Scientific and Regulatory Foundations

Bridging the gap between established science and operational performance through rigorous data analysis and evidence-led work design.

Understanding the evidence behind workplace risk management is essential for building sustainable operational capacity. Here is why the WTS scientific approach matters for your organization.

Why act.

Job demands and fatigue are named workplace hazards in Australian and international codes of practice, and approved codes can be used as evidence of what is reasonably practicable. These codes draw on decades of research into workload, fatigue and psychosocial risk. The duty is to manage the risk; WTS helps organisations show how they identify, control and review it.

Why this approach (the science).

WTS is built on four established bodies of science. They tell us what matters and how to act. This is by no means an exhaustive review and does not yet answer every question inside a real operation. That is why we continue to validate and refine.

Scientific Foundations

Foundation

What is established

What is still unknown

How WTS works on it

Workload science

Sustained high demands and long or irregular hours are associated with fatigue, burnout and injury [1–4]

Which patterns of demand matter most in a given operation, and how early strain shows up before output drops [5]

WTS. WISER measures demand patterns from operational data against each site's own baseline, and tests them against that site's outcomes

Wellness & Psychosocial Programs

Individual-only programs achieve little on their own; organisational action and manager capability matter more [6–9]

How individual programs add value when they are linked to work design

WTS. Where a less interpretable method would add value, we explain the trade-off and the choice is yours.Employee programs are learning tools with support pathways, connected to WISER and work design, with individual data kept from the employer

Movement Health

Force-sensor jump and balance testing gives reliable, objective measures [10]; poor balance is associated with injury risk [11]; clinical assessment alone can miss deficits [14]; across medicine, clinicians supported by data outperform clinicians alone [15–17]

Whether clinician + data models reduce workplace injury compared with clinicians alone; when combinations beat the best of either [18]; no screen predicts individual injury [12, 13]

WTS. Clinician-led, data-supported screening that tracks change over time and is evaluated at program level

Implementation Science

Organisational interventions work when they are implemented well, and context decides [19–21]

What works in your operation, with your people

WTS. Embedded action research and implementation science principles: measures agreed before we start, results reported whether or not they worked [20, 22]

References — Scientific foundations

1. Karasek RA (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285–308. 2. Häusser JA, Mojzisch A, Niesel M, Schulz-Hardt S (2010). Ten years on: a review of recent research on the Job Demand–Control (-Support) model and psychological well-being. Work & Stress, 24(1), 1–35. 3. Wong K, Chan AHS, Ngan SC (2019). The effect of long working hours and overtime on occupational health: a meta-analysis of evidence from 1998 to 2018. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2102. 4. Dembe AE, Erickson JB, Delbos RG, Banks SM (2005). The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 62(9), 588–597. 5. Hockey GRJ (1997). Compensatory control in the regulation of human performance under stress and high workload. Biological Psychology, 45, 73–93. 6. Song Z, Baicker K (2019). Effect of a workplace wellness program on employee health and economic outcomes: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 321(15), 1491–1501. 7. Jones D, Molitor D, Reif J (2019). What do workplace wellness programs do? Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134(4), 1747–1791. 8. World Health Organization (2022). WHO guidelines on mental health at work. Geneva: WHO. 9. Ferguson T et al. (2022). Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Lancet Digital Health, 4(8), e615–e626. 10. Claudino JG et al. (2017). The countermovement jump to monitor neuromuscular status: a meta-analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(4), 397–402. 11. Witchalls J, Blanch P, Waddington G, Adams R (2012). Intrinsic functional deficits associated with increased risk of ankle injuries: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(7), 515–523. 12. Hando BR, Scott WC, Bryant JF, Tchandja JN, Angadi SS (2022). The use of force plate vertical jump scans to identify Special Warfare trainees at risk for musculoskeletal injury: a large cohort study. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(6), 1687–1694. 13. Bahr R (2016). Why screening tests to predict injury do not work — and probably never will. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 14. Kotsifaki R, Sideris V, King E, Bahr R, Whiteley R (2023). Performance and symmetry measures during vertical jump testing at return to sport after ACL reconstruction. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(20), 1304–1310. 15. Grove WM, Zald DH, Lebow BS, Snitz BE, Nelson C (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction: a meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 12(1), 19–30. 16. Barkham M, De Jong K, Delgadillo J, Lutz W (2023). Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback: research review and recommendations. Psychotherapy Research, 33(7), 841–855. 17. Hernström V, Josefsson V, Sartor H, et al. (2025). Screening performance and characteristics of breast cancer detected in the Mammography Screening with Artificial Intelligence trial (MASAI): a randomised, controlled, parallel-group, non-inferiority, single-blinded, screening accuracy study. Lancet Digital Health, 7(3). 18. Vaccaro M, Almaatouq A, Malone T (2024). When combinations of humans and AI are useful: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nature Human Behaviour, 8(12), 2293–2303. 19. Aust B, Møller JL, Nordentoft M, et al. (2023). How effective are organizational-level interventions in improving the psychosocial work environment, health, and retention of workers? A systematic overview of systematic reviews. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 49(5), 315–329. 20. von Thiele Schwarz U, Nielsen K, Edwards K, et al. (2021). How to design, implement and evaluate organizational interventions for maximum impact: the Sigtuna Principles. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 30(3), 415–427. 21. Damschroder LJ, Reardon CM, Opra Widerquist MA, Lowery J (2022). The updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research based on user feedback. Implementation Science, 17, 75. 22. Lewin K (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34–46.

