NRSPP Q&A: How To Address The Work Safety Challenge For DIDO Workers

This Q&A examines the challenges faced by Drive-in-Drive- out (DIDO) workers and the strategies that have been or can be put in place by organisations with fleets to help improve and promote road safety among DIDO workers. It combines interviews with fleet managers and a review of relevant research to look at the size of the problem, fatigue and other safety challenges DIDO workers face, and strategies that organisations and individual workers  can employ to maximise road safety for DIDO workers.

DIDO stands for ‘Drive-In Drive-Out’ and refers to a worker who typically lives within half a day of the job site and will commute in their own car, car pool with colleagues or catch transport provided by their employer ⁽³⁾. This Q&A focuses on sites where workers travel to site by road  rather than flying (FIFO), although there will still be some workers who fly into the nearest airport and drive or are driven to site.

In Australia, industries employing a large proportion of DIDO workers, such as the mining industry, have experienced sustained growth in recent years, driving an increase in the need for workers. Bureau of Statistics figures show the DIDO workforce more than tripled in a decade, growing from 74,800 in 2000 to about 276,300 in 2012 ⁽¹⁾. This increase means workers must be recruited from urban areas to local areas, contributing to about half of operations being completed by workers who drive (or fly, FIFO) very long distances to work ⁽¹⁾.

To read the full text, download the Q&A below.