Focus on Fatigue

Last week I was having coffee and a bun with the local factory supervisor who asked me why I was so concerned about fatigue when there are so many other things that have an affect on performance. He offered some examples such as drug abuse, smoking, obesity and stress.

It struck me that organisations have a wealth of issues to address but, if they addressed fatigue as a priority many of these other issues would be reduced. My questions to him were along the lines of: why are workers abusing drugs, putting on weight, smoking or drinking too much alcohol? How much would these problems be reduced if fatigue were managed better?

For example, the link between obesity and lack of sleep was highlighted in an extensive study from Columbia University and St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. It was found that individuals who sleep less than four hours a night are 73 per cent more likely to be obese than those who get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep. Those who averaged five hours of sleep had 50 per cent greater risk, and those who got six hours had 23 per cent greater risk.

The supervisor in question was not able to answer but conceded that there was a likely link in some cases. He noted that some of his staff reported diffiulty sleeping, some smoked and drank coffee to help keep themselves awake. He had also noticed that many of his shiftworkers had a weight problem.

We decided to survey the staff to find out how much knowledge they had about managing their own fatigue and what coping strategies they used.

To cut a long story short, this company decided to incorporate the issue of fatigue in its wellness programmes of smoking cessation, healthy eating, sleep and stress management. They acknowledged that fatigue underpinned many wellness issues.

When you are thinking about your wellness policies it is a good idea to consider all wellness being underpinned by fatigue management and good sleep.

Work safely,

Fiona Johnston
Shiftwork Services

Feature Article - Lorry Driver Jailed for Causing Death While Asleep at the Wheel

A lorry driver who fell asleep at the wheel and ploughed into a car, killing a man and seriously injuring his wife, has been jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for three years.

Read the full article

Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue

It is time to prepare for the new Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue laws to commence in Australia in September. The new laws apply to trucks over 12 tonnes and buses with more than 12 seats, including the driver's, and will include school and community buses.

More information

Reaction Time Games

As you know one of the key symptoms of fatigue is poor reaction times. A fun way to test your reaction times is by using games. Try comparing your reaction times with your friends and colleagues. If you already have a favourite game that tests your reaction times please let us know.

Test your reaction times

Research Corner - Fatigued Doctors Pose Threat

Sourced by Dr Adam Fletcher - Scientific Advisor to Faid^®Safe

Fatigue in trainee doctors is known to be a significant potential risk to the health of patients and the trainee doctors themselves. A range of carefully controlled studies, mostly from the United States and Canada, have shown clear results relating to increased risks and it is acknowledged that being aware of hours of work can only go so far in addressing the problem. Some of the main reasons why the awareness of hours of work does not control the risks are that:

trainee doctors often work very long hours, even if they are within the legal limits for where they work;
breaks that are given at work which can sometimes be used for naps are often interrupted with emergency calls; and
breaks that are given between shifts which need to be used for commuting, sleep, family, eating, etc. are also often interrupted with emergency calls.

These points were specifically highlighted within a study published in 2004 that looked at fatigue, workload and physical stress in a small number of Canadian trainee doctors. The specific consequences highlighted in the study were that:

fatigue negatively affects performance, increases the likelihood of errors, and is therefore associated with a higher chance of patient harm;
trainee doctor’s physical and mental health and relationships may be negatively affected in such a demanding work context; and
it is possible that the training, and future capability of the doctors, may be compromised.

Read the full article

Alliance Partner news

Shiftwork Services

Shiftwork Services has rcently launched a programme of workshops focusing on the issues surrounding fatigue and nutrition. We are working in collaboration with New Zealand industry leaders on this subject.

Clockwork Research Project

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has commissioned Clockwork Research to explore the potential of Fatigue Management Systems (FMS) as a way of managing fatigue within the road transport sector.

As part of the research Clockwork will be reviewing the experiences of other countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand. To this end a questionnaire has been designed for operators and regulators (in any transport industry) asking them about their experience of FMS. One of the Clockwork research team will also be visiting Australia and New Zealand between April and June to meet with regulators and operators who have implemented an FMS or elements thereof and discuss their experiences.

