Focus on Fatigue

In order to survive the current economic climate many workers are putting in more hours at work and taking fewer holidays. When it comes to full productivity, according to an article in The Economist, France wins, working only 40 hours a week with lots of vacations. Conversations with clients and friends suggest we're working hard, but, not smart. We're busy, but our important priorities are falling by the wayside as we work hard when we should be working smart.

Working smart means getting the same or better results in less time. This means we need to change how we work. We need to work faster and safer. Reducing fatigue in the workforce undoubtedly has the potential to enable us to work significantly smarter.

Fatigue and its impact on decision making is a global issue that has emerged with the extended hours of work required to service 7 x 24 hour operations. Work-related fatigue and consequent changes in alertness, reaction time, decision making and communication are all major risks. FaidSafe^® Service is designed to help manage these risks and contribute to a safer work place.

Work safely,

Fiona Johnston
Shiftwork Services

Where the Impact of Fatigue is Often Overlooked - Fatigue has Negative Consequences for Managers Too

By Dr Adam Fletcher

Most discussions of fatigue tend to be focused on employees and contractors in extended- and 24-hour industries. There are good reasons why this is the case, such as the fact that there are documented increases in fatigue-related accidents and incidents for these industries, and because the potential consequences of impairment can be often catastrophic in terms of human, environmental and other impacts.

With the usual focus on employees and contractors however, there is generally not much time taken to consider the impacts of fatigue on managers even though their work hours are often just as long, or longer, especially in times of crisis or emergency.

A recent research study of managers in the United Kingdom and Australia has investigated a range of factors including long work hours, and the findings include some valuable insights. The study, conducted jointly by the Chartered Management Institute (UK) and the Australian Institute of Management, included useable responses from 2724 managers; 1451 of these worked in the UK and 1283 in Australia. There were some differences between the sample populations, such as that the average age of Australian managers was lower, but in general they were comparable samples.

It was clearly shown that working long hours has a perceived negative impact on: health (for >50% of managers), productivity (>40%), social lives (>50%) and morale (>35%). The specific effects of working hours included: muscular tension/aches and pains (for >55% of managers), constant tiredness (>55%), feeling of becoming angry with others too easily (>45%), and difficulty in making decisions (>20%). This is just a small sample of the study results but it gives some very clear insights into the potentially debilitating impact of hours of work and fatigue for managers. In times of very high stress, it is known that there is a negative effect on sleep which can make for sharp increases in fatigue over and above those seen in general situations.

As part of any integrated fatigue management program it is critical that managers fatigue is considered as a potential contributor to poor decisions, accidents/incidents and/or poor morale across the operation. This is particularly the case given that specific operational managers often hold positions in which they are the single point of failure for the system – if the individual cannot function well then the system cannot function well – so in terms of creating safe and resilient operations their roles can’t be overstated. As these issues become better recognised it is likely that tools, training and support for managers will become greater, and this is likely to include information about how they can better sustain high levels of performance in all types of operational situation.

Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace

The document, “Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace” is substantially increasing the discussions related to fatigue within industry in Australia. No doubt our readers from Australia will already be familiar with this document but for those of you who aren't, WorkSafe Victoria and the New South Wales WorkCover Authority jointly publish this document.

Download a copy

Luxembourg FRMS Aviation Conference October 2008

Presentations were made by a number of the FaidSafe partners at the conference in Luxembourg in October 2008.

As Capt. George Karambilas, President, ALPL (Association Luxemnourgeoise des Pilotes de Ligne) said in his opening remarks at the conference:

"Traditional fatigue regulation models focus on a single layer of defence (i.e. limits on work hours). The assumption is that compliance with the limits on work hours is evidence that an individual is adequately rested and fit for work and will not make any fatigue-related errors. Any hazard has multiple causes and should thus be managed by multiple overlapping defences. ALPL wish to facilitate a better understanding of the risks of fatigue associated within our industry and to develop a way in which those risks are mitigated."

There is a great selection of presentations, editor’s favourites are:

Review of Fatigue Risk Management Systems around the world - Dr Paul Jackson
Fatigue Modelling - Len Pearson
How to design a Fatigue Risk Management System - Alex Holmes
Proof that fatigue Kills - David Learmount
Best Practice Guidance for Schedule design Crew Scheduling - Scott Derbyshire

View all the presentations online

Have you run out of time to do the FAID analyses you planned to do this week and is there no-one you can delegate the analysis to?

Have you installed FAID2 but need some help in updating your related procedures? Do you think about what efficiencies might be found if you set up your rostering system to automatically provide FAID scores for developing rosters or making changes on a daily basis?

FaidSafe Alliance partners provide FAID-related services to help you to complete analyses, interpret and report on analysis results. In addition, InterDynamics, Shiftwork Services and Integrated Safety Support can review your rostering system for bottlenecks and potential upgrades, and other relevant tasks.

