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HUMAN FACTORS
BRIEFING NOTE No. 5
A feeling of weariness caused by prolonged or excessive exertion (not just physical exertion, but mental
exertion for example from intense concentration).
Fatigue
Does your company have problems with fatigue?
If the answer to any of the following questions is 'Yes', then you should take action! Yes No
Is it common to nd that people in your company:
1. Doze off suddenly during a shift?
2. Feel generally drowsy a lot of the time?
3. Regularly work a lot of overtime?
4. When changing from night shifts to day shifts they feel rough for the rst few days?
5. Are noticeably absent-minded or forgetful at work or nd it hard to concentrate?
6. Sometimes feel that they just cant move; or dont want to?
7. Suffer from a lot of heartburn, indigestion or generally upset stomach?
8. Find it difcult to get a good undisturbed sleep between shifts?
9. Drink more coffee or smoke more and eat badly on the nightshift?
10. Regularly nd they are so busy that they cant take a proper break?
Sometimes, the above happen to a level that is considered normal, for example feeling a bit out of sorts on changing
shifts; they may also be due to other things, for example overeating out of boredom. But any effects noted should not be
severe or persistent. Answering yes to any of the above is not necessarily acceptable. If anyone is showing severe or long-
term symptoms of fatigue, you should take action.
Why fatigue?
Fatigue can play a signicant role in the causation of incidents and accidents, since a fatigued worker is more likely to err
or show poor decision making. It is important to ensure that fatigue (and its prevention) is managed proactively by the
organisation.
IMPORTANT: This file is subject to a licence agreement issued by the Energy Institute, London, UK. All rights reserved. It may only be used in accordance with
the licence terms and conditions. It must not be forwarded to, or stored or accessed by, any unauthorised user. Enquiries: e: [email protected] t: +44 (0)207 467 7100
Copyright 2011 Energy Institute. A professional membership body incorporated by Royal Charter 2003. Registered charity number 1097899.
What should my company do about it?
There is evidence that arrangements for working shifts offshore, though still
not ideal, are generally better than onshore. For example, timing of meal
breaks and the availability of quiet/dark sleeping quarters generally help the
offshore shift worker to acclimatise better than onshore.
In all sectors of the petroleum and allied industries, management should be
aware of some key facts about fatigue:
Length of sleep everyone needs about eight hours sleep per day.
Bodyclock (circadian rhythms) its not good to be awake at night:
its not good to try to sleep in the daytime. Forward rotating shifts
mornings to afternoons to nights are better than backward rotating
shifts.
Errors are more likely between midnight and 6 am and between the
second and fourth hours of a shift (2 pm to 4 pm are also high points for
error).
Adaptation it takes a few days to adapt to a new shift.
Effects of fatigue reduced alertness, memory failure, irritability and
increased reaction time (effects are very similar to those of alcohol).
Denial people can nd it difcult to realise or admit that they are
fatigued.
Health as well as safety can be affected by fatigue (e.g. stomach
problems or, in the extreme, heart problems).
Individual differences the above affect different people in different
ways.
CASE STUDY 1
The Mogford Report cites
fatigue as one of the root
causes of the Texas City
accident: some employees
had worked up to 30 days of
consecutive 12-hour shifts. The
reward systemwithin the
site encouraged this extended
working period without
consideration of fatigue. There
were no clear limitations on
the maximum allowable work
periods without time off. It
has not been possible for the
investigation team to directly
attribute actions or inactions of
the operators and supervisors to
fatigue. However, this extended
working period clearly has the
potential to contribute to a lack
of attentiveness, and slowness
to identify and respond to
process upsets.
Source: The report of the BP US
reneries independent safety review
panel (Baker report).
A fatigue (and risk) index
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has developed a simple
to use tool for deriving a fatigue index (FI). The FI is a calculator
presented in the form of a spreadsheet. The user enters
information into the spreadsheet concerning: the nature of
the task, including workload, time of day, shift start time, shift
duration, number of consecutive shifts, rest breaks within and
between shifts, direction and speed of rotation of duties. From
this information, the calculator produces an index relating to
the risk of an incident or accident occurring compared with a
dened average shift (risk index). It also produces an index
relating to whether the shiftworker will experience excessive
levels of sleepiness working this shift pattern (FI). It can be used
to demonstrate whether particular shift arrangements are likely
to cause fatigue and can also be used in incident investigations to
determine whether fatigue was a likely factor.
Note that the calculator is not suitable for dayshift-only working
or for typical offshore work patterns.
A report on the development of the index (Reference 1), also a
user guide and the spreadsheet can be found at: http://www.hse.
gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr446.htm
IMPORTANT: This file is subject to a licence agreement issued by the Energy Institute, London, UK. All rights reserved. It may only be used in accordance with
the licence terms and conditions. It must not be forwarded to, or stored or accessed by, any unauthorised user. Enquiries: e: [email protected] t: +44 (0)207 467 7100
www.energyinst.org/humanfactors
Management responsibility
In the UK the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
require that management must assess and take steps to control all risks to
the health and safety of their employees. This includes assessing working
time arrangements. Risk assessment should consider the following:
Night working and changing from one shift to another (e.g. nights to
days).
