Seasonal production spikes bring intense demand, overtime, and rapid onboarding of temporary staff. These conditions increase the chance of errors and injuries, which is why planning for safety must rise with output. Private industry recorded 2.8 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2022, a reminder that peak periods magnify baseline risk and require targeted controls (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023).

Fatigue is a primary driver of incidents during peak seasons. Long or irregular shifts elevate accident risk and degrade health and performance, which means managers need to monitor workloads, scheduling, and recovery windows, especially when demand surges (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d.-a). Transportation operations face the same pressures; federal guidance highlights fatigue as a factor in crashes and underscores the need for sleep, break planning, and conservative scheduling when volumes spike (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 2015).

Rapid scaling often means more new or temporary workers. Host employers must provide the same level of training and protection for temporary workers as for permanent staff, including clear roles between staffing agencies and hosts, documented orientation, and hazard-specific instruction (OSHA, n.d.-b). In warehousing and manufacturing, forklifts become pinch points during seasonal rushes; OSHA’s standard requires operator training, evaluation, and site-specific controls to prevent struck-by and caught-between incidents (OSHA, 2016); (OSHA, n.d.-c).

Transportation and rail operators experience compressed schedules and higher traffic during holidays. Using current safety data and conservative planning helps target resources to the highest-risk corridors and terminals during peak windows (Federal Railroad Administration, 2025). Environmental obligations also grow with throughput, so production leaders should confirm permit limits, waste handling, and inspection frequencies are scaled appropriately to avoid violations during busy seasons (Environmental Protection Agency, 2025). Continuity planning ties this together by anticipating surges, identifying essential functions, and pre-assigning cross-trained backups so safety isn’t sacrificed when volumes jump (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2025).

The most resilient programs apply OSHA’s safety and health program pillars to seasonal work. Training prepares both seasoned and temporary employees for peak-specific hazards, hazard prevention and control adds layered defenses such as staggered shifts and added supervision, worksite analysis focuses inspections on bottlenecks, and management commitment with employee involvement empowers workers to pause work when conditions slip. Key Safety LLC can help you operationalize these controls through Document Development for Start-up Projects that codify seasonal SOPs and onboarding, Service on Demand for surge-season audits and coaching, and Regular Consultation Service to refine metrics and lessons learned across seasons.

References

Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, June 10). Compliance. https://www.epa.gov/compliance

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2025, February 19). Continuity resource toolkit. https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/continuity

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2015, February 11). CMV driving tips: Driver fatigue. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/driver-safety/cmv-driving-tips-driver-fatigue

Federal Railroad Administration. (2025, June 2). FRA safety data. https://railroads.dot.gov/safety-data

Standard for Powered industrial trucks. 29 CFR § 1910.178 (2016) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.178

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-a). Long work hours, extended or irregular shifts, and worker fatigue. https://www.osha.gov/worker-fatigue

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-b). Protecting temporary workers.https://www.osha.gov/temporaryworkers

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-c). Powered industrial trucks—Overview. https://www.osha.gov/powered-industrial-trucks

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, November 9). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses—2022 (News Release). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_11082023.pdf