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Fatigue PowerPoint - For use in conjunction with 5-Minute Safety Talk.

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Presentation on theme: "Fatigue PowerPoint - For use in conjunction with 5-Minute Safety Talk."— Presentation transcript:

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• Health Topics A-Z

About Fatigue and Work

At a glance.

• Fatigue can affect anyone and be related to many work-related factors.
• Work-related fatigue can affect worker safety and health.
• Employers and workers should work together to reduce fatigue risks and manage fatigue.

In workplace settings, fatigue is commonly associated with nonstandard schedules which disrupt or shorten sleep. Examples of nonstandard schedules include night shift work and extended work hours.

Fatigue can also be associated with other workplace factors, such as:

• Physically or mentally demanding tasks
• Working in hot environments

It can stem from several different factors and its effects extend beyond sleepiness.

Fatigue can:

• Slow down reaction times
• Reduce attention or concentration
• Limit short-term memory
• Impair judgment

High levels of fatigue can affect any worker in any job. It has serious consequences for worker safety and health.

To keep workers safe and healthy, employers should:

• Learn the risks for fatigue-related events.
• Identify the sources of fatigue.
• Use strategies to prevent and manage fatigue.

What CDC is doing

Learn more about the NIOSH Center for Work and Fatigue Research .

Online worker fatigue training

Training for Nurses on Shiftwork and Long Work Hours

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• Health and safety risks associated with shift work and long work hours
• Related workplace fatigue issues
• Strategies to reduce these risks

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Fatigue Safety Toolbox Talk

Fatigue can be a serious safety hazard. In this toolbox talk, learn tips for preventing and managing fatigue in the workplace.

Fatigue at Work Safety Talk

Being tired on the job can be a huge hazard in construction. If you cannot fully function and perform yours tasks safely and correctly, you are putting yourself and your coworkers at risk.

In the construction field, workers who haven't gotten enough sleep can make crucial mistakes and cause serious injuries when operating machinery or working with dangerous tools. This is why it is important to know the signs of fatigue as well as steps you can take to prevent it.

What is fatigue?

Fatigue is defined as extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness. In simple terms, it is the feeling of being tired or exhausted.

Fatigue can leave workers performing at lower levels and expose them to a higher risk of injury.

Fatigue in the workplace statistics

Fatigue can have disastrous consequences in the workplace, especially in the construction, industrial, and manufacturing sectors. When a worker's alertness level is affected, the rate of errors dramatically increases and these mistakes can result in serious injuries or even death.

Here are some alarming statistics about workplace fatigue:

It is recommended that you get at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night, but about one third of adults average six hours of sleep a night or less.

Being awake for over 16 hours or getting less than 5 hours of sleep at night has similar effects as being intoxicated. Some levels of fatigue can be equated to blood alcohol levels. For instance, 18 hours with no sleep is comparable to a 0.05 BAC.

Injuries occur over three times more often in workers that have less than 5 hours of sleep per night. Additionally, 13% of all workplace injuries can be traced back to sleep deprivation. Causes of Fatigue

Fatigue at work is more than just a feeling of being sleepy. It is a cocktail of feeling exhausted, low energy, sleepiness, and muddy thinking.

Fatigue at work can have many causes. Factors may include:

Sleep deprivation

Too many demands at work or home

Other health problems such as depression or anxiety

Sleep disorders

Bad shift scheduling

Symptoms of fatigue

Common fatigue symptoms include:

Feeling tired even after you slept

Reduced eye-hand coordination

Slow reflexes

Short term memory problems

Inability to concentrate

Blurred or impaired vision

A need for more sleep on days off

If you are suffering from fatigue at work it is important to let your supervisor know immediately.

How to prevent fatigue at work

Everyone gets tired at work occasionally. But if you find that mental or physical exhaustion is a persistent problem for you, it is time to look at ways to prevent fatigue. You first need to figure out the cause of your fatigue, then determine an adequate solution.

Some ways to combat fatigue include:

Get plenty of rest. It is recommended you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. If you are getting less, try going to bed earlier or adjusting your bedtime routine.

Understand the side effects of your medications. Talk with your doctor and make sure the medications you are prescribed will not interfere with your ability to work.

Take care of your health. Addressing your health concerns can make you feel better at work and at home.

Eat a better diet. Food is fuel for your body. You need proper nutrients to operate and stay healthy. You cannot function without a well-balanced diet. Eat well and drink water to stuy hydrated throughout the day.

Exercise. Staying active outside of work is a vital way to stay healthy. It could be a 30-minute walk daily or going to the gym. Exercise will help you fight off fatigue because you will have more energy throughout the day.

How to manage fatigue

If you are feeling fatigued at work, here are a few fatigue management practices you can try in the moment:

Try eating healthy snacks that can supercharge your body and brain and help you gain energy. This can include bananas, yogurt, blueberries, avocados, salmon, and leafy greens.

If you are dehydrated, you will also be tired and sluggish. It is best to drink water. Remember that caffeine will dehydrate you, so caffeinated beverages are not a replacement for proper hydration or sleep.

Feeling like you cannot keep your eyelids open anymore? Try some stretches or go for a short walk.

While on your lunch break, try to take a 20-30 minute power nap. This can increase your alertness.

If you are feeling fatigued at work, talk to your supervisor. You may need to take a break to recharge your energy levels. You should not operate heavy machinery or any tools when you are feeling tired.

The risk of injuries to yourself and your coworkers drastically increases when you are working with a cloudy mind and tired body. If you are having frequent trouble getting sleep at night or figuring out the cause of your fatigue, talk to your doctor.

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Fatigue Management toolbox talk

A simple, 5 minute outline of what to cover in a toolbox talk on Fatigue Management.

Download a Fatigue Management toolbox talk pdf

Fatigue is a state of mental or physical exhaustion that reduces your ability work safely and effectively. Fatigue can be work related or non-work related or a combination of both and can build up over time. This can lead to workplace incidents and injuries.

Why run a Fatigue Management Toolbox Talk?

• Who’s responsible for fatigue management

Signs of fatigue

• Causes of fatigue
• How to manage fatigue

Who’s Responsible for Fatigue Management

Both employers and employees are responsible for managing fatigue. Worker engagement on this issue is a good way to raise concerns, make suggestions and ask questions.

The effects of fatigue can be short term, or they could be long term (burnout). Signs a person may be experiencing fatigue are:

• Short-term memory problems and finding it hard to concentrate
• Poor decision making or errors in judgment
• Reduced hand-eye coordination or slow reflexes
• Mood swings
• Trouble solving problems
• Job performance is affected
• Trouble focusing
• Unable to recall last thought or conversation

Causes of Fatigue

• Working long hours
• Sleep disruption
• Environmental factors – climate
• Physical work factors – using tools that vibrate and type of work i.e. heavy labour
• Repetitive work
• Mental work demands -  tasks that require intense concentration,  regular criticism, or pressure to meet deadlines
• Excessive commuting 
• Non-work related events – separation of a partner, loss of a loved one

How to Manage Fatigue

Some ways to manage fatigue are:

• Appropriate rest breaks
• Using machinery to assist with tasks – where appropriate
• Appropriate human resources
• Avoid working in extreme climate
• Drink enough fluids to maintain hydration
• Job rotations
• Ensure you regularly get 7-8 hours’ sleep before starting work
• Do not rely on stimulants – coffee and nicotine only provide a temporary boost
• Diet - Eat a balanced diet with foods that provide slow release energy (e.g. wholegrains)

Key takeaways:

• Fatigue is a hazard in the workplace
• Look after yourself
• Engage with your work colleagues and employers 

New Zealand Resources:

https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/fatigue/managing-the-risks-of-shift-work/   

https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/fatigue/pamphlets/  

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Blog / February 11, 2020

A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming the Effects of Fatigue in the Workplace

Fatigue isn’t just feeling tired or sleepy. The term also encompasses a lack of energy, and mental and physical exhaustion. And while fatigue feels like a common condition, it shouldn’t be treated as an unavoidable fact of life. Tiredness dramatically increases the number of everyday errors and safety incidents that occur in workplaces due to impaired mental and physical performance and reduction in coordination.