If you are interested in contributing to the review by completing the short questionnaire or discussing your experiences of FMS, please contact Dr Carina Fourie of Clockwork Research by emailing carina@clockworkresearch.com.

To assess fatigue risk in your organisation please contact one of the Faid^®Safe Alliance partners listed in the side bar.

Questions and Answers

Q 1. Should I include short breaks when entering work times?

It has come to our attention that organisations have been including short breaks (45 mins) when inputting work hours into FAID^® for analysis. For example, an 11-hour shift, is broken into blocks of 4 / 2 / 1.5 / 1.25 hours of work with 45-minute breaks in between. Thus, the individual has been inputted to have worked only 8.75 hours, and subsequently a lower Peak Fatigue Score is produced than if they had been inputted as working a whole 11-hour shift.

Overall, the inclusion of breaks that are less than 1 hour is not sufficient to include as an opportunity for an individual to obtain recovery sleep.

If there is an adequate environment provided by the organisation for an individual to rest; e.g. a quiet, dark room, with sleeping facilities, and a long enough break is provided for the purpose of rest, then it may be appropriate to split a shift into work / short-break, / work periods.

In the case of no adequate opportunity for sleep being provided, then it is recommended by the CfSR that, at a minimum, a rest period of four hours should be included in inputs when entering work periods.

If the organisation is splitting up the shifts into separate tasks, where there is an allocated Low Risk time of less than 1 hour, then the inclusion of a Low Risk shift would be more appropriate for Risk Management than a short break of non-work.

Q 2. I have heard about a FAID^® version that can 'bolt-on' to my existing rostering software to return FAID^® Scores to it?

FAID^® can be supplied as a dynamic linked library (DLL) for use with third party software.

The calling program (typically user-supplied rostering or scheduling software) composes a dataset of a single roster and passes it to the DLL which returns FAID^® score data back to the calling program. This process is fast and efficient.

This enables existing corporate rostering or scheduling software to practically take roster fatigue and the risks associated with roster fatigue into account when creating and managing rosters. Price starts at $10,000 for up to 250 employees.

Q 3. Can I use FAID^® for individuals travelling to different time zones?

The FAID^® algorithm is not intended to be used to calculate indicative fatigue for individuals who travel across more than three time zones.

Travelling across time zones

- For travel across 1 to 3 time zones - if an individual stays at a new location for more than a week - , the new destination's local time should be used when calculating indicative fatigue.

- For travel across more than 3 time zones, the FAID^® algorithm cannot be used to identify indicative fatigue for an individual and should not be used.

- If an individual returns from a greater-than- three-time- zones travel, then FAID^® should not be used to calculate indicative fatigue scores for at least two weeks after the individual has arrived back at the original location.

- If an individual stays for more than two weeks at a new location (after greater than three- time -zones- travel) then the new local time should be used when calculating indicative fatigue.

This is a very conservative method, and has been sourced from research scientists at the Centre for Sleep Research at the University of Adelaide.

More research is being performed to validate the change in an individual's current body time to adjust for time zone changes, with the intent to implement it into the FAID^® algorithm in the future.

Working Globally

Faid^®Safe alliance partners are based in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Between us we are taking Faid^®Safe to the global market. We want to make this service available to every organisation that is exposed to fatigue risks. No matter where you are, we would like to hear from you. We want to add value to your business.

About the Custodian of the Brand

InterDynamics have been in the scheduling and risk business since 1992. InterDynamics has been privileged to work with leading operational practitioners, scientists and risk engineers to develop and deliver world class fatigue risk programs and products. Faid^®Safe is offered as a global benchmark for risk-based integrated fatigue managment solutions.

FAID^® and Faid^®Safe are registered brand names of InterDynamics^® Pty Ltd.

For more information on InterDynamics, visit the InterDynamics website.

