Focus on Fatigue

Every organisation that we visit has its own unique set of circumstances and challenges. For example whilst surveying methods of transport to work at a factory near a port recently I was interested to learn that many of the workers go to work by kayak!

Tired whilst in charge of a kayak was not something I had ever considered before.

At another organisation they had decided to run their roster 3am to 3pm. Perhaps not most people's idea of a good roster but it suited the team working it. They missed the heavy commuting traffic, could pick their children up from school on the way home in the afternoon and it fitted well with their work tasks. As part of developing their Fatigue Risk Management Policy they assessed the high risk times for fatigue on this roster pattern and then they put in a range of control measures and fatigue counter-measures to help keep them safe and productive.

In other words one size does not fit all in the realms of fatigue risk management. Every organisation is different.

Work safely,

Fiona Johnston
Shiftwork Services

Day of week important for crashes

A new study in Australia has found that 25 per cent of fatigue-related crashes occurred on a Monday, the first day of the working week for many.

The Australian NTI's manager of Industry Affairs and Customer Relations, Owen Driscoll, made the call when he briefed the 2009 Australian Trucking Convention on the results of NTI's new truck accident study. The study examined 325 major truck crashes that occurred in 2007.

Read the full article

Dolphins don't suffer from sleep deprivation - why?

Remaining vigilant for five days and nights without a break would reduce any human to an incoherent, sleep-deprived daze - but dolphins can string together all-nighters without any detectable mental impairment.

Read the full article

The Commuter Pilot Life: Recipe for an Accident?

Thousands of commuter-airline pilots are increasingly carrying a greater percentage of the two million or so passengers who fly every day in the U.S. But at a safety board hearing in Washington this week, I heard some pretty shocking testimonies about the conditions they endure.

Read the full article

Australians are sleeping less

Australians are sleeping less than they used to. But how much do we really need? And what's the impact on life and work when we're sleep deprived? One recent NSW study showed that almost 1 in 5 working adults are chronically sleep deprived. And apart from feeling sleepy and grumpy the next day, these people are running a bigger risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Read the full article

Shiftwork Services and Super Air flying high after being commended in an industry leadership accolade

Super Air, the largest agricultural aviation company in New Zealand and the agricultural aviation wing of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, has been commended as a finalist in a top national safety award for its work on using FAID^® to help manage pilot fatigue for its operational staff and the wider industry.

The company received the ACC Best Leadership of an Industry Sector Award at the Safeguard NZ Workplace Health and Safety Awards for 2009 at the Skycity Convention Centre in Auckland on May 6th.

"Just being a finalist is great recognition of all the effort we have put in at Super Air on behalf of our pilots and loader/drivers and for the good of the wider industry," says Super Air general manager Graeme Martin.

"As New Zealand's largest operator of fixed wing aircraft, we know this is leading edge technology for aviation, and we are happy to share that with the whole industry. This is quite an accolade."

Mr Martin says fatigue had never been recognised as a significant risk in agricultural aviation.

"At Super Air, we wanted to address safety issues associated with the industry, and we focused strongly on fatigue risk management within aviation. We participated in a lot of industry working groups such as the New Zealand Agricultural Aviation Association and got a lot of assistance from John Lanham at the Civil Aviation Authority to help develop the new guidelines. Our fatigue management plan has now become the adopted rules for the industry."

In conjunction with Shiftwork Services, Super Air implemented processes to understand fatigue, what influenced it, and what strategies the company could develop to minimise and measure it.

"Shiftwork Services introduced us to all the symptoms and causal factors around fatigue, and the FAID software tools we could use to measure fatigue. We worked this in as part of our flight and duty limitations, our self-imposed restrictions on the hours operational staff could work, there being no agricultural aviation industry equivalent."

All Super Air's pilots and loader/drivers then attended special training programmes to help them understand the risks and the associated software that would help keep them safe. Their duty time is now actively recorded and their workload is tailored accordingly.

"We use the FAID software to make an informed decision as to when fatigue might come into play, and we stand down pilots where necessary to stay within the agreed parameters."

Super Air has been using the technology since 2007 and is now helping to spread it across the industry.

Kathryn de Luc - Shiftwork Services

Alliance Partner news

Integrated Safety Support

Dr. Adam Fletcher will give a paper at the 19^th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time, in Venice Italy. The symposium will be held from 2-6 August 2009, and aims to update scientific knowledge on the effects of shiftwork, nightwork and irregular hours, and propose practical and feasible solutions for a better organisation of working hours, more respectful of human health and social well-being.

Integrated Safety Support web site

Avinet

The latest newsletter from Avinet, Australia's premier aviation software company is available online. If you would like to receive the Avinet newsletter please email Karin Hollands, Senior Software Developer.