According to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, fatigue in the workplace can result in “slowed reaction time, reduced vigilance, reduced decision-making ability, poor judgment, distraction during complex tasks, and loss of awareness in critical situations.”

Although 24/7 operations that rely on shift work are most impacted by fatigue, employees with regular day jobs are also prone to developing chronic fatigue, which can damage their health, affect work performance, and increase the frequency of errors and safety incidents.

It’s time to think about fatigue a little bit differently and prevent the numerous incidents and deaths caused by it every year.

The consequences of fatigue

Fatigue causes employee performance to suffer due to a diminished ability to make safe decisions, reduced attention spans, impaired memory, and decreased reaction time and accuracy.

What’s more, fatigue affects people’s moods and behaviors. Employees may become impulsive, often resulting in misunderstandings and conflicts. And a workplace filled with overtired employees also has less empathy , awareness and ethical behavior , which can negatively affect the organization’s performance and safety. For example, if workers don’t care about their colleagues, they’re less likely to voluntarily bring up safety issues they might notice.  

In addition, fatigue and related physical ailments and conditions can lead to short-term and long-term absence from work and increased medical costs. And last but not least, fatigue causes a significant loss of productivity. Distractions, errors, an inability to concentrate and a lack of motivation can have a negative impact on the bottom line, which, in turn, can have an even larger impact on employee morale.

40% of workers regularly operate at three times the risk due to fatigue.

This guide is about understanding fatigue and preventing or mitigating its effects. Learn even more in our free fatigue webinar .

Workplace fatigue risk management system

Many shift-working operations have developed an FRMS (fatigue risk management system) that is part of their health and safety program. Although an FRMS is sometimes required by a specific industry’s regulatory environment, the system should account for the specific contexts of the individual workplace in which it’s used. A successful FRMS should include:

• a fatigue management policy
• hazard and risk assessments followed by controls and action plans to mitigate those risks
• a fatigue reporting system for employees
• a process for fatigue incident investigations
• fatigue management training and education for employees, managers and families
• an internal and external audit of the FRMS that delivers corrective actions
• sleep disorder management

Canada Post’s The Shift Worker’s Handbook has some great tips for managing fatigue in the workplace that can apply to any worker, not just shift workers.

Beating fatigue

Reducing the impact of fatigue involves changing habits. And to manage fatigue consistently requires numerous habit and lifestyle changes. But the results are worth it. Below are the nine steps to consider when attempting to deal with fatigue: 

• Wellness programs
• Ambiance/Conditions/Environment
• Nurturing healthy sleeping habits
• Technology and Engineering Solutions
• Stress management
• Little breaks
• Eating well
• Pause, analyze and communicate

1. Wellness programs and policies

Wellness programs can be a significant investment, but their results can be seen in better employee engagement , fewer absences and better employee health, all of which will lead to an improved health and safety record and better production. Such programs and policies often include:

• health education
• medical screenings for sleeping disorders
• prevention programs, including smoking cessation, weight management, exercise and healthy eating promotion
• on-site fitness programs/facilities or discounted group rates at external facilities
• allowing flex-time for later starts, earlier finishes or exercise
• extended rest breaks
• offering healthy food options in vending machines and cafeterias

2. Ambiance/Conditions/Environment

People’s circadian rhythms can be easily disrupted by not enough natural light, which can exacerbate feelings of fatigue. In addition, a small change in temperature can also have a significant impact on energy levels and performance.

Bright light aids in wakefulness and increases productivity, but can lead to problems with people’s internal clocks. Although artificial lighting may fool a person’s mind into thinking it’s daytime, their body requires natural light to perform at an optimal level. Natural light makes people less sleepy and helps them perform better for longer. This means that providing natural lighting whenever possible can help stave off fatigue.

Temperature can also affect fatigue levels. Lower temperature requires energy to be diverted from the brain to heat up the rest of the body. When that happens, the brain is more likely to underperform and people are much more prone to making mistakes. Ensuring a comfortable workplace temperature can prevent this from happening. 

Consideration should be given to the environment of each person’s work. Do they have to go up and downstairs, walk distances, lift items repeatedly? Anything that can be automated to reduce unnecessary motion or assist with weight can not only lessen fatigue but also improve productivity.

Fluctuations in working conditions due to seasonality, cyclical production demands or a temporary heating or air conditioning failure needs to be taken into consideration in terms of how they can deviate from the usual levels to which workers are acclimatized. 

3. Nurturing healthy sleeping habits

Although employees’ lives outside the company may seem like none of the employers’ business, their health and safety are just as important off the clock as they are when they’re in the workplace. Companies should consider educating their workers on the importance of sleep. Providing free materials and education on sleep hygiene and sleep health can contribute to staff getting more rested as a result. 

It may also encourage them to take naps at home without feeling like they’re wasting time. This is important because many studies have shown that short power naps (10-30 min) increase performance by 34 percent and alertness by 54 percent. Naps as short as 10 minutes can improve alertness, communication and mood. Some companies even provide “nap rooms” and actively encourage employees to use them because they know that naps can boost productivity, critical thinking and creativity.

Unfortunately, few organizations can offer their employees the opportunity to take a short nap during their shift. In most cases, it’s simply not practical. As the next-best option, helping them get better sleep at home can make a huge difference in their levels of fatigue and, as a result, improve their health, safety and performance. 

Although employers have no way of ensuring that workers get enough, good-quality sleep, it’s worth educating them on the significant risks of fatigue at and outside of work. Training sessions, guides, and webinars on the subject are a good way to help employees recognize the value of sufficient sleep. You can find relevant guides online or create your own. Whatever resource you choose to use, make sure it includes the following advice:

• Develop a pre-bedtime routine. This will help your body learn that performing certain actions means that it’s almost time to go to sleep.
• Your bedroom should be cool and dark.
• All technology should be removed from the bedroom. Screens are a distraction and their light also interferes with circadian rhythms. Regularly using a computer late at night is associated with sleep disorders, stress and depressive symptoms.
• Your brain needs to equate your bedroom with sleep. Exposing your brain to mixed messages—such as watching television or working in bed—means that it won’t associate pillows and sheets with sleep.
• Avoid stimulants like caffeine, tobacco and alcohol before bed as they interfere with your body’s natural rhythms.

4. Technology and Engineering Solutions

The number of wearable devices designed to track fatigue is expanding, and the customer base has grown far beyond the typical consumer. These days, numerous companies provide different industries with specialized equipment such as: 

• drowsiness-detection glasses
• hats measuring brain activity
• head and facial movement monitors
• wearable technology 
• fit-for-duty apps or assessments

Tools and devices designed to track fatigue can be extremely useful in preventing serious incidents in which fatigue is a factor, especially when the information gathered by some of these devices can be automatically sent to the management or supervisors. This data could prove critical in industries where a supervisor can make an informed decision about giving heavily fatigued workers safer work assignments, rearranging the schedule or providing other real-time interventions. 

In high-risk industries , safety managers can use fatigue-tracking technology to see at a glance how fatigued each worker is, identify critical risks and then take steps to address the situation. But it’s important to remember that this can’t replace good old-fashioned communication , feedback and having a culture that supports open dialogue around fatigue.

