Fatigue knowledge a new lever in safety management

Transcription

1 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 1 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement by W.J. Theon* nd G.M.J. vn Heeden J o u n l Synopsis The pupose of the ppe is to give n intoduction to the concept of ftigue nd its cuses in the mining industy. By knowing the fundmentl ole it plys, togethe with its dynmics, cn positively contibute to mine s sfety mngement system. The diffeence between physicl nd psychologicl ftigue will be ddessed with possible nge of cuses tht could tigge ftigue. Thee e two min souces of ftigue: fistly, wok-elted ftigue which is ssocited with ctivities t the wokplce; nd secondly non-wokelted ftigue. The shed esponsibility between the employe nd employee is lso discussed s it involves fctos tht occu both in nd outside the wokplce. Employes hve the esponsibility to mnge ftigue though using isk mngement ppoch. Employees hve the esponsibility to ensue they get enough sleep, tke sufficient nd egul nutition, e helthy nd physiclly fit nd come to wok fesh nd let. The impct of the implementtion of ftigue mngement pln nd pocedues hs the potentil to eliminte employee ftigue o its cuses, educe the likelihood of ftigue occuing in the wokplce, nd countect the effects of ftigue when it occus. Fctos consideed when implementing ftigue mngement system include: extended hous of wok, shift wok, time of dy nd wok design. Ftigue is one of the mjo ole plyes (eithe cusl o contibutoy) when it comes to cuses of ftlities in the mining industy. Ou min chllenge in identifying whethe ftigue plyed ole is the fct tht it cnnot be tested in post-motems like dug o lcohol buse. It is n spect woth undestnding nd getting n ogniztion sensitive to mnging it popely to benefit both ogniztionl s well s employee needs. Keywods Signs of ftigue: Cuses of ftigue, cicdin hythms, the ftigue eqution, ftigue mngement, ftigue ffecting sfety, ftigue fighting tips, lifestyle suggestions. Intoduction to ftigue Ftigue is feeling of weiness, tiedness, o lck of enegy tht does not go wy when peson ests. People my feel ftigued in body (physicl ftigue) o mind (psychologicl ftigue). With physicl ftigue, the muscles cnnot do things s esily s they used to. With psychologicl ftigue, it my be difficult to concentte fo s long. In sevee cses, peson might not feel like getting out of bed in the moning nd doing his/he egul dily ctivities. The question could be sked then wht the cuses e fo being tied ll the time. Most of the time, ftigue cn be tced to one o moe of peson s hbits o outines. Ftigue cn be noml nd impotnt esponse to physicl exetion, poo eting hbits, emotionl stess, boedom, o lck of sleep. In some cses, howeve, ftigue is symptom of n undelying medicl condition tht equies medicl tetment. When ftigue is not elieved by enough sleep, good nutition, o low-stess envionment, it should be evluted by medicl pctitione.2 Symptoms/signs of ftigue Accoding to Bette Helth Chnnel2 ftigue cn cuse vst nge of othe physicl, mentl nd emotionl symptoms including: Smll eos, lpses nd slips (dopping tools, picking up the wong item, etc.) Chonic tiedness o sleepiness (not feeling efeshed fte sleep wking tied) Difficulty keeping you eyes open, hed nodding nd flling sleep t wok Dowsy elxed feeling (Ywning o visible dowsiness) Mico sleeps flling sleep fo less thn second to few seconds, nd being unwe tht you hve done so (usully due to sleep loss) Hedche o dizziness Soe o ching muscles o ltentively muscle wekness Slowed eflexes nd esponses Impied decision-mking nd judgement Moodiness, such s iitbility * Anglo Pltinum, Minel Resouce Mngement. Univesity of Petoi, Deptment of Mining Engineeing. The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy, SA ISSN X/ This ppe ws pesented t the SAIMM Confeence, Second Hdock Sfe Sfety Confeence 2010, 4 5 August 2010, Empeos Plce, Johnnesbug. P p e The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy VOLUME 111 JANUARY

