MANAGING FATIGUE IN THE WORKPLACE

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).

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.