Fatigue-monitoring devices can’t stop fatigue, inform workers what to do if they’re tired, or rest on their behalf. They can only provide information. So it’s up to organizations and their workers to make the right decisions.

When it comes to engineering solutions, organizations should consider things such as anti-fatigue mats, conveyor belts, tools that hang from above to prevent bending and lifting, etc. Even small changes in the environment can contribute to reducing strain and fatigue. 

5. Stress management

Stress can have a significant impact on fatigue. In fact, constant and prolonged stress is exhausting and detrimental to mental and physical health.

Some managers believe that pressure might make employees work faster, and it will—up to a point. But soon enough, fatigue will catch up and the consequences of stress will cost the company in health expenses, lost-time incidents, and decreased productivity. An employee who works in a friendly, relaxed setting performs much better than someone who feels constantly under pressure. And a relaxed work climate is possible even in highly dangerous and stressful jobs—because it’s about the work climate and not the job itself.

Some employers try to help their staff manage stress and other aspects of their lives by offering flexible hours, long vacations, half-day Fridays, stress-reduction classes and even yoga. In general, creating social activities for employees is good for boosting morale and reducing stress. Even simply providing a “chill-out space” can go a long way. 

Additionally, communicating with workers can contribute to improved well-being because keeping employees informed about the company and their own performance reduces feelings of stress and anxiety.

Supervisors and team communication play a key role here too. Leaders need to be able to recognize the signs of stress in their team and understand how the many sources of stress cross over from work to home and vice versa.

6. Little breaks

Every eighty to a hundred minutes, people’s concentration and attention levels drop, fatigue sets in, and their performance suffers. This is a signal that it’s time to stop and take a break. These breaks can be simple trips to the bathroom, walking to speak to a colleague instead of sending a message, or simply taking a couple of minutes to walk around, stretch and look out the window.

People’s brains and bodies are not capable of continuous performance at a steady level for eight or nine hours straight—everyone experiences dips in alertness and concentration throughout the day. Recovery breaks are a proven method of allowing the brain to rest and perform better for longer. 

Taking multiple short breaks can improve performance and well-being and is better for employees than working a straight shift with one break in the middle. Shifts could be scheduled accordingly to break them up with several recovery breaks. 

The intensity and conditions of the work should also correlate to the frequency and duration of breaks. Someone lifting heavy objects in extreme heat requires significantly more recovery time than someone monitoring systems from a seated position in an air-conditioned room. Ideally, supervisors need to have strategies to plan work and distribute it evenly among their team wherever possible.

Companies should consider encouraging workers to take short breaks to:

• Get up and walk around
• Look out the window for a few minutes
• Get a drink
• Talk to someone
• Alternate demanding and less-demanding tasks with a partner

This can lead to employees who feel less fatigued and are more likely to notice safety hazards and make safer decisions.

7. Eating well 

Although it might seem like nutrition is not relevant to fatigue, it actually has a huge impact on energy levels. This is why it’s worth providing workers with a nutrition class or information to encourage certain behaviors and habit changes related to eating. The guides could include advice such as:

• Have a decent breakfast. Providing your body with the right type of energy at the beginning of the day will keep you going for longer.
• Eat more frequent but smaller meals instead of two or three big meals in the day. This will help steady your blood sugar levels and energy levels.
• Choose lean proteins, healthy fats, and lots of greens instead of processed, refined carbs. These will help to keep you full for longer and maintain your blood sugar at an even level, preventing energy spikes and dips.

Recognizing that healthy food has a positive impact on employees, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidelines for choosing foods and beverages for meetings, conferences and events. This can also apply to staff rooms if the employer chooses to stock it with healthy foods and snacks. 

Even mild dehydration can have a negative impact on performance and alertness. It increases feelings of sluggishness and slows people down. To address the issue, it’s worth keeping in mind that when it comes to hydration, not all liquids are created equal.

Soda and sugary drinks will give a person a short-lived energy boost, but it’s soon followed by a crash and an increase in fatigue. It’s best to hydrate with water—a water cooler in the workplace is always a good idea, as is making sure that the employees have easy access to it.

Some people use caffeine to hydrate and stay awake. But caffeine is a stimulant that works best when used strategically because its effects can last up to six hours and can interfere with the body’s natural rhythms. Additionally, just like soft drinks, alcohol or salty foods, caffeine can contribute to dehydration.

It’s even more important to encourage workers to hydrate in hot working environments because people require more liquids than usual in these environments. It’s a good idea to hand out water to staff on a regular basis and provide them with regular reminders to hydrate.  

8. Exercise

Studies have shown that exercise helps relieve stress, boost overall health, and strengthen immune function. It’s also been proven that physical activity increases energy levels and reduces fatigue. And exercise routines don’t even have to be strenuous. Research shows that people who engage in low-intensity exercise three times a week have a 65 percent reduction in fatigue levels. Simply going out for a short leisurely walk a few times a week is extremely helpful in lowering fatigue levels.

Even people who lead a sedentary life and choose to engage in regular, low-intensity exercise can increase their energy levels by 20 percent. So although it might not seem very appealing, it’s possible to start with simple, low-impact exercises and results will soon follow. Encouraging exercise breaks can contribute to a fitter, healthier and less fatigued workforce. 

9. Pause, analyze and communicate

Lack of sleep can impair a person’s ability to gauge if they’re tired. That’s because the first part of the brain that is affected by lack of sleep is the part that recognizes fatigue . So it’s important to train workers on how to recognize objective signs and symptoms of fatigue, and then encourage them to regularly take a clear-eyed look at their performance and consider the possibility that they might need a break.

People need to know that if they’re tired, they need to address the problem. Just because they’ve done something many times before without incident doesn’t mean that fatigue won’t cause them to get distracted or make a mistake this time.

If your workplace struggles with managing worker fatigue, it might be worth implementing a buddy system. When people watch out for fatigue symptoms in each other, they become more likely to catch it and help their colleagues avoid a serious mistake or injury. When implementing a buddy system, make sure people know to watch out for:

• droopy eyes
• slower movements
• irritability
• lack of concentration
• long blinks

They should also know how to positively intervene if they notice these signs so that they can effectively encourage each other to take breaks when necessary.

It’s not enough for individuals to pause and recognize their own fatigue. They need to relay that information to their supervisor. But the supervisor needs to have established a climate for encouraging that communication as well as know HOW to communicate about the subject, especially when they pause and analyze their workers for signs of fatigue themselves. 

This two-way feedback loop can help mitigate fatigue reaching critical levels and it can also identify elements of the system or working conditions that can potentially increase worker fatigue. Issues can then be relayed upwards to management and improvements can be made for the future.

The state-of-mind pattern 

Complacency.

It’s important to address fatigue in the context of complacency. It’s natural for people to build habits around certain aspects of their life that are far from safe because they do those tasks all the time. For example, most people are likely to not give driving the full attention it deserves even though it’s an incredibly dangerous task. 

This is not necessarily caused by deliberate choices but by misperception of risk. After all, when someone has been performing a task for years, they are more comfortable with it and may not see it as dangerous anymore. They might even stop paying attention and perform it on autopilot.

As a result, people regularly drive and work fatigued. They do it because they don’t think they’re fatigued or because they believe they can do it safely despite being fatigued. Not noticing that they’re tired is just as dangerous as noticing it but not doing anything about it because nothing bad has ever happened before. 

This is one of the many reasons why it’s important to address complacency and other human factors in safety training. With the right training, workers will be able to minimize the costly or deadly mistakes caused by ignoring fatigue and trying to push through. 

