http://www.energyinst.org.uk/humanfactors/fatigue
Introduction
Fatigue, we’ve all felt it; it’s the feeling of weariness caused by prolonged or excessive exertion, not just physical exertion but mental exertion too, which can have detrimental impacts on performance at work. Fatigue is a ‘top ten’ human factors issue facing the petroleum and allied industries and has been identified as having a significant part in many accidents. The cost in terms of accidents, loss of productivity and liabilities runs into millions of pounds.
Although fatigue has been identified as a contributor, it is often unclear which particular aspect of fatigue is the root cause, i.e. whether shift patterns and duration, physical and mental task demands, staffing levels, workload, sleep patterns and quality, task duration etc. To help answer these questions and fill this knowledge gap, the Human factors working group has commissioned two projects, both of which are complete.
An article was published in the July edition of Petroleum Review reviewing the two projects; ‘Improving alertness through effective fatigue management’ and ‘The role of sleep contracts in managing fatigue risk’
Improving alertness through effective fatigue management
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), fatigue from shiftwork and overtime is one of the key human factors topics to be addressed by onshore major hazards industries. Recognising the importance of this issue, HSE has published Managing shiftwork: Health and safety guidance (HSG 256 ISBN 0717661970) as an aid to all industry. The EI Human Factors Working Group has also identified fatigue as one of its priority issues for attention and has already developed some resources to help the industry understand and deal with fatigue; for example, IP Human factors briefing notes resource pack: No. 5: Fatigue and IP Workshop on fatigue.
IP Improving alertness through effective fatigue management has been developed to supplement HSE’s more general publication Managing shiftwork: Health and safety guidance (HSG 256 ISBN 0717661970). The new IP publication contains information derived from the latest research, practical applications and case studies on alertness and fatigue relevant to all sectors of the petroleum industry from offshore exploration and drilling to distribution. It will also be useful for allied industries and draws on examples from many different industries to illustrate the problem and some potential solutions. It points out that the steps taken to manage fatigue risk need to be as multi-faceted as the problem itself.
A key objective of IP Improving alertness through effective fatigue management is to bring together the most accurate and industry-relevant information in one place so that employers and employees can: identify factors in their own workplace that could lead to fatigue/reduced alertness; identify means of avoiding fatigue or reducing its likelihood (e.g. using checklists); where fatigue is unavoidable, consider a number of ‘coping’ strategies that they could use, and perform risk assessments and accident investigations that take into account possible fatigue induced problems.
In addition, the blank fatigue checklists that comprise Table 4.1, Box 4.1 and Box 4.2 of the user guide are reproduced here as a downloadable Word document. This means that those wishing to determine whether there is an alertness/fatigue problem in the workplace can use copies of the blank forms as presented in the user guide, and add their own comments. These checklists should be used alongside Section 4 Assessing the problem: Identifying solutions of the IP Improving alertness through effective fatigue management.
Development of the new IP publication was funded by EI technical partners and HSE, and prepared by Kingsley Management Services Ltd. under the technical direction of the EI Human Factors Working Group.
Single users can freely download it or priced hard copies may be obtained from EI publications online. Enquiries for intranet site licences for multiple users should be sent to pubs@energyinst.org.uk.
IP Improving alertness through effective fatigue management, September 2006, ISBN 978 0 85293 460 9, freely available online or priced publication.
The publication ‘Improving alertness through effective fatigue management’ is to be launched at the EPSC two day conference on Human Factors in Process Safety on the 5th and 6th October at Schiphol, Netherlands.
Sleep contracts research
This short project investigated the possibilities offered by sleep contracts as a control measure in managing fatigue.
Sleep contracts, a negotiated procedure for managing day-to-day fatigue risk, offer possibilities in safety critical operations; yet, to date their use has been limited. In addition, knowledge of their theoretical background and guidance on their practical application are lacking.
As part of a programme of activities on the 'top ten' human factors issue of fatigue, the EI’s Human Factors Working Group commissioned Clockwork Consultants Ltd. to review the potential role of sleep contracts. The aim of the review was to provide a snapshot of current knowledge in managing fatigue risk and to report the experiences of companies with operational sleep contracts.
IP Research Report: Viability of using sleep contracts as a control measure in fatigue management provides the findings of that review. It defines sleep contracts and describes how they can be used alongside Hours of Work controls to better manage fatigue risk. Findings from the industry case studies are used to help outline the attributes of a sleep contract, and to set out preliminary thoughts on how they should be negotiated between management and the workforce. Some of their potential benefits are reviewed. The report notes that sleep contracts should be integrated into a company’s existing Safety Management System, thereby providing the supporting structure necessary for identified fatigue risks to be recorded, addressed and reviewed.
Given that the concept of sleep contracts is in its infancy and that only a small number of qualitative industry case studies are reported, the IP Research Report proposes further research to quantify their efficacy; hence, it is premature to define a good practice framework for their implementation. Note that the report purposively avoids addressing political issues relating to working time.
The report should be read by those wishing to explore use of sleep contracts as an option in fatigue management; however, it forms an adjunct to the more general publication IP Improving alertness through effective fatigue management.
IP Research Report: Viability of using sleep contracts as a control measure in fatigue management, February 2006, ISBN 978 0 85293 455 5, priced publication or freely available online.
Other fatigue resources
RR446 - The development of a fatigue / risk index for shiftworkers
This report describes the work carried out to revise and update the HSE Fatigue Index (FI). Extensive changes have been made to the previous version, incorporating recent information relating to a variety of issues including cumulative fatigue, time of day, shift length, the effect of breaks and the recovery from a sequence of shifts. In addition, a review has been carried out of trends in risk related to shift work, and this has enabled the final version to incorporate two separate indices, one related to fatigue (the Fatigue Index) and the other to risk (the Risk Index). While the two indices are similar in many respects they diverge in others. The main differences are due to the different trends with respect to time of day in fatigue and risk. The index has been implemented in the form of a spreadsheet, the design of which has incorporated feedback from users of the previous index.
IP Human factors briefing notes resource pack: No. 5: Fatigue, Energy Institute (2003) ISBN 978 0 85293 400 5
To improve industry's understanding of key human factors issues, the EI’s Human Factors Working Group commissioned a series of 'briefing notes'. Each two- to three-page leaflet: commences with a definition; provides case studies, checklists and references; and explores solutions to address the issue. Of particular interest to supervisors and managers of major hazard installations, they provide a first step in raising awareness and guiding users to further information. Briefing note 5 provides an introduction to fatigue.
IP Workshop on fatigue, priced publication, Energy Institute (2001) ISBN 978 0 85293 314 5
In October 1999 the Institute held a workshop on the health and safety aspects of fatigue affecting both the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The proceedings include a summary and introduction, as well as the following papers written by academics: An Introduction to body rhythms, shiftwork and fatigue; Sleep, mood and performance in relation to offshore shift patterns; Adapting to night shift on oil-rigs and elsewhere: implications for health and Sleep-related vehicle accidents.
Additional references on fatigue are provided in the Top ten human factors issues listing.
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