Compliance and regulation

The regulations and standards WTS works within to design solutions. These set out what organisations must manage; they do not require any particular tool.

Regulation or Standard

Key Position

Key Limitations

Current WTS Position

Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW and model law), s 275 — use of codes of practice in proceedings (SafeWork NSW codes list)

Approved codes are admissible as evidence of what is known about a hazard or risk and what is reasonably practicable

Since 1 July 2026, s 26A requires NSW PCBUs to comply with an applicable approved code, or to manage the risk to an equivalent or higher standard. No code requires any particular measurement tool.

WTS. We position WISER as evidence that risk is identified, controlled and reviewed in line with the codes, not as a legal requirement.

Safe Work Australia (2022), Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work

Names high and low job demands as a psychosocial hazard; risk rises with the duration, frequency and severity of exposure; points to workforce planning and work design as controls

Model code only: each jurisdiction must adopt it; Victoria has its own regulations

WTS. We apply it directly: WISER measures the duration, frequency and severity of job demands the code describes.

Work Health and Safety Amendment Regulation 2022 (NSW) — psychosocial risk duties (NSW legislation)

Makes managing psychosocial risks an explicit regulatory duty in NSW, applying the hierarchy of controls

Duty is to manage risk so far as reasonably practicable; it does not require any particular measurement tool

WTS. We never claim the law requires WISER; we show how it supports risk assessment, consultation and review.

Safe Work Australia (2025), Model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work

Employers should design work to eliminate or minimise fatigue risk: work hours, shift design, breaks and how tasks are done

Model code; adoption varies by jurisdiction

WTS. We apply it by targeting the controls it names: hours, shift design, breaks and task design.

SafeWork NSW (2026), Managing the risk of fatigue at work Code of Practice, commenced 20 February 2026

Approved NSW code: the fatigue guidance above now carries s 275 evidential weight in NSW

NSW only; guidance on controls, not on data tools

WTS. We lead NSW conversations with it as the most current regulatory hook, framed as support for meeting the code.

ISO 45003:2021, Psychological health and safety at work (ISO)

International guidance for managing psychosocial risk within an ISO 45001 safety management system

Voluntary standard; not law; certification is to ISO 45001, not 45003

WTS. We design with it at our foundations and reference our alignment but don't claim certification.

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), APP 1.7–1.9 automated decision-making transparency, from 10 December 2026 (OAIC; Allens)

Privacy policies must disclose the personal information used, and the kinds of decisions made or substantially assisted by computer programs that significantly affect individuals. Health information remains sensitive information requiring consent

Transparency only, no right to contest; site-level, de-identified WISER outputs may not trigger it, but any person-level use would

WTS. We apply it as a selling point: de-identified, site-level, client-hosted design, with WTS's own privacy policy updated before December 2026.

Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) (NSW legislation) from 30 September 2026

Regulates employer camera, computer and tracking surveillance of employees, including advance written notice

Applies to employer surveillance; Employee programs are designed so the employer collects no individual data

WTS. Employee programs keep individual data from the employer; designed specifically with privacy-first principles