Fatigue is something that affects everyone – a fatigued worker is a danger to themselves and to others. Fatigue is also more than feeling tired and drowsy; in a work context, fatigue is mental and/or physical exhaustion that reduces your ability to perform your work safely and effectively.
Fatigue management is relevant to all companies and all workers in our industry. The oil and gas industry is diverse, and has several characteristics that can contribute to worker fatigue, including:
- Staffing levels
- Training and education
- Sleep management/optimisation
- Work environment and shift work management
- Alertness behaviour
- Fly-in fly-out and transport operations
- Time zone changes
- Roster management
How do HSERs help identify the appropriate risk-based control measures to promote safety on your worksite, and where do HSERs go to help recognise, manage, and mitigate the effects of fatigue in your workplace?
HSERs can access a full range of fatigue-specific Learning Event Bulletins and Toolboxes on the Safer Together website, all designed to promote discussion and learning around fatigue’s effects on individuals in the workplace. These tools will give HSERs the knowledge to help identify those in their team at risk of fatigue and provide the tools to manage and mitigate these effects.
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What are you doing to manage driver fatigue? While driving on a public road, a Light Vehicle crossed the centre line. A member of the public travelling in the opposite direction swerved and left the road to avoid a collision. There were no injuries to the Light Vehicle driver and passenger, or to the driver of the third-party vehicle.
To find out more about this incident, and share the lessons learned, download this Learning Event Bulletin. Learning Event Bulletins are a tool to assist with learning from unwanted events and/or threats to reduce the occurrence of high potential incidents. |
You can also visit our Health Matters resource centre – here you can find information on everything to do with workers’ Health and Wellbeing in the workplace. It’s also a place where you share what you’re doing to manage Health and Wellbeing in your workplace – including resources dedicated to mitigating the effects of fatigue.
Our most recent Fatigue Management seminar includes detail on the importance of implementing a Fatigue Risk Management System.