• What law applies
• About fatigue
• Effects of shift work and extended hours
• Effects of fatigue
  • Work performance
  • Micro sleeps
  • Health effects of fatigue
• Managing fatigue
  • Responsibility for managing fatigue
  • Risk management
  • Factors to consider when managing fatigue

• Risk management

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Step Two: Assess risk

Risk is the likelihood that death, injury and illness may result because of the factors that contribute to fatigue. To assess risk, it is necessary to consider both likelihood and consequences.

The following should be considered when assessing the factors that contribute to fatigue:

• Time of day ¿ incidents are more likely to happen in circadian low points;
• Length of shifts worked ¿ the effects of fatigue are cumulative;
• Lack of opportunity to recover from fatigue;
• How often the situation occurs ¿ the more often a worker is fatigued, the greater the likelihood is that an incident will occur;
• How many people are fatigued ¿ the greater the number of people who are fatigued, the more likely an incident is to occur;
• The skills and experience of persons fatigued ¿ consider training in managing fatigue;
• Any special characteristics of the people involved ¿ such as medical conditions that may be affected by circadian rhythms and night shift work;
• The duration of exposure to fatigue ¿ the longer a person is fatigued, the more likely an incident will occur; and
• The level of risk inherent in the work ¿ particularly in work that is generally hazardous, such as operating heavy machinery or plant.