FAID^® received a WorkCover SA SAfeWork 2001 Award


	Focus on Fatigue For Managers, Supervisors and Employees Involved in Managing Fatigue Risk
Issue 4 - April 2008	The Faid^®Safe Alliance - professionals focused on fatigue risk protection
In This Issue Feature Article - Lorry Driver Jailed for Causing Death While Asleep at the Wheel Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue Reaction Time Games Research Corner - Fatigued Doctors Pose Threat Alliance Partner news Questions and Answers Working Globally About Us Products and Services Forums Downloads Resources Evaluation Software Download Fatigue Audit Software Special Offer Sleep and shiftwork books Contact Us InterDynamics Pty Ltd +61 2 9975 6925 www.faidsafe.com Alliance Partners Zurich Risk Engineering Shiftwork Services Integrated Safety Support InterDynamics Humantra Clockwork Research Centre for Sleep Research Avinet	Welcome to Focus on Fatigue, the official Faid^®Safe newsletter Last week I was having coffee and a bun with the local factory supervisor who asked me why I was so concerned about fatigue when there are so many other things that have an affect on performance. He offered some examples such as drug abuse, smoking, obesity and stress. It struck me that organisations have a wealth of issues to address but, if they addressed fatigue as a priority many of these other issues would be reduced. My questions to him were along the lines of: why are workers abusing drugs, putting on weight, smoking or drinking too much alcohol? How much would these problems be reduced if fatigue were managed better? For example, the link between obesity and lack of sleep was highlighted in an extensive study from Columbia University and St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. It was found that individuals who sleep less than four hours a night are 73 per cent more likely to be obese than those who get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep. Those who averaged five hours of sleep had 50 per cent greater risk, and those who got six hours had 23 per cent greater risk. The supervisor in question was not able to answer but conceded that there was a likely link in some cases. He noted that some of his staff reported diffiulty sleeping, some smoked and drank coffee to help keep themselves awake. He had also noticed that many of his shiftworkers had a weight problem. We decided to survey the staff to find out how much knowledge they had about managing their own fatigue and what coping strategies they used. To cut a long story short, this company decided to incorporate the issue of fatigue in its wellness programmes of smoking cessation, healthy eating, sleep and stress management. They acknowledged that fatigue underpinned many wellness issues. When you are thinking about your wellness policies it is a good idea to consider all wellness being underpinned by fatigue management and good sleep. Work safely, Fiona Johnston Shiftwork Services Feature Article - Lorry Driver Jailed for Causing Death While Asleep at the Wheel A lorry driver who fell asleep at the wheel and ploughed into a car, killing a man and seriously injuring his wife, has been jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for three years. Read the full article Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue It is time to prepare for the new Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue laws to commence in Australia in September. The new laws apply to trucks over 12 tonnes and buses with more than 12 seats, including the driver's, and will include school and community buses. More information Reaction Time Games As you know one of the key symptoms of fatigue is poor reaction times. A fun way to test your reaction times is by using games. Try comparing your reaction times with your friends and colleagues. If you already have a favourite game that tests your reaction times please let us know. Test your reaction times Research Corner - Fatigued Doctors Pose Threat Sourced by Dr Adam Fletcher - Scientific Advisor to Faid^®Safe Fatigue in trainee doctors is known to be a significant potential risk to the health of patients and the trainee doctors themselves. A range of carefully controlled studies, mostly from the United States and Canada, have shown clear results relating to increased risks and it is acknowledged that being aware of hours of work can only go so far in addressing the problem. Some of the main reasons why the awareness of hours of work does not control the risks are that: trainee doctors often work very long hours, even if they are within the legal limits for where they work; breaks that are given at work which can sometimes be used for naps are often interrupted with emergency calls; and breaks that are given between shifts which need to be used for commuting, sleep, family, eating, etc. are also often interrupted with emergency calls. These points were specifically highlighted within a study published in 2004 that looked at fatigue, workload and physical stress in a small number of Canadian trainee doctors. The specific consequences highlighted in the study were that: fatigue negatively affects performance, increases the likelihood of errors, and is therefore associated with a higher chance of patient harm; trainee doctor’s physical and mental health and relationships may be negatively affected in such a demanding work context; and it is possible that the training, and future capability of the doctors, may be compromised. Read the full article Alliance Partner news Shiftwork Services Shiftwork Services has rcently launched a programme of workshops focusing on the issues