Fatigue Management for FIFO Workers

Charlotte Turner
With 24/7 operations, heavy machinery, demanding rosters, intensive commutes, disruptive sleep environments and inexperienced workers, FIFO based working environments were always going to be a recipe for serious fatigue risk in Australian mining.

FIFO workers at a higher risk than most for experiencing fatigue, managing it is critical to ensure your overall health and wellbeing is not impacted by your job or workplace.

In this blog, we discuss fatigue for FIFO Workers, the signs and risks of fatigue, and offer practical tips for management. To learn more, enroll in our specialised Fatigue Management for FIFO course.

Guidelines and legislation have been introduced from both policy-makers and regulatory bodies, fatigue management plans have been put in place by companies, fitness for work requirements now include fatigue, and staff are being trained and educated about fatigue management.

Fatigue is a significant problem in modern times, largely because of high stress and high demand jobs, long working hours, imbalances between work and personal life, and all of life's other pressures. All workplaces are affected by fatigue to some degree. In a work context, fatigue is mental and/or physical exhaustion that reduces a person’s ability to perform their work safely and effectively. The cause of fatigue can be work-related or non work related, or both.

In a workplace context, fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion which reduces a person's ability to perform work safely and effectively. It can occur because of prolonged mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock.

WHAT IS FATIGUE?

Fatigue can be caused by factors which may be work related, non-work related or a combination of both and can accumulate over time. It can also occur because of prolonged mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock.

Although fatigue is sometimes described as tiredness, it is different to just feeling tired or sleepy. Everyone feels tired at some point, but this is usually resolved with a nap or a few nights of good sleep. Someone who is sleepy may also feel temporarily refreshed after exercising. One of the main contributing factors towards fatigue is a lack of quality sleep and rest. 
Sleep is critical to our physical and mental health, is fundamental to our ability to think and learn, and critical to maintaining safe and healthy workplaces. Often a number of factors combine to increase fatigue to the point where a person may put their own or another person’s safety at risk. 

One of the most common barriers to fatigue management and healthy lifestyle for FIFO workers quite simply is lack of time for sufficient rest, irregular working hours or shifts, along with a number of contributing personal, physical and emotional factors. 

SIGNS YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING FATIGUE

Fatigue is the general term used to describe physical and/or mental weariness which extends beyond a normal level of tiredness experienced by an individual.

Fatigue is often thought of as the state of feeling very tired, weary or sleepy, resulting from various sources such as insufficient sleep, prolonged mental or physical work, or extended periods of stress or anxiety. Boring or repetitive tasks can intensify feelings of fatigue, and jobs in certain industries are inherently more prone to cause fatigue among workers. 

Mental fatigue covers a general decrease of attention and ability to perform complex or simple tasks with the usual efficiency. Mental fatigue is often the result of loss or interruption of the normal sleep pattern, with shift workers and new parents the most commonly affected by mental fatigue.

FATIGUE RELATED RISKS IN THE WORKPLACE

Certain working hours arrangements have been linked to occupational safety and health risks, such as fatigue and impaired performance, and increased exposure to some hazards.

In the context of occupational health and safety in the workplace, fatigue refers to mental or physical exhaustion that reduces a person's capacity to perform work safely and effectively. Fatigue in the workplace doesn’t only impact on workers’ mental and physical health, it can also impact on the health and safety of those around them.
Work-related factors may include long work hours, long hours of physical or mental activity, insufficient break time between shifts, changes to jobs or shift rotations, inadequate rest, excessive stress, having multiple jobs, or a combination of these factors.

While knowledge is still growing, some evidence suggests that sleep deprivation, sleep disturbance and fatigue are health risks commonly associated with long working hours, most commonly experienced by those working in FIFO industries.

Fatigue has also been identified as a potential health risk with work that involves shifts or regular or periodic night work. Causes of fatigue can be work related, personal or a combination of both. They can also be short term or accumulate over time.

TIPS FOR MANAGING FATIGUE IN THE WORKPLACE

Everyone in the workplace has a work health and safety duty and can help to ensure fatigue doesn’t create a risk to health and safety at work. Training about fatigue and relevant workplace policies should be arranged so it is available to all workers on all shifts.

Providing information and training to workers about the factors that can contribute to fatigue and the risks associated with it will help them to not only do their job, but also implement control measures to minimise the risk of fatigue in the workplace.

By identifying fatigue and taking proactive measures before it becomes an issue, you can ensure a safe, healthy, and productive work environment for your entire team.
 
Want to learn more about fatigue management for FIFO workers? Enroll in our specialised Fatigue Management for FIFO course - available now.

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