Case study - Stress measurement
Police Motorcyclists Field Trial
Measuring stress in the workplace
This trial was to determine whether:
1. Operational Police Officers could wear a physiological monitoring device during their normal daily work
2. The results from the device is capable of indicating levels of stress
A number of Officers took part in the trial and an athletic cardiovascular training zone measurement was used to determine significant physiological change. This enabled the question "Why has the Officer's heart rate and breathing rate increased when not undertaking any physical activity?"
Each Officer kept a timed activity log which enabled analysis to be undertaken by specific events.
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Arrest | Taking a member of the public into custody for an offence and processing that person |
| Bike Safe | Official motor cycle training for members of the public |
| Blue Light Run | Responding to an emergency call |
| General Patrol | On duty patroling the City streets |
| Incident Attendance | Being despatched to an incident |
| Office Duties | General paperwork and office related duties |
Questions raised by the results
Officer 5 – All of his entries occur during the early hours of the morning (during a night shift) could this be due to general fatigue?
Officers 9 and 1 are both Sergeants who have a range of compulsory office duties. Could this indicate that these duties are causing the body's physiological change (stress)?
Officer 1 – on completing his Office Duties he undertakes General Patrol. Does this indicate that it has taken 18 minutes to relax from the pressures of the office before his physiology returns to within normal boundaries?
Generally, Office Duties has the lowest average heart rate but in this table, during the hours mentioned, each Officer's heart rate was in their training zone. Was the work that they were undertaking at that time causing them stress?
| Officer No. | Activity | Mins in Training Zone | Time Of Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | General Patrol | 23 | 0333 hours to 0356 hours |
| 5 | Incident | 11 | 0400 hours to 0411 hours |
| 5 | General Patrol | 96 | 0413 hours to 0549 hours |
| 9 | Office Duties | 30 | 0719 hours to 0749 hours |
| 1 | Office Duties | 43 | 1158 hours to 1241 hours |
| 1 | General Patrol | 18 | 1249 hours to 1307 hours  |
Stress measurement diagram
Brochures and Papers
Physiological Monitoring brochure (407KB, new window)
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