Other states of mind

The task of dealing with fatigue can seem much more serious when we add complacency and other states of mind into the mix. But focusing on the universal problem of human performance instead of one small part of it is more efficient.

States such as rushing, frustration and complacency lead to physical and mental errors and compromised decisions. And when you add fatigue into the mix, the consequences could be deadly. The ideal solution is to provide awareness and skills to help employees mitigate the risks of human factors. Typically, this is best done via human factors training that focuses on common patterns and teaches people to understand and manage their states—including fatigue.

All this information above may seem a little overwhelming. There are so many factors that affect fatigue that it’s natural for safety professionals to struggle with at least some of the elements mentioned here.

However, all of the factors outlined in this post can have a significant impact on safety. Consider which fatigue-related issues deserve the most attention and then create a plan that works best for you and your employees. For example, this could include regular toolbox talks . Each meeting could focus on a separate issue addressed here and include relevant handouts and other useful materials that will support workers as they attempt to reduce their overall levels of fatigue. 

• give employees information about fatigue risks
• offer skills and habits to manage fatigue
• address the common pattern of states that increase the risk of injury

And, ideally you’ll establish two-way communication and feedback loops so that information on the things that are most urgently impacting fatigue can get from the frontline workers to upper management.

Your plan should include three components:

• Workplace fatigue risk management
• Worker and family fatigue program

Each of those components involves separate areas of focus. Workplace fatigue risk management could include:

• providing healthy nutrition and hydration as well as education on the subject
• implementing a buddy system
• addressing an unreasonable work schedule
• scheduling adequate and regular breaks
• preventing dark or cold environments
• providing support through wellness programs and stress management
• adopting relevant technology

Meanwhile, worker and family fatigue program should address:

• sleep deprivation
• a lack of exercise

Training should include skills and habits for managing fatigue in the moment and addressing related states that, when combined with fatigue, can lead to serious incidents. Among others, states that should be addressed are:

• complacency
• frustration
• distraction

Even though some of these factors might not affect your workforce as much as others, consider addressing all of these fatigue-influencing elements. Some may affect your workers without you realizing it. And your advice might help keep your workers safe at home and on the road, in addition to protecting them at work from the dangers of fatigue. 

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Tagged 24/7 Safety , Fatigue , Human Factors , Risk Management

Fatigue and worker safety

Experts say employers play a role in tackling the issue.

When his first daughter was born, Steve Marks was juggling two jobs.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Marks was a nurse manager at a casino medical unit. When his shift ended, he slept an hour or two before moving on to his other job as a hospital supervisor from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. two nights a week. Afterward, he drove back to his first job, where he curled up under his desk for an hour-long nap.

“When you’ve got bills to pay and things that have to be done, children or parents or other things keeping you up, sleep is the last thing that gets paid attention to,” he said. “It’s like, ‘All right, I can deal with this. Let me just close my eyes for a couple minutes and I’ll get back to it.’ That doesn’t make up for the loss [of sleep].”

After two years, Marks decided to stop working two jobs. Now administrator of health and safety services at Viking Yachts in New Gretna, NJ, he shares his stories to educate people about occupational fatigue.

Kim Olszewski – vice president of Lewisburg, PA-based Mid-State Occupational Health Services – also understands fatigue after working the night shift in health care. She, alongside Marks, participates in presentations on occupational fatigue.

Employers are becoming increasingly aware that fatigue is a safety issue, Olszewski said, and they, along with workers, play a role in tackling the problem.

“The key is the proactive piece, driving it from the top down, talking about fatigue, how it can be managed, how can it impacts all aspects of life – not just work,” she said.

Causes and effects

A 2012 guidance statement from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine defines fatigue as the body’s response to sleep deprivation or lengthy physical or mental hard work. Risk factors related to occupational fatigue include long work hours, a heavy workload, lack of sleep, environmental factors and medical conditions.

Even dealing with other people can result in fatigue, one researcher notes.

“You can be fatigued simply if you go to work and have really poor social interactions with your co-workers – it’s not just about how much sleep you get,” said Matthew Hallowell, associate professor of construction engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Hallowell led a review of literature about causes and outcomes of occupational fatigue, which was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in October.

Effects of fatigue can include slower reaction time, more errors and decreased cognitive ability. Fatigue can occur in all industries, but numerous studies have focused on its effects on shift workers, health care workers and drivers.

“The industries that are at highest risk would be those where people are working long hours, overtime, many days in a row, when they’re exposed to harsh environmental conditions, like working outside in the rain, snow,” Hallowell said. “Environmental conditions can include things like noise or vibration, really heavy mental task loads for long periods of time. You can extend to what industries that defines, like electrical transmission and distribution line workers, or people who drive snowplows.”

In addition, many people work multiple jobs, leaving them vulnerable to fatigue. People who work several jobs get 40 minutes less sleep per day than those who work one job, according to David Lombardi, principal research scientist at the Center for Injury Epidemiology at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, MA. Lombardi presented this data during the Dec. 13 “Fatigue Blue Ribbon Panel” in Chicago, hosted by the National Safety Council.

“Fatigue is an increasing health and safety problem in our daily lives due to the 24-hour society with decreasing emphasis on sleep,” Lombardi said.

Lombardi and researcher Simon Folkard, of the Université Paris Descartes, have published a risk index to estimate injury risk related to work schedules. Type of shift, number of consecutive shifts, hours worked per shift and rest breaks influence risk, Lombardi said. Risk was 31 percent higher among night shift workers than morning shift workers; by the fourth consecutive night shift, risk was 36 percent higher than on the first night, and risk nearly doubled by the 12th hour of work. However, injury risk decreased by nearly 50 percent after any length of rest break.

“An important message of our approach is that various features of a shift work schedule – beyond only working hours – need to be considered in combination when assessing the safety of a given work schedule,” Lombardi said.

The estimated annual injury incidence rate per 100 workers is 7.89 for U.S. workers who usually sleep less than five hours per day, compared with 2.27 per 100 workers among those who tend to sleep between seven and eight hours, according to research from Lombardi and others, using data from the National Health Interview Survey.

Fatigue risk management systems

Medical and lifestyle interventions, as well as work organization factors, can help promote alertness, according to a 2012 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine guidance statement on fatigue risk management in the workplace. Organizations in which employees work long hours or at night – especially those with safety-sensitive jobs, such as in the energy, health care and transportation industries – can benefit from addressing fatigue.

ACOEM outlines the following key features of a fatigue risk management system:

• Supported by peer-reviewed science
• Decisions determined by data collection and analysis
• Designed by stakeholders
• Systemwide use of tools, systems, policies and procedures
• Constructed into the corporate safety and health management systems
• Continuous improvement
• Senior leaders take ownership

Other critical elements include a safety management policy, risk management, reporting, incident investigation, training and education, and auditing.

Key defenses of a fatigue risk management system are:

• Balancing workload and staffing
• Shift scheduling
• Training for employees on fatigue and managing sleep disorders
• Workplace design
• Monitoring of fatigue

Although workers are responsible for being well-rested, managers should provide information, motivation and resources, ACOEM states.

In addition, workers should be educated about issues, such as fatigue-related hazards; sleep disorders; how to get adequate and quality sleep; how to recognize fatigue; the importance of diet, exercise and other health conditions; and alertness strategies, including designing workplaces with bright light, cool temperature, non-monotonous noise and low humidity.

Taking the initiative

In July, the National Safety Council launched an initiative on occupational fatigue. “Aside from just an increase in workplace risk, there’s also long-term economic consequences,” said Emily Whitcomb, senior program manager of the initiative. “NSC is tackling fatigue because as we’re working toward eliminating preventable deaths, fatigue is one of the larger issues.”