2 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 2 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement Impied hnd-to-eye coodintion o bluy vision Appetite loss o educed immune system function Shot-tem memoy poblems, poo concenttion o hllucintions Reduced bility to py ttention to the sitution t hnd Low motivtion. A nge of cuses of ftigue The Bette Helth Chnnel2 lso distinguishes between wide nge of cuses tht cn tigge ftigue, including: Medicl cuses unelenting exhustion my be sign of n undelying illness, such s thyoid disode, het disese o dibetes. Lifestyle elted cuses feelings of ftigue often hve n obvious cuse, such s sleep depivtion, ovewok o unhelthy hbits. Wokplce elted cuses ftigue could be cused s esult of shift wok, poo wokplce conditions nd wok elted stess. Psychologicl cuses ftigue is common symptom of mentl helth poblems, such s depession nd gief, nd my be ccompnied by othe signs nd symptoms, including iitbility nd lck of motivtion. It is vey impotnt to emembe tht ftigue cn lso be cused by numbe of fctos woking in combintion. Medicl cuses Mny diseses nd disodes cn tigge ftigue ccoding to the Bette Helth Chnnel2, including: Flu o glndul feve Anemi o sleep disodes, such s sleep pnoe o estless leg syndome CFS/ME (fomely known s chonic ftigue syndome o mylgic encephlopthy) Hypothyoidism, heptitis, tubeculosis o chonic pin Coelic disese, Addison s disese, Pkinson s disese o het poblems HIV/Aids o cnce Cetin medictions. Lifestyle elted cuses Common lifestyle choices tht cn cuse ftigue ccoding to the Bette Helth Chnnel2 include: Lck of sleep typiclly peson needs between 7 nd 8 hous of sleep ech night. Some people ty to get by on fewe hous of sleep (i.e. being wke fo moe thn 17 hous). Sleep is the only effective long-tem countemesue to ftigue. Mintining sufficient levels of sleep will pevent ftigue. The mount of sleep equied by peson vies, with seven to eight hous of dily sleep consideed the vege fo n dult. People who continully get less sleep thn necessy fo them will ccumulte sleep debt. Fo exmple, if peson who equies 8 hous of sleep hs only 6 hous of sleep, then this peson is depived of two hous of sleep. If this occus ove fou consecutive nights, the peson will hve ccumulted n 8-hou sleep debt. Sleep debt leds to incesed levels of ftigue.9 Too much sleep peson sleeping moe thn 11 hous pe dy cn led to excessive dytime sleepiness. Alcohol nd dugs lcohol is depessnt dug tht slows the nevous system nd distubs noml sleep pttens. Othe dugs, such s cigettes nd cffeine, stimulte the nevous system nd cn cuse insomni. Mny wokes ely on cffeinted dinks, such s coffee, to ssist them to mnge ftigue. Howeve, these will contibute to sleep loss if used within 6 hous befoe sleep. This effect my be incesed if combined with medictions contining ingedients such s pseudoephedine hydochloide.9 Sleep distubnces distubed sleep my occu fo numbe of esons, fo exmple, noisy neighbous, young childen who wke in the night, snoing ptne, o n uncomfotble sleeping envionment such s stuffy bedoom. Sleep loss my lso be cused by helth conditions such s obstuctive sleep pnoe which is condition tht occus while sleeping, whee the muscles of the thot elx nd block the iwy bove the voice box. This cuses bething to stop until the bin egistes lck of bething nd sends smll wke-up cll, which biefly wkes the sleepe befoe he difts immeditely bck to sleep (usully the sleepe is not we of hving woken up). This pocess cn epet itself mny times though the night, cusing peson to feel ftigued duing the dy.9 Lck of egul execise nd sedenty behviou physicl ctivity is known to impove fitness, helth nd wellbeing, educe stess, nd boost enegy levels. It lso helps peson to sleep. Poo diet low kilojoule diets, low cbohydte diets o high enegy foods tht e nutitionlly poo do not povide the body with enough fuel o nutients to function t its best. Quick fix foods, such s chocolte bs o