Fatigue Management Presentation By Patience Ndhlovu

Outline What is Fatigue? Why manage Fatigue? Causes of fatigues Symptoms of fatigue Managing fatigue Medical conditions Link between Fatigue and Accidents Approach to the management of Fatigue Key Elements Fatigue Risk Management Elements of success

What is Fatigue? “Extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness”

Why Manage Fatigue? Tired employees at work are a fact life Employee health is intimately related to safety COST Healthy, well rested and alert employees are critical to safe operations

Causes of Fatigue M E D I C A L S Night shifts with circadian rhythm Workload and working environment factors Long shifts and overtime Personal factors

Symptoms of fatigue Inattention Apathy Lethargy Microsleep whilst on duty Impatience & irritable Grumpiness Decreased motivation Physical effects:

How to manage fatigue Relax by playing sport Get enough sleep (+8hrs) Avoid energy drinks eg red bull Seek counselling Avoid analgesic medication Avoid high risk tasks if not mentally fit Get breaks when on repetitive tasks

Link between Fatigue and Accidents In a study that looked at 89 729 person-years of data Shifts >12h/dayn injury incidence rate 38% higher than 8 hour shifts Each 2 hours worked after 8 hours resulted in an increase of 1.2 injuries per 100 worker-hours Another study reviewed 1.2 million accidents Exponential increase in accident risk was observed beyond the 9th hour at work 18 hours without sleep = blood alcohol level of 0.05mg%

Approach to the management of fatigue Do we have tired workers? If yes, then: Establish a forum to assess and manage the risk Management involvement Employee consultation and involvement Line ownership Fatigue Risk Management Is a management function Needs a multidisciplinary team and approach

Fatigue risk management Key elements: Risk Assessment Controls Education and training Monitoring and review Continuous improvemen

Key factors for success Management involvement Collaborative approach Clearly defined programme with objectives Monitoring and evaluation Decide what success looks like for you