NSC has gathered research with the aim of identifying best practices; conducting a national survey; and releasing a cost calculator, policy toolkit and other educational resources.

The council’s review of literature includes several findings:

• About 38 percent of U.S. workers sleep less than seven hours a night, according to a 2016 study from NIOSH.
• Several studies state that workers who have a sleeping disorder are more likely to be involved in a workplace safety incident.
• Fatigue-related productivity losses cost almost $2,000 per worker each year, according to estimates from a 2010 study conducted by Cupertino, CA-based Alertness Solutions.

“Fatigue has always been a problem – there’s always been shift work, people have always not gotten their full night’s rest,” Whitcomb said. “It has started to come to light more in the past 20 years, when the research really started showing it was causing unsafe work practices, when it was increasing risk in the workplace.

“Probably in the last 10 years, as we’ve looked more at wellness in the workplace, it’s gotten a lot more attention. A lot more employers are wanting to address fatigue in the workplace because they’re starting to see those increased risks and lack of productivity from those employees who are fatigued.”

Possible solutions

Although workers can help prevent fatigue through measures such as taking breaks and adopting better sleep habits, employers also can help combat the issue.

A November report from RAND Europe, part of the nonprofit research organization RAND Corp., concluded that lack of sleep results in a 13 percent increased risk of death and the loss of 1.2 million workdays per year in the United States. The report offers the following recommendations for employers:

• Understand the importance of sleep and promote it.
• Create brighter workplaces with settings for naps.
• Deter lengthy use of electronic devices after work.

According to a Liberty Mutual report, recommendations for scheduling include:

• Working during the day rather than at night
• Restricting consecutive day shifts to five or six days and night shifts to four days
• Ensuring workers have at least two consecutive days off
• Making schedules consistent
• Providing frequent breaks

Supervisors should be alert for signs of excessive fatigue among workers, such as yawning, head dropping, and difficulty remembering or concentrating, according to the statement from ACOEM.

Technology also can be used to monitor fatigue. For example, Chicago-based USG Corp., a manufacturer of construction materials, placed sensors in its trucks to monitor operators after one dozed off behind the wheel, resulting in the truck traveling up a berm and its load tipping over. The operator – who had worked more than 55 hours the previous week and was helping his family with another job – was uninjured, Justin Dugas, safety and health director at USG, said during the NSC panel. (USG is a member of the Campbell Institute at NSC.)

The sensor tracks an operator’s eye movements and sends alerts through a loud buzzing or vibration of the seat when distracted driving or sleep is detected. Video footage is sent to a monitoring center for analysis.

During the initial months after the sensors were installed, two or three fatigue-related incidents occurred daily. They decreased to two or three per week, then one or two per month, Dugas said.

“[It’s] significant improvement in terms of fatigue events, and this is now, as a result, part of our standard equipment specification for all our haulage units,” he added.

In addition, a risk management system can help mitigate fatigue. (See “Fatigue risk management systems,” above.) A risk management system can include reporting of fatigue-related incidents, investigation, training and auditing, Marks said, adding that “it would include things like making sure sleep disorders are covered on the insurance plan, and people are encouraged to get this evaluated.”

Even if a company does not invest in a complex management system, it can share messages about fatigue, such as the importance of not consuming alcohol before bedtime.

“These are little things that can come out in toolbox safety talks, little five-minute lectures on a topic to pass on the information,” Marks said.

Other ways to mitigate worker fatigue include moving safety-sensitive work to other employees or another time to take advantage of alertness, taking breaks, ingesting caffeine and changing environmental factors, according to ACOEM.

“Being cognizant of how the workplace is set up, how the work is handled, will help improve some of those issues,” Marks said.

“The things that can help: Improving lighting, making sure the temperature is cooler – especially at night – minimizing humidity, noise, vibration. As employers are looking at reengineering workplaces or building new ones, these are things that can be put in place at the beginning or during retrofit to help minimize some of these situations.”

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4 Steps to Fatigue Risk Management - a Fatigue Risk Management Template

April 04, 2023

Workplace fatigue awareness has been on the rise ever since fatigue was found to be a contributing factor in incidents like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Chernobyl disaster, and the Challenger explosion. Many of today's safety-sensitive workplaces recognize the risk, costs, and dangers associated with workplace fatigue. For example, lost productivity due to fatigue is estimated to cost employers $136 billion a year. (NSC)

However, despite the increased research and awareness of workplace fatigue risk, it continues to go largely unmanaged. The technological solutions required to effectively manage workplace fatigue are still fairly new. This article will identify 4 essential steps in workplace fatigue risk management so that workplaces can better evaluate their fatigue management needs and implement a fatigue risk management system that suits their industry and workplace culture.

The 1st Piece of a Fatigue Risk Management Template

Education is clearly the first step in any type of program that challenges daily habits that may be unsafe or unproductive (energy-drink binging, inadequate rest, etc.); uproots harmful cultural beliefs (taking pride in working excessive hours, sleep deprivation, and overexertion); and influences a more positive workplace culture. 

Before implementing a fatigue risk management system, it is critical that everyone in the workplace understands the meaning of "workplace fatigue." How the word 'fatigue' is used in daily life does not inspire a full appreciation of the wide variety of factors that contribute to workplace fatigue; the severity of the damages it inflicts on workplaces each year; and how it impacts the lives of dedicated shift-workers everywhere. 

What Is Fatigue?

• Fatigue is mental or physical exhaustion that stops a person from being able to function normally.
• Fatigue involves “a state of impaired mental and/or physical performance and lowered alertness” (1).
• Fatigue can be caused by "a combination of hard physical and mental work, health and psychosocial factors or inadequate restorative sleep" (7).
• Fatigue can be either work or non-work related or a combination of both.
• Fatigue often results in increased difficulty in performing physical or mental activities.

Although these definitions describe fatigue individually, "workplace fatigue" is more complex than it may imply.

Workplace fatigue involves a different variety of aggravating factors — shift schedules, commutes, etc.— and has farther-reaching risks than at the individual level — safety-critical tasks, productivity, and worker burnout. 

To understand the meaning of fatigue in a workplace context, see the following graphic which accounts for the three major factors in "total worker fatigue." 

What Is Workplace Fatigue?

As seen above, workplace fatigue is not simply a measure of how long your workers have been sleep-deprived.

Instead, a definition of workplace fatigue that is conducive to effective management will recognize the influence of other factors such as the health status of your workers; the heat and noise levels in your workplace; the number of consecutive night shifts worked, etc.

Here is another way to envision the factors behind workplace fatigue. It is important to consider these factors in determining the fatigue risk that your workers may be subject to:

What is the Circadian Rhythm?

One of the major factors contributing to worker fatigue particularly related to shift work is the disruption of the circadian rhythm. The human biological system operates on an internal clock in which different functions run on different cycle lengths. The circadian rhythm, for example, is a rhythm that cycles approximately every 24 hours, with various functions either rising or falling at various times throughout the 24-hour period.

For example, high body temperature and heart rate are associated with increased alertness and performance and occur during daylight hours. Sleep, on the other hand, is associated with a lowering of body temperature, heart rate, and cortisol, which decrease in the evening, then rise in the morning before we awaken. (3)

The physiological tendency to sleep at night and to be awake during the day is powerful; difficulties occur when work-time arrangements cause individuals to work against this tendency. Altering the normal sleep/wake cycle affects both the ability to remain alert and the ability to sleep. Non-traditional work hours (night or early morning) create a misalignment between the internal clock on normal activity and sleep schedule. (4)

The circadian rhythm also creates natural fatigue zones that occur usually around 2:30 PM and 4:00 AM. Given that all humans encounter these natural fatigue zones, shift workers experience an even more difficult fatigue challenge. Retraining our internal, built-in “body clock” is not easy, and shift work creates what is called “circadian desynchronization.”