Length of shift including any overtime.
Length and quality of rest breaks during the shift.
Rest breaks between shifts and the amount and quality of sleep taken.
Type of work try to schedule safety critical tasks, tedious work or
work that needs close concentration to avoid known high error periods;
generally design tasks to be stimulating: not repetitive, not boring.
Bio-rhythms (working with or against your body clock).
Environmental mainly temperature and lighting effects on
drowsiness.
Individual preferences and suitability of certain people for shift work.
Training/awareness raising among shiftworkers and their families,
supervisors and managers on the signs and problems of fatigue and also
on sleep patterns, nutrition, and effects on social life.
Contingency plans if a crew member is absent (dont overload everyone
else).
Monitoring of employees for signs of fatigue, particularly on safety
critical work.
Examining accidents and incidents for evidence of fatigue.
CASE STUDY 2
Driver sleepiness is estimated
to account for around one fth
of accidents on major roads,
and is responsible for around
300 deaths per year.
Source: Department for Transport (DfT)
THINK! Road safety website
the 2007 industry data
showed that vehicle incidents
were once again the single
largest cause of fatalities in the
upstream industry.
Source: www.ogp.org.uk
Driving to, from and at work
could therefore be the largest
risk we face. Research has
also established that driving
tired and having had a modest
amount of alcohol well within
legal limits considerably
increases the chances that a
driver will crash.
Source: Road Safety Research Report
No. 62, DfT, July 2006.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

r
i
s
k
Hours on duty
The graph shows that the average risk of an injury or accident increases over
the course of a shift. After 10, 11 and 12 hours of duty, the risk is almost
twice that at two, three and four hours.
Source: Ofce of Rail Regulation.
IMPORTANT: This file is subject to a licence agreement issued by the Energy Institute, London, UK. All rights reserved. It may only be used in accordance with
the licence terms and conditions. It must not be forwarded to, or stored or accessed by, any unauthorised user. Enquiries: e: [email protected] t: +44 (0)207 467 7100
Copyright 2011 Energy Institute. A professional membership body incorporated by Royal Charter 2003. Registered charity number 1097899.
References
1. HSE (2006), The development of a fatigue/risk index for shiftworkers, Research Report 446, HSE Books.
2. Energy Institute (2006), Improving alertness through effective fatigue management, http://www.energyinst.org.uk/
humanfactors/fatigue.
Further reading
HSE (2001), An intervention using a self-help guide to improve the coping behaviour of nightshift workers and its evaluation.
HSE Contract Research Report CRR 365/2001.
HSE (Jan 2002), Working Time, Offshore Safety Division Safety Notice 4/96.
Energy Institute (2001), Workshop on fatigue.
Step Change website http://stepchangeinsafety.net/OIM (2001), Guidance for offshore rotas and rest periods.
HSE Human factors brieng note 10, Fatigue, http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/comah/10fatigue.pdf.
Health and Safety Laboratory (2003), Working long hours, Report HSL/2003/02.
For background information on this resource pack, please see Brieng note 1 Introduction.
Energy Institute (EI) guide
The issue of fatigue is not clear-cut and research continues on the subject.
Improving alertness through effective fatigue management (Reference
2) describes the key factors affecting fatigue and summarises the key
research carried out on the subject. The document includes checklists,
questionnaires and other simple tools to help identify fatigue risks and to
identify solutions.
Measuring performance
Below is a sample of performance indicators that could potentially be used
to monitor how effectively fatigue is being managed, divided into leading
indicators (showing that a problem may occur in future) and lagging
indicators (showing that there is currently a problem). See Brieng note
17 Performance indicators for more information on using performance
indicators.
Leading indicators Lagging indicators
Average number of hours worked
(or percentage overtime worked)
from timesheet analysis (a trend
towards more overtime might
suggest increased potential for
fatigue/reduced alertness).
Results of shift reviews either with
or without fatigue risk indicators/
shift assessment or other tools.
Number of non-compliances with
documented shift pattern.
Number of consecutive shifts
worked by individuals.
Percentage of work breaks missed
(sampling/interview).
Any instance of falling asleep at
work.
Number of workforce reports of
drowsiness or inattention.
Number of near-misses arising from
shiftwork/fatigue issues.
Levels of sickness absence (may
be indicative of fatigue issues if
sickness absence is a means to avoid
working a shift. Care is required in
interpretation).
CASE STUDY 3
At a gold mine in Western Australia,
the workforce must attend an
induction course on fatigue
management covering: what is
fatigue, the cause and effects of
fatigue, circadian rhythms, sleep
factors, work factors, health
factors, danger periods, sleep
debt, stimulants and ways of
reducing fatigue. A contractor-led
programme covered further issues:
drugs and alcohol, managing shift
change, eating, exercising, life away
from work and evaluating and
developing individual fatigue plans.
It also provided practical advice.
Source: http://www.anglogoldashanti.com
case studies.