Physical and mental fatigue clouds judgement, reduces coordination, and can result in serious, even fatal, accidents. Fatigue in the workplace should be managed and treated as seriously as impairment from alcohol and drugs – after all, being awake for 21 hours has the same effect as a blood alcohol content of 0.1%.

To manage fatigue in the workplace, follow these steps:

1. Don’t exceed 12 Hours

Work periods should not exceed 12 hours except in special circumstances.

2. Monitor shift work alertness

The health and alertness of shift workers should be monitored, with shifts rotated to ensure sufficient rest.

3. Risk manage your fatigue issues

Fatigue poses a number of risks in the workplace. Arrangements need to be implemented to identify these risks, including:

• Working hours arrangements (e.g. average weekly hours, total hours over a three months’ period, daily work hours, work-related travel, shiftwork, night work, breaks during work, etc.)
• Demands of the work tasks (e.g. repetitive work, physically demanding work, high concentration and/or mentally demanding work, etc.)
• Fatigue critical tasks (i.e. tasks where there are potentially increased risks of incidents, injury or harm should workers become fatigued)
• Extended exposure to hazards (e.g. hazardous substances, atmospheric contaminants, noise, extreme temperature, vibration, etc)
• Information and training (i.e. provision of information and training on fatigue management skills and health and lifestyle factors)
• Adequacy of supervision
• Individual and lifestyle factors (e.g. sleep in a 24 hour period, health, fitness lifestyle factors, etc.)
• The risks inherent in extended working hours should be evaluated for specific work periods and not rely on averaging-out of hours.

Monitoring should not only cover those working long hours, but also those workers on stand-by for extended period (such as medical personnel, computer and data processing personnel, emergency personnel).

4. Provide adequate facilities

Workplace facilities available during normal working hours should also be available for shift workers and personnel working after hours.

5. Control extended hours

In the case of extended hours, workers required to perform hazardous work should be monitored. If the worker is sufficiently tired, the task should be handed over to another staff member.

Exposure to chemicals, noise and vibrations should be assessed for their impact over extended (8+ hours) shifts.

Monitoring of worker fatigue levels should be placed in the hands of line managers, in addition to the workers themselves.

Particular attention should be paid to work carried out at times when people tend to be the least alert (between 2am and 6am).

Special care should also be taken during the first night shift in a sequence (i.e. following a period of day shift work) and particular attention should be paid to the risk to workers who are required to drive motor vehicles, for all or part of their work period.

6. Are workers fit for the task?

In cases that workers are required to work for extended periods of time or shift work, they should undergo health assessments to determine whether they are fit for the job.

General advice warning

The information on this site is of a general nature only. It does not take your specific needs or circumstances into consideration. You should look at your own situation and requirements before making any decisions.

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