Shift workers’ circadian rhythm is out of step with the environment, and no matter how hard they try, they will always struggle to adjust to new work-and-rest schedules. 

In fact, everyone’s circadian clock adjusts at slightly different rates, so a common effect of shift work, especially among workers on rotating shifts, is “jet lag.” Even workers who work only at night experience this circadian lag every week, beginning on their days off. There are additional calculating factors in a formal fatigue risk assessment.

To ensure your shift schedules and circadian rhythm disruption are not contributing to fatigue levels in your workplace, get a fatigue risk shift schedule assessment here.

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These shift assessments measure the impact of factors like:

• shift patterns
• how breaks are organized
• countermeasures for fatigue mitigation
• review of employee health issues
• lifestyle questionnaire
• night shifts vs. day shifts
• shift lengths
• consecutive days worked
• days off between work cycles
• days off between day-night shifts 
• frequency of night shifts
• workplace environment: temperature, noise, access to water and snacks
• worker commute times
• job role and safety-sensitivity 

After assessing the influence of these factors, the shift schedule assessment will provide a new shift schedule optimized for the highest worker alertness, a fatigue heat map to highlight the days and times fatigue might be high, and appropriate countermeasures to combat high fatigue risk. This type of assessment takes approximately one week, and up to two additional weeks to analyze the data and compile the results. Once completed, the findings and recommendations are presented to management.

Why Manage Workplace Fatigue? 

After raising awareness of the factors that cause workplace fatigue (click here for helpful fatigue infographics you can hang in your workplace), the next step is to educate various decision-makers in the organization about why fatigue management is a critical part of company success. 

Start with the negatives (Unfortunately, humans find negativity more provocative than the prospects of positive change.):

Workplace fatigue results in:

• Reduced performance and productivity
• Increased risk of accidents and injuries
• Impaired worker judgment, is an especially disastrous symptom for safety decision-makers
• Reduced worker self-awareness (Fatigued workers are unable to gauge their own level of impairment. As a result, they are unaware that they are not functioning as well or as safely as when they're fully alert. This leads to poor decision-making, burn-out, and low morale.)

If your organization offers healthcare benefits and generally takes an interest in the well-being of their workers, the effects of fatigue on an individual level are also worthy of mention: 

• Short-term cognitive effects: Impaired memory, concentration, vigilance, reaction-time
• Short-term health issues: Increased stress, depression, and reduced immune strength
• Short-term outcomes: Increased absenteeism, presenteeism, burnout, higher incident frequency, increased errors
• Long-term health issues: Digestion problems, heart disease, increased risk of cancer, obesity, and more
• Long-term outcomes: Increased turnover, reduced productivity, increased insurance rates, increased safety costs

The 2nd Piece of a Fatigue Risk Management Template

Sometimes, it may be easy to recognize fatigue.

For example, when you find a worker asleep on the job or do a root cause post-incident analysis and find that the operator involved in the incident had been at the end of a 12-hour night shift on his 4th consecutive night shift. 

A more important yet more difficult challenge is to recognize fatigue before it leads to an incident or before someone falls asleep.

This requires looking beyond objective factors like shift length and sleep hours and assessing the involvement of more subjective causes of fatigue such as:

• an employee’s private commitments (other jobs, family crisis, etc.)
• sleeping or eating habits (including any sleep disorders)
• other individual characteristics.

Supervisors who are too busy to measure the significance of subjective fatigue risk factors on their workers can use technology to do so. A non-invasive 60-second test, the AlertMeter® notifies a supervisor when a worker may be cognitively impaired and needs attention. The conversation that ensues is quick and painless and contributes to better safety communication, better relationships, and a more positive safety culture. Click here to read examples of those conversations. 

How Is Fatigue Detected?

Understanding the “progression of fatigue” helps us see why it is so important to focus on measurement before management. While we expect employees to arrive at work at full alertness level, as many employees do, this optimal condition doesn’t always happen and may not actually be possible for all workers.

At moderate alertness levels, fatigue begins to negatively impact certain aspects of worker performance.

At reduced alertness levels, fatigue has detrimental effects on worker productivity and safety.

Unfortunately, it is not until the point of failure where fatigue has caused or contributed to an incident or a near miss that we tend to focus on solutions, controls, or other ways to “manage” fatigue risk.

Each of these factors are quantifiable and able to be measured in our attempt to manage fatigue in the workplace:

• De-synchronization of sleep/work cycle with circadian rhythm: Trying to work when the body is in a sleep cycle or trying to sleep when the body is in an active cycle
• The build-up of sleep debt over sequential shifts: Insufficient sleep between shifts to completely reset sleep debt
• Total hours/shifts worked: Moving the circadian cycle backward increases fatigue risk; the insufficient time between shift pattern changes

The 3rd Piece of a Fatigue Risk Management Template

After educating ourselves on the multitude of factors that could cause or contribute to fatigue, and realizing how important it is to measure or detect fatigue, companies can move toward proactively managing or applying countermeasures to fatigue risk in the workplace.

Managing fatigue presents 3 primary challenges:

• First, there is no objective, standard definition of fatigue until the point of failure.
• Second, fatigue is a non-static variable, making it difficult to measure.
• And third, a majority of behaviors impacting fatigue are not work-related and occur outside of the workplace.  

We can think of fatigue as an input variable in the organization’s workstream: 

• Fatigue impacts the quality of an organization and its results;
• It is inherent within all human resources;
• It impacts worker health, often leading to absenteeism and workplace accidents.

Using “Cost of Quality” concepts, we can apply a Quality Improvement Model:

The Cost of Quality is a business model that shows how continuous improvement efforts reduce future costs.

Larger investments in prevention end up driving even larger savings in quality-related failures down the road.

By investing in prevention, companies can address problems at the source and prevent future expenses that are exponentially higher when addressing them downstream, or after an incident occurs.

The 1-10-100 Rule is a business efficiency model that can be used in qualitative analysis. Basically, it looks at the cost of prevention compared to the costs of correction, compared to the costs at our after a point of failure. 

When we apply these models to our interest in managing fatigue, it becomes clear that an investment in measuring and managing worker fatigue is going to reduce potential costs and risks of failures related to fatigue in the workplace.

Here’s another way to look at the benefits of managing fatigue from a Cost of Quality perspective. The investment, both in cost and effort, before deciding to manage fatigue shows: 

• Low focus on human factors
• High expense at the point of failure
• Little correlation to total environment 

Most of this deals with responding to points of failure; a company’s reactions to workplace incidents; whether resulting in property damage, first-aid injury, lost time, workers’ compensation, lost productivity, a more serious injury, or fatality.

The investment both in cost and effort after deciding to manage fatigue shows a much more balanced distribution across education and fatigue risk management efforts.

It also provides a high focus on human factors, better visibility to fatigue risk, and robust data reporting and analysis. But most importantly, there is a significantly smaller point of failure cost.

The benefit of prevention efforts, like education and other fatigue management activities) clearly outweigh the costs associated with failure.

Fatigue Countermeasures

Part of managing fatigue is appropriately using countermeasures to reduce fatigue’s effects and to enhance or encourage alertness.

Countermeasures can be behavioral, meaning recurring or routine actions that encourage alertness, or they can be nutritional, related to the intake of food or drink.