Please contact your FaidSafe Alliance provider should you have any FAID related analysis that you would like completed.

Questions and Answers

Q. I have input consecutive shifts of the same length into FAID, without any days off, and in the Outputs the FAID Score after day 7 or day 8 becomes constant for the remaining days. Why doesn't the FAID score continue to increase?

A. Within the FAID algorithm the four Specific Determinants of Work-Related Fatigue are: 1) The time of day of work and breaks, 2) The duration of work and breaks, 3) Work history in the preceding seven days and 4) The biological limits on recovery sleep. The FAID score is only influenced by work periods and sleep opportunity periods within the past 168 hours (1 week). So once the past 168 hours is consistent, the FAID Score will be consistent. Note: There may be longer term psychosocial responses to extended regular continuous work periods but with regard to alertness, as a consequence of sleep, it is a matter of what sleep you had in the last week that counts.

Alliance Partner news

Integrated Support

ISS would like to welcome a new team member, Stuart Baulk. Dr Baulk completed a research PhD investigating driver fatigue and fatigue countermeasures in the UK before moving to Australia to work on a research grant with ISS Director Dr Adam Fletcher in 2003.

Since that time, Stuart has gained additional experience managing research projects within extended- and 24-hour environments, and has also been working on the measurement and treatment of clinical sleep disorders. Stuart will initially be working on projects related to fatigue management in road transport, rail and logistics operations.

Avinet

Avinet, Australia's premier aviation software company now has a regular newsletter keeping you up-to-date on the latest developments to the Air Maestro^® system and gives you special insight into the company that is revolutionising Safety, Efficiency and Compliance based aviation software. If you would like to receive the Avinet newsletter please email Karin Hollands, Senior Software Developer. In March 2009, Avinet will be exhibiting Air Maestro at the Avalon Airshow. Please visit them on the Defence SA stand.

To assess fatigue risk in your organisation please contact one of the FaidSafe Alliance partners listed in the side bar.

Working Globally

FaidSafe alliance partners are based in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Between us we are taking FaidSafe 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. FaidSafe is offered as a global benchmark for risk-based integrated fatigue managment solutions.

