a safer workplace

Episode Summary

In this episode, Mike Harnett, an international expert and award-winning keynote speaker on the science of fatigue who has consulted for numerous organizations including GM and NASA, talks to Dr. Joti Samra about growing up as a tomboy and working in a male-dominated field. She also shares her own family’s struggles with mental health and how that brought a passion for optimizing worker health, safety, and performance.

Listen To This Episode

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