surrounding fatigue and nutrition. We are working in collaboration with New Zealand industry leaders on this subject. Clockwork Research Project The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has commissioned Clockwork Research to explore the potential of Fatigue Management Systems (FMS) as a way of managing fatigue within the road transport sector. As part of the research Clockwork will be reviewing the experiences of other countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand. To this end a questionnaire has been designed for operators and regulators (in any transport industry) asking them about their experience of FMS. One of the Clockwork research team will also be visiting Australia and New Zealand between April and June to meet with regulators and operators who have implemented an FMS or elements thereof and discuss their experiences. If you are interested in contributing to the review by completing the short questionnaire or discussing your experiences of FMS, please contact Dr Carina Fourie of Clockwork Research by emailing carina@clockworkresearch.com. To assess fatigue risk in your organisation please contact one of the Faid^®Safe Alliance partners listed in the side bar. Questions and Answers Q 1. Should I include short breaks when entering work times? It has come to our attention that organisations have been including short breaks (45 mins) when inputting work hours into FAID^® for analysis. For example, an 11-hour shift, is broken into blocks of 4 / 2 / 1.5 / 1.25 hours of work with 45-minute breaks in between. Thus, the individual has been inputted to have worked only 8.75 hours, and subsequently a lower Peak Fatigue Score is produced than if they had been inputted as working a whole 11-hour shift. Overall, the inclusion of breaks that are less than 1 hour is not sufficient to include as an opportunity for an individual to obtain recovery sleep. If there is an adequate environment provided by the organisation for an individual to rest; e.g. a quiet, dark room, with sleeping facilities, and a long enough break is provided for the purpose of rest, then it may be appropriate to split a shift into work / short-break, / work periods. In the case of no adequate opportunity for sleep being provided, then it is recommended by the CfSR that, at a minimum, a rest period of four hours should be included in inputs when entering work periods. If the organisation is splitting up the shifts into separate tasks, where there is an allocated Low Risk time of less than 1 hour, then the inclusion of a Low Risk shift would be more appropriate for Risk Management than a short break of non-work. Q 2. I have heard about a FAID^® version that can 'bolt-on' to my existing rostering software to return FAID^® Scores to it? FAID^® can be supplied as a dynamic linked library (DLL) for use with third party software. The calling program (typically user-supplied rostering or scheduling software) composes a dataset of a single roster and passes it to the DLL which returns FAID^® score data back to the calling program. This process is fast and efficient. This enables existing corporate rostering or scheduling software to practically take roster fatigue and the risks associated with roster fatigue into account when creating and managing rosters. Price starts at $10,000 for up to 250 employees. Q 3. Can I use FAID^® for individuals travelling to different time zones? The FAID^® algorithm is not intended to be used to calculate indicative fatigue for individuals who travel across more than three time zones. Travelling across time zones - For travel across 1 to 3 time zones - if an individual stays at a new location for more than a week - , the new destination's local time should be used when calculating indicative fatigue. - For travel across more than 3 time zones, the FAID^® algorithm cannot be used to identify indicative fatigue for an individual and should not be used. - If an individual returns from a greater-than- three-time- zones travel, then FAID^® should not be used to calculate indicative fatigue scores for at least two weeks after the individual has arrived back at the original location. - If an individual stays for more than two weeks at a new location (after greater than three- time -zones- travel) then the new local time should be used when calculating indicative fatigue. This is a very conservative method, and has been sourced from research scientists at the Centre for Sleep Research at the University of Adelaide. More research is being performed to validate the change in an individual's current body time to adjust for time zone changes, with the intent to implement it into the FAID^® algorithm in the future. Working Globally Faid^®Safe alliance partners are based in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Between us we are taking Faid^®Safe to the global market. We want to make this service available to every organisation that is exposed to fatigue risks. No matter where you are, we would like to hear from you. We want to add value to your business. About the Custodian of the Brand InterDynamics have been in the scheduling and risk business since 1992. InterDynamics has been privileged to work with leading operational practitioners, scientists and risk engineers to develop and deliver world class fatigue risk programs and products. Faid^®Safe is offered as a global benchmark for risk-based integrated fatigue managment solutions. FAID^® and Faid^®Safe are registered brand names of InterDynamics^® Pty Ltd. For more information on InterDynamics, visit the InterDynamics website. FAID^® received a WorkCover SA SAfeWork 2001 Award