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 7 - June 2009	The FaidSafe^® Alliance - professionals focused on fatigue risk protection
In This Issue Day of week important for crashes Dolphins and sleep deprivation The Commuter Pilot Life: Recipe for an Accident? Australians are sleeping less Industry leadership accolade 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 6 Issue 5 Issue 4 Issue 3 Issue 2 Issue 1	Welcome to Focus on Fatigue, the official FaidSafe^® newsletter One Size Does not Fit All Every organisation that we visit has its own unique set of circumstances and challenges. For example whilst surveying methods of transport to work at a factory near a port recently I was interested to learn that many of the workers go to work by kayak! Tired whilst in charge of a kayak was not something I had ever considered before. At another organisation they had decided to run their roster 3am to 3pm. Perhaps not most people's idea of a good roster but it suited the team working it. They missed the heavy commuting traffic, could pick their children up from school on the way home in the afternoon and it fitted well with their work tasks. As part of developing their Fatigue Risk Management Policy they assessed the high risk times for fatigue on this roster pattern and then they put in a range of control measures and fatigue counter-measures to help keep them safe and productive. In other words one size does not fit all in the realms of fatigue risk management. Every organisation is different. Work safely, Fiona Johnston Shiftwork Services Day of week important for crashes A new study in Australia has found that 25 per cent of fatigue-related crashes occurred on a Monday, the first day of the working week for many. The Australian NTI's manager of Industry Affairs and Customer Relations, Owen Driscoll, made the call when he briefed the 2009 Australian Trucking Convention on the results of NTI's new truck accident study. The study examined 325 major truck crashes that occurred in 2007. Read the full article Dolphins don't suffer from sleep deprivation - why? Remaining vigilant for five days and nights without a break would reduce any human to an incoherent, sleep-deprived daze - but dolphins can string together all-nighters without any detectable mental impairment. Read the full article The Commuter Pilot Life: Recipe for an Accident? Thousands of commuter-airline pilots are increasingly carrying a greater percentage of the two million or so passengers who fly every day in the U.S. But at a safety board hearing in Washington this week, I heard some pretty shocking testimonies about the conditions they endure. Read the full article Australians are sleeping less Australians are sleeping less than they used to. But how much do we really need? And what's the impact on life and work when we're sleep deprived? One recent NSW study showed that almost 1 in 5 working adults are chronically sleep deprived. And apart from feeling sleepy and grumpy the next day, these people are running a bigger risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Read the full article Shiftwork Services and Super Air flying high after being commended in an industry leadership accolade Super Air, the largest agricultural aviation company in New Zealand and the agricultural aviation wing of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, has been commended as a finalist in a top national safety award for its work on using FAID^® to help manage pilot fatigue for its operational staff and the wider industry. The company received the ACC Best Leadership of an Industry Sector Award at the Safeguard NZ Workplace Health and Safety Awards for 2009 at the Skycity Convention Centre in Auckland on May 6th. "Just being a finalist is great recognition of all the effort we have put in at Super Air on behalf of our pilots and loader/drivers and for the good of the wider industry," says Super Air general manager Graeme Martin. "As New Zealand's largest operator of fixed wing aircraft, we know this is leading edge technology for aviation, and we are happy to share that with the whole industry. This is quite an accolade." Mr Martin says fatigue had never been recognised as a significant risk in agricultural aviation. "At Super Air, we wanted to address safety issues associated with the industry, and we focused strongly on fatigue risk management within aviation. We participated in a lot of industry working groups such as the New Zealand Agricultural Aviation Association and got a lot of assistance from John Lanham at the Civil Aviation Authority to help develop the new guidelines. Our fatigue management plan has now become the adopted rules for the industry." In conjunction with Shiftwork Services, Super Air implemented processes to understand fatigue, what influenced it, and what strategies the company could develop to minimise and measure it. "Shiftwork Services introduced us to all the symptoms and causal factors around fatigue, and the FAID software tools we could use to measure fatigue. We worked this in as part of our flight and duty limitations, our self-imposed restrictions on the hours operational staff could work, there being no agricultural aviation industry equivalent." All Super Air's pilots and loader/drivers then attended special training programmes to help them understand the risks and the associated software that would help keep them safe. Their duty time is now actively recorded and their workload is tailored accordingly. "We use the FAID software to make an informed decision as to when fatigue might come into play, and we stand down pilots where necessary to stay within the agreed parameters." Super Air has been using the technology since 2007 and is now helping to spread it across the industry. Kathryn de Luc - Shiftwork Services Alliance Partner news Integrated Safety Support Dr. Adam Fletcher will give a paper at the 19^th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time, in Venice Italy. The symposium will be held from 2-6 August 2009, and aims to update scientific knowledge on the effects of shiftwork, nightwork and irregular hours, and propose practical and feasible solutions for a better organisation of working hours, more respectful of human health and social well-being. Integrated Safety Support web site Avinet The latest newsletter from Avinet, Australia's premier aviation software company is available online. If you would like to receive the Avinet newsletter please email Karin Hollands, Senior Software Developer. 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