• Staying hydrated is key. Dehydration accelerates fatigue symptoms, so access to potable water must not only be ensured but used frequently. Plus, employees can use clean, cold water to refresh themselves by washing their faces and hands.
• Staying mobile is also a behavioral countermeasure that can fend off fatigue symptoms. For workers who sit for long periods, taking frequent short walks and stretching is advised. For employees who are active, brief intervals of isometric exercise can help keep the body fresh and the mind alert. If possible, brief periods of rest or sleep can also reinvigorate a fatigued worker. Some workplaces may also provide “light stations,” where employees can combat fatigue symptoms by bathing in bright white light.
• Besides hydration, nutritional countermeasures include consuming caffeinated beverages, like coffee or tea, and energy drinks and soft drinks in moderation.
• Although they may boost energy levels, energy drinks should be used sparingly because they contain very high doses of caffeine and other stimulants. When consumed to excess, they can disrupt nightly sleep and actually contribute to daytime fatigue (which may then lead to consuming more energy drinks). However, reasonable doses of caffeine taken at appropriate intervals can be appropriate countermeasures to fatigue symptoms. In addition, food intake and nutrition is important. Foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates, including sugars, should be restricted; instead, fatigue symptoms can be better managed with nutritious and protein-rich foods, like protein bars, nuts, and dried fruit.

A simple countermeasure strategy for employees to follow can empower them to manage their own fatigue symptoms as well as maintain their autonomy. Behavioral countermeasures are either recurring or occasional (once a shift), and employees can tailor their nutritional countermeasures according to their needs and preferences, except that they should always limit their intake of foods high in carbohydrates and fats.

The 4th Piece of a Fatigue Risk Management Template

How Is Fatigue Risk Continuously Managed?

Management is a process, not a goal. To manage any program or system effectively, ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment are required. 

The need to measure and maintain holds true for fatigue management.

Ongoing evaluation is necessary to determine whether a program or system remains effective and relevant. Ideally, fatigue management should rely on a balance of leading and lagging indicators. 

Two examples of leading indicators are:

• the number of individuals diagnosed with and treated for sleeping disorders
• and the number of individuals who self-report fatigue when at work.

Lagging indicators include:

• Incident and accident rates
• Equipment damage,
• Feedback from employees.

Three great ways to get started with fatigue measurement, management, and monitoring are:

• Measure: Take a Fatigue Risk Assessment to calculate site-level risk and identify individual risk profiles.
• Manage: Implement the results of the assessment and manage daily alertness with a pre-shift or pre-task alertness testing protocol.
• Monitor: Implement other management tools, such as biomathematical fatigue prediction software with built-in countermeasures and timely notifications.

By going through all three steps, you can make better scheduling decisions and proactively reduce fatigue risk:

• You can make shift scheduling more “bio-compatible,” or more suited to employees’ circadian rhythms. For example, workers who generally demonstrate higher alertness levels in the evening than others can be scheduled for evening shifts.
• You can reduce fatigue risk during “fatigue zones,” or circadian ebbs. Fatigue zones are two 4-hour stretches in a 24-hour period, from 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at some point during which people often feel tired, before their levels pick up again. 

A predictive fatigue risk warning system, such as Predictive Safety’s PRISM fatigue management platform, works by calculating fatigue risk according to several inputs:

• Data points in a Fatigue Risk Index: shift times, lengths, circadian rhythm requirements, etc.
• Employee inputs: questionnaires, # of hours slept, results of the AlertMeter ® test

Measuring sleep habits is important in determining whether a worker is fit for duty. For instance, in the PRISM system, a worker with three or fewer hours’ sleep between shifts would be considered to have a high-risk fatigue status, while three to six hours’ sleep would trigger a warning and require the worker to complete the alertness test. Getting more than six hours’ sleep between shifts is ideal and indicates a fatigue status of “normal.”

When the system detects heightened fatigue risk for an employee, it triggers countermeasures. If the employee doesn't utilize the countermeasures and demonstrate alertness by passing their AlertMeter ® test , a supervisor is notified to assess the situation. 

Fatigue in the workplace is as important as monitoring as drug and alcohol use for three key reasons:

• Shift workers are always susceptible to fatigue symptoms. Fatigue cannot be eliminated from shift work. 
• Unlike discretionary drug and alcohol use, proper sleep is not always possible. 
• Fatigue can affect brain function similar to alcohol intoxication, resulting in impaired judgment and a variety of other cognitive effects and symptoms. This may culminate in a fatigued employee judging his or her own fatigue as less severe than it really is.

A study of Predictive Safety’s PRISM fatigue management system at a South African iron mine showed that monitoring and managing fatigue risk immediately impacted mine employees’ hours worked during high-risk fatigue zones.

Consequently, over the course of the next year, shift attendance improved by about 3%, and incident rates per produced metric ton dropped by about 35%. (6)

Worker feedback: 

• When asked about their experience using the fatigue management system, 84% of workers and supervisors agreed that fatigue risk monitoring increased their awareness of job safety and performance.
• In addition, 80% of workers and supervisors agreed that fatigue risk management increased their ability to manage their own fatigue levels at work.
• Plus, 94% of workers thought that monitoring fatigue risk would help managers and supervisors understand the workforce better and help to improve their working conditions, and
• 96% of workers reported feeling better about their work environment knowing that their co-workers were being monitored for alertness/fatigue. 

Fatigue is Both a Personal and Occupational Risk Factor

It is a complex mental state characterized by a lack of alertness and reduced mental and physical performance often accompanied by drowsiness. It is associated with spending long hours awake, an inadequate amount of sleep over an extended period or an insufficient quality of sleep, high physical and mental loads, and a number of non-work-related factors.

From a practical viewpoint, it is doubtful that fatigue in the workplace can be eliminated altogether, but it certainly can be controlled and mitigated through proper management. 

Fatigue management is a shared responsibility between the organization and its employees, and all stakeholders should participate in order to provide the safest and healthiest working environment possible. To achieve this, a holistic approach based on best practices is required.

More Resources:

6 reasons why your company needs to manage work fatigue and impairment (part 1), 6 reasons why your company needs to manage work fatigue and impairment (part 2), 3 ways sleep sleep apnea at work is costing your business (and how to fix it), 6 fatigue countermeasures, predictive safety featured on the worksafe podcast: tech designed to stop fatigue impairment risk in its tracks, the science of fatigue at work, fatigue risk management without regulatory guidance, real-time fatigue monitoring & management software.

Schutte, P.C. (2009). Fatigue risk management: Charting a path to a safer workplace. The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Hard Rock Safe Safety Conference: Sun City, South Africa.

Harrington, J.M. (2001). Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58(1):68–72.

Van Dongen, H.P.A. & Dinges, D.F. (2005). Sleep, circadian rhythms, and psychomotor vigilance. Clinics in Sports Medicine 24(2): 237–249. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2004.12.007

Caldwell, J.A., Caldwell, J.L., & Schmidt, R.M. (2008). Alertness management strategies for operational contexts. Sleep Medicine Reviews 12(4): 257–273. doi:10.1016/j. smrv.2008.01.002

Quality improvement model. (n.d.). Purdue University. Retrieved from http://www.stat.purdue.edu/~kuczek/stat513/SPC Course Slides/11-Quality Improvement Model.ppt 

Heitmann, A. (2011). Evaluation of fatigue systems. Awake Institute.

Pelders, J., & Nelson, G. (2019). Contributors to Fatigue of Mine Workers in the South African Gold and Platinum Sector. Safety and health at work, 10(2), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2018.12.002

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Fatigue on the Roadways

Members can click here for an ad-free printable version of this talk!

Fatigue on the Roadways Safety Talk

The roads can be an extremely dangerous place. According to the National Safety Council, an estimated 42,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020. One common unsafe act that can lead to accidents on our roadways is driving while fatigued.