FAID^® and FaidSafe^® 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 6 - February 2009	The FaidSafe^® Alliance - professionals focused on fatigue risk protection
In This Issue Where the Impact of Fatigue is Often Overlooked Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace Luxembourg FRMS Aviation Conference Assistance with FAID analysis Questions and Answers Alliance Partner news 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 Performance Dimensions Latus Pty Ltd Integrated Safety Support InterDynamics Clockwork Research Centre for Sleep Research Bragelo Avinet Archives Issue 5 Issue 4 Issue 3 Issue 2 Issue 1	Welcome to Focus on Fatigue, the official FaidSafe^® newsletter Working Smarter the Key to Surviving the Economy Blues In order to survive the current economic climate many workers are putting in more hours at work and taking fewer holidays. When it comes to full productivity, according to an article in The Economist, France wins, working only 40 hours a week with lots of vacations. Conversations with clients and friends suggest we're working hard, but, not smart. We're busy, but our important priorities are falling by the wayside as we work hard when we should be working smart. Working smart means getting the same or better results in less time. This means we need to change how we work. We need to work faster and safer. Reducing fatigue in the workforce undoubtedly has the potential to enable us to work significantly smarter. Fatigue and its impact on decision making is a global issue that has emerged with the extended hours of work required to service 7 x 24 hour operations. Work-related fatigue and consequent changes in alertness, reaction time, decision making and communication are all major risks. FaidSafe^® Service is designed to help manage these risks and contribute to a safer work place. Work safely, Fiona Johnston Shiftwork Services Where the Impact of Fatigue is Often Overlooked - Fatigue has Negative Consequences for Managers Too By Dr Adam Fletcher Most discussions of fatigue tend to be focused on employees and contractors in extended- and 24-hour industries. There are good reasons why this is the case, such as the fact that there are documented increases in fatigue-related accidents and incidents for these industries, and because the potential consequences of impairment can be often catastrophic in terms of human, environmental and other impacts. With the usual focus on employees and contractors however, there is generally not much time taken to consider the impacts of fatigue on managers even though their work hours are often just as long, or longer, especially in times of crisis or emergency. A recent research study of managers in the United Kingdom and Australia has investigated a range of factors including long work hours, and the findings include some valuable insights. The study, conducted jointly by the Chartered Management Institute (UK) and the Australian Institute of Management, included useable responses from 2724 managers; 1451 of these worked in the UK and 1283 in Australia. There were some differences between the sample populations, such as that the average age of Australian managers was lower, but in general they were comparable samples. It was clearly shown that working long hours has a perceived negative impact on: health (for >50% of managers), productivity (>40%), social lives (>50%) and morale (>35%). The specific effects of working hours included: muscular tension/aches and pains (for >55% of managers), constant tiredness (>55%), feeling of becoming angry with others too easily (>45%), and difficulty in making decisions (>20%). This is just a small sample of the study results but it gives some very clear insights into the potentially debilitating impact of hours of work and fatigue for managers. In times of very high stress, it is known that there is a negative effect on sleep which can make for sharp increases in fatigue over and above those seen in general situations. As part of any integrated fatigue management program it is critical that managers fatigue is considered as a potential contributor to poor decisions, accidents/incidents and/or poor morale across the operation. This is particularly the case given that specific operational managers often hold positions in which they are the single point of failure for the system – if the individual cannot function well then the system cannot function well – so in terms of creating safe and resilient operations their roles can’t be overstated. As these issues become better recognised it is likely that tools, training and support for managers will become greater, and this is likely to include information about how they can better sustain high levels of performance in all types of operational situation. Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace The document, “Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace” is substantially increasing the discussions related to fatigue within industry in Australia. No doubt our readers from Australia will already be familiar with this document but for those of you who aren't, WorkSafe Victoria and the New South Wales WorkCover Authority jointly publish this document. Download a copy Luxembourg FRMS Aviation Conference October 2008 Presentations were made by a number of the FaidSafe partners at the conference in Luxembourg in October 2008. As Capt. George Karambilas, President, ALPL (Association Luxemnourgeoise des Pilotes de Ligne) said in his opening remarks at the conference: "Traditional fatigue regulation models focus on a single layer of defence (i.e. limits on work hours). The assumption is that compliance with the limits on work hours is evidence that an individual is adequately rested and fit for work and will not make any fatigue-related errors. Any hazard has multiple causes and should thus be managed by multiple overlapping defences. ALPL wish to facilitate a better understanding of the risks of fatigue associated within our industry and to develop a way in which those risks are mitigated." There is a great selection of presentations, editor’s favourites are: Review of Fatigue Risk Management Systems around the world - Dr Paul Jackson Fatigue Modelling - Len Pearson How to design a Fatigue Risk Management System - Alex Holmes Proof that fatigue Kills - David Learmount Best Practice Guidance for Schedule design Crew Scheduling - Scott Derbyshire View all the presentations online Have you run out of time to do the FAID analyses you planned to do this week and is there no-one you can delegate the analysis to? Have you installed FAID2 but need some help in updating your related procedures? Do you think about what efficiencies might be found if you set up your rostering system to automatically provide FAID scores for developing rosters or making changes on a daily basis? FaidSafe Alliance partners provide FAID-related services to help you to complete analyses, interpret and report on analysis results. In addition, InterDynamics, Shiftwork Services and Integrated Safety Support can review your rostering system for bottlenecks and potential upgrades, and other relevant tasks. Please contact your FaidSafe Alliance provider should you have any FAID related analysis that you would like completed. Questions and Answers Q. I have input consecutive shifts of the same length into FAID, without any days off, and in the Outputs the FAID Score after day 7 or day 8 becomes constant for the remaining days. Why doesn't the FAID score continue to increase? A. Within the FAID algorithm the four Specific Determinants of Work-Related Fatigue are: 1) The time of day of work and breaks, 2) The duration of work and breaks, 3) Work history in the preceding seven days and 4) The biological limits on recovery sleep. The FAID score is only influenced by work periods and sleep opportunity periods within the past 168 hours (1 week). So once the past 168 hours is consistent, the FAID Score will be consistent. Note: There may be longer term psychosocial responses to extended regular continuous work periods but with regard to alertness, as a consequence of sleep, it is a matter of what sleep you had in the last week that counts. Alliance Partner news Integrated Support ISS would like to welcome a new team member, Stuart Baulk. Dr Baulk completed a research PhD investigating driver fatigue and fatigue countermeasures in the UK before moving to Australia to work on a research grant with ISS Director Dr Adam Fletcher in 2003. Since that time, Stuart has gained additional experience managing research projects within extended- and 24-hour environments, and has also been working on the measurement and treatment of clinical sleep disorders. Stuart will initially be working on projects related to fatigue management in road transport, rail and logistics operations. Avinet Avinet, Australia's premier aviation software company now has a regular newsletter keeping you up-to-date on the latest developments to the Air Maestro^® system and gives you special insight into the company that is revolutionising Safety, Efficiency and Compliance based aviation software. If you would like to receive the Avinet newsletter please email Karin Hollands, Senior Software Developer. In March 2009, Avinet will be exhibiting Air Maestro at the Avalon Airshow. Please visit them on the Defence SA stand. To assess fatigue risk in your organisation please contact one of the FaidSafe Alliance partners listed in the side bar. Working Globally FaidSafe alliance partners are based in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Between us we are taking FaidSafe 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. FaidSafe is offered as a global benchmark for risk-based integrated fatigue managment solutions. FAID^® and FaidSafe^® 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