A report commissioned by SafeWork Australia (SWA) reviewed contemporary literature on fatigue to provide up to date evidence to inform development of a model code of practice. The report reviewed the current evidence of managing fatigue and identified the range of contemporary tools available for organisations to use in managing fatigue.
High levels of fatigue and the resultant risks arising from being in a state of fatigue require comprehensive risk management strategies that consider the broad range of hazards which impact workers and the different levels from which they arise within the workplace system.
Often the focus for fatigue risk management is on individual workers and addressing their responses to workplace factors. Providing workers with skills and knowledge is important and appropriate as one part of an overall fatigue risk management strategy; however, more attention is required to address the multidimensional nature of fatigue and the potential impacts arising from this state.
Based on the findings from this review, a number of gaps were identified in the interventions being used to reduce fatigue risk and in the tools available for use by workplaces to reduce fatigue risk. Interventions need to take into account the multifactorial nature of fatigue. Most of the interventions identified in this review address only one level in the systems model, and although many addressed organisational issues these mostly involved shift work design. Further work is needed to understand fatigue risks in occupations without shift work and there should be an increased focus on the psychosocial factors associated with fatigue risk.
This report provides a review of the literature on fatigue including:
Link to the report here.
Link to Fatigue Management training here.