Driving While Fatigued

We have all been there- our eyes get heavy, we begin to close them, and then our head suddenly jerks up after hitting the rumble strips on the side of the road. When this occurs, it will wake an individual up, but only for a short period. This is an unsafe act that is quite common on our roadways. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that an estimated 37,000 injury crashes and an estimated 45,000 property damage-only crashes occur annually related to fatigued driving. While general fatigue is a major cause of fatigued driving, there are also several other causes.

Fatigued driving can be caused by any number of factors. The most common cause of fatigued driving is lack of sleep. It can also be caused or made worse by untreated sleep disorders, medications, drinking alcohol, or shift work.

How to Avoid Being Fatigued While Driving

• Get plenty of rest. It is recommended to get a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night.
• If your work schedule is too demanding or the hours you are working are making you feel fatigued every single day, talk with a supervisor. Sometimes responsibilities or schedules can be altered to improve productivity and safety.
• It is important to understand the side effects of the medication before using it at work or while driving.
• Take care of your health. Addressing other health issues can greatly improve how you feel both at home and at work.
• Eat a better diet. Food to humans is as gasoline is to a car – if you put dirty gas in your car, it will not run well. Same goes with your body!
• For short periods of less intense fatigue, use caffeinated beverages to help you wake up.
• Pull over somewhere safe and take a short nap if you find yourself tired behind the wheel.

Driving is one of the more hazardous tasks we complete often. When you pair it with unsafe acts such as driving while fatigued, you not only put yourself at risk, but you also put everyone around you at risk. Be proactive in preventing fatigue and drowsiness. When it is affecting you while driving, pull over and get rest before continuing on.

Fatigue Prevention Safety Presentation

Looking for a complete safety meeting on fatigue prevention? This one-time purchase includes is a product bundle that includes a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation, a 9-question quiz and answer sheet, three related safety talks, and a sign-in sheet.

This product provides you with everything you need to have a safety meeting and the supporting materials to create a longer safety campaign to keep safety at the top of your employees’ minds.

Save your time by purchasing this fatigue prevention safety presentation bundle!

Do you want downloadable PDFs of all of the talks? Join as a member and get all of the 250+ free talks as well as 300+ additional talks in PDFs that are easy to download and print!

Managing fatigue in the workplace

Given the inherent risks of upstream operations, fatigue is increasingly being recognised as a potential contributor to safety and other incidents.

On this page you’ll find several resources to help you manage fatigue in your workplace, such as guidance to set-up a fatigue risk management system, launch awareness campaigns and links to specialist information.

Did you know?

The oil and gas industry is diverse and has a number of unique characteristics that can contribute to fatigue.

• Challenging work environments
• Fly-in fly-out operations
• Time zone changes
• 24/7 operations
• Transportation work

Managing fatigue - A guide for managers

IOGP Report 626 – Managing fatigue in the workplace  is a practical ‘How To’ guide to Fatigue Risk Management and provides an overview of the issues around fatigue with a focus on developing, implementing, and evaluating a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS).

It gives managers and other personnel an outline of the fatigue risk issues inherent in oil and gas operations and offers guidance on their assessment and management.

Fatigue Info-Sheets

Eight informational sheets on topics related to fatigue and fatigue management..

Driver sleepiness

Extended hours.

Performance

Fatigue awareness materials

A training video, short guide and poster on fatigue and sleep – available in multiple languages, just click to download.

Thse materials have kindly been made available by Shell.

Arabic , Brazilian Portuguese , English , French , German , Mandarin , Polish , Spanish , Thai , Russian

Guide (A4 booklet)

Brazilian Portuguese , Czech , Danish , English , Finnish , French , German , Norwegian , Polish , Russian , Swedish

Poster (A3 size)

Brazilian Portuguese , Czech , Danish , English , Finnish , French , German , Norwegian , Polish , Swedish

The Dangers of Driver Fatigue

IOGP has launched a driver fatigue campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while tired. All the materials are available for you to use in your own workplace.

• Understand the risks
• Steps to avoid driver fatigue
• Posters, infographics, video
• What companies can do

Fatigue safety moment

A 2-minute video which can be used as a safety moment, during a toolbox box talk, or a discussion starter..

Kindly provided by Total, available in 11 languages (some subtitled).

External resources

Other fatigue guides and references.

• Beyond the Midnight Oil external link
• Minerals Council of Australia: Design, Fatigue and Sleep external link
• Digging Deeper external link
• NIOSH external link
• Health and Safety Executive. The development of a fatigue/risk index for shiftworker (2013) s. RR446  external link
• Health and Safety Executive. Human factors: fatigue.  Why is fatigue important? 2016  external link
• Worksafe Tasmania, 2015, Fatigue Management. Available from external link
• ACOEM Guidance Statement Fatigue Risk Management in the Workplace ACOEM Presidential Task Force on Fatigue Risk Management JOEM Volume 54, Number 2, February 2012. external link
• Advisory Circular US Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration AC No 120-103A Fatigue Risk Management Systems for Aviation Safety. external link
• Circadian White Paper Evolution of Fatigue Risk Management Systems: The “Tipping Point” of employee fatigue mitigation Martin Moore-Ede MD, PhD. external link
• Gertler, J., Popkin, S., Nelson, D., O’Neil, K. Transportation Research Board for the Federal Transit Administration. Toolbox for Transit Operator Fatigue. TCRP Report 81. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2002. external link
• Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations. London, UK: Stationery Office; 2006. external link
• Federal Aviation Administration. Advisory Circular: Introduction to Safety Management Systems for Air Operators. AC No: 120-92; 2006. Available at: https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/6485143d5ec81aae8625719b0055c9e5/$FILE/AC%20120-92.pdf .
• Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Safety Management Systems: Getting Started. Canberra, Australia: Civil Aviation Safety Authority; 2002 external link
• Air Line Pilots Association, International. ALPA White Paper. Fatigue Risk Management Systems: Addressing Fatigue Within a Just Safety Culture. Washington, DC: Air Line Pilots Association, International; 2008. external link
• UK HSSE link Managing Shiftwork HSG 256 ISBN 978 0 7176 6197 8 external link
• Offshore working time in relation to performance, health and safety: A review of current practice and evidence. Prepared by the University of Oxford for the Health and Safety Executive (2010), external link
• SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND CITATION: Kerle v BM Alliance Coal Operations Pty Limited & Ors [2016] QSC 304 external link

More about sleep

• Sleep Foundation  external link
• Sleep Health Foundation  external link
• Epworth Sleepiness Scale external link
• Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) external link
• How to succeed? Get more sleep – Arianna Huffington TED Talk  You Tube link
• Why do we sleep? – Russell Foster TED Talk  You Tube link
• The benefits of a good night’s sleep – Shai Marcu  You Tube link
• What if you stopped sleeping – AsapSCIENCE  You Tube link

References quoted in infographic

• “Road Traffic Injuries,” December 8, 2018, World Health Organization, go to paper
• “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018,” World Health Organization, go to paper
• “Wake Up and Drive: Fatigue Causes 20 Percent of Crashes,” June 5, 2013, EHS Today, go to paper
• “Drowsy Driving is even more dangerous than you think,” February 8, 2018, Fortune, go to paper
• “Moderate sleep impairment produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication,” October 2000, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, go to paper
• “Drowsy Driving: Asleep at the Wheel,” November 7, 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, go to paper
• “Drowsy Driving is Impaired Driving,” National Safety Council, go to paper
• “CMV Driving Tips – Driver Fatigue,” March 31, 2015, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, go to paper

This fatigue page is a work of the IOGP Land Transportation Subcommittee and the IOGP-IPIECA Health Committee