cffeinted dinks, offe only tempoy enegy boost tht quickly wes off nd wosens ftigue. Individul fctos pesonl illness o injuy, illnesses o injuies in the fmily, too mny commitments (fo exmple, woking two jobs) o finncil poblems cn cuse ftigue. Wokplce elted cuses Common wokplce issues tht cn cuse ftigue ccoding to the Bette Helth Chnnel2 include: Shift wok the humn body is designed to sleep duing the night. This ptten is set by smll pt of the bin known s the cicdin clock. A shift woke confuses his cicdin clock by woking when his body is pogmmed to be sleep. Cicdin hythms, o the intenl body clock, e the body s ntul hythms tht e epeted ppoximtely evey 24 hous (Figue 1). One s biologicl clock ffects the dily hythm of mny physiologicl pocesses. Figue 1 depicts the cicdin pttens typicl of someone who ises ely in moning, ets lunch ound noon, nd sleeps t night (10 pm). Although cicdin hythms tend to be synchonized with cycles of 2 JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 111 The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy

3 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 3 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement J o u n l P p e Figue 1 The biologicl cicdin clock in humns light nd dk, othe fctos such s mbient tempetue, mel times, stess nd execise cn influence the timing s well. Due to cicdin hythms, the humn body is moe wke duing the dy. The humn body expeiences eduction in ctivity in the midnight to dwn peiod. This is fundmentl humn chcteistic nd cnnot be chnged. Wok schedules tht equie people to be wke nd ctive t night, o to wok fo extended peiods of time, disupt cicdin hythms. These disuptions ffect the qulity nd quntity of sleep, ffect tsk pefomnce nd my lso contibute to sense of pesonl disloction nd imblnce. Incidents/ccidents e moe likely to occu t night, pticully duing the peiod when the cicdin cycle is t its lowest point (midnight to dwn) when peson would nomlly be sleeping. Shift wok nd extended woking hous cn both ffect on ftigue. Long hous nd shift wok pttens tht disupt the body's cicdin hythms often esult in wokes becoming ftigued. Shift wokes s goup tend to get significntly less sleep thn those who wok equivlent hous tht do not intude on the typicl sleep peiod (11 pm 7 m). Sleep duing the dy is usully of poo qulity due to cicdin disuptions nd envionmentl fctos such s dylight, tffic nd household noise. If employes equie people to wok outside stndd woking hous, they e obliged to potect thei helth nd sfety fom ny dvese effects. The employe is lso equied to consult with wokes when intoducing chnges to the wokplce tht could ffect thei helth nd sfety, including chnges to shifts.9 If peson does expeience dvese helth effects fom shift wok, he/she should spek to the supeviso, wokplce helth nd sfety epesenttive o wokplce helth nd sfety office bout thei concens. Poo wokplce pctices cn dd to peson s level of ftigue. These my include long wok hous, hd physicl lbou, iegul woking hous (such s otting shifts), stessful wok envionment (such s excessive noise o tempetue extemes), boedom, woking lone with little o no intection with othes, o fixed concenttion on epetitive tsk. Extended woking hous, pticully fo shift wokes, dvesely ffect the mount of time vilble fo sleep nd socil ctivities. As wok hous incese, the individul compenstes by educing the mount of time vilble fo sleep nd othe ctivities. When peson wok moe thn 48 hous week, the incesed competition between sleep nd othe ctivities esults in sleep of limited qulity nd length. The individul begins to ccumulte sleep debt, which cuses ftigue levels to ise, nd ffects helth nd sfety.9 Wokplce stess cn be cused by wide nge of fctos including job disstisfction, hevy woklod, conflicts with bosses o collegues, bullying, constnt chnge, o thets to job secuity. Bunout cn be descibed s stiving too hd in one e of life while neglecting eveything else. Wokholics, fo exmple, put ll thei enegies into thei cee, which puts thei fmily life, socil life nd pesonl inteests out of blnce. Unemployment finncil pessues, feelings of filue o guilt, nd the emotionl exhustion of polonged job hunting cn led to stess, nxiety, depession nd ftigue. Psychologicl cuses Accoding to the Bette Helth Chnnel2 studies suggest tht psychologicl fctos e pesent in t lest 50% of ftigue cses. These my include: Depession this illness is chcteized by sevee nd polonged feelings of sdness, dejection nd hopelessness. People who e depessed commonly expeience chonic tiedness. Anxiety nd stess peson who is choniclly nxious o stessed keeps his body in ovedive. The constnt flooding of denline exhusts the body, nd ftigue sets in. The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy VOLUME 111 JANUARY

4 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 4 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement Gief losing loved one cuses wide nge of emotions including shock, guilt, depession, despi nd loneliness. Difficulty of coect dignosis Since ftigue cn pesent vst nge of symptoms nd be cused by mny diffeent fctos woking in combintion; dignosis cn be difficult. A medicl pctitione my dignose ftigue using numbe of tests including2: Medicl histoy ecent events such s childbith, mediction, sugey o beevement my contibute to ftigue. Physicl exmintion to check fo signs of illness o disese. The docto my lso sk detiled questions bout diet, lifestyle nd life events. Medicl tests such s blood tests, uine tests, X-ys nd othe investigtions. The ide is to ule out ny physicl cuses, fo exmple nemi, infection o homonl poblems. Impotnt fctos to emembe Ftigue cn be cused by numbe of fctos woking in combintion, such s medicl conditions, unhelthy lifestyle choices, wokplce poblems nd stess. Ftigue is known isk fcto in moto vehicle nd wokplce ccidents. Alwys efe to medicl pctitiones fo dignosis if suffeing fom chonic tiedness. They e qulified to delive elible dignosis.2 Ftigue ffecting helth Ftigue cn ffect peson s helth nd incese the chnges of hving wokplce ccident. Long-tem effects of ftigue on helth which e ssocited with shift wok nd chonic sleep loss my include: het disese, dibetes, high blood pessue, gstointestinl disodes nd depession. The fctos tht contibute to ftigue lso disupt n individul s cicdin hythms. Disuptions in cicdin hythms cn lso hve significnt impct on the effectiveness of cetin medictions used fo sthm nd dibetes. The qulity of ou sleep is educed s we get olde. Lck of sleep cn wosen depession nd lso ffects people with epilepsy, incesing thei isk of hving fit.4 The ftigue eqution Accoding to Schutte8 totl ftigue is the sum totl of ftigue elted to wok-time ngements, wok nd envionmentl fctos, nd pesonl fctos s depicted in the eqution below: whee: F T F SS F EW = Totl ftigue = Ftigue cused by the shift system/duty ostes (woking ngements, cicdin hythm disuption, sleep depivtion) = Ftigue cused by egonomic, envionmentl nd wok fctos (tsk equiements, physicl wok lods, woksttion design, physicl fctos) F PF = Ftigue cused by pesonl fctos such s insufficient/poo sleep, helth sttus, nutition sttus, pesonl lifestyle, socil nd domestic dicttes. This eqution is not climed to be complete epesenttion of ll the fctos tht contibute to ftigue, but it points towds need fo bod nd holistic ppoch to mnge this issue. Ftigue mngement The impct of the implementtion of ftigue mngement pocedues hs the potentil to eliminte employee ftigue o its cuses, educe the likelihood of ftigue occuing in the wokplce, nd countect the effects of ftigue when it occus. Fctos consideed when implementing ftigue mngement system includes: extended hous of wok, shift wok, time of dy nd wok design. Ftigue mngement is elevnt to wokes, employes, the self-employed nd contctos. Being wke fo 17 hous is equivlent to hving blood lcohol level of Being wke fo 20 hous is equivlent to hving blood lcohol level of Ftigue is one of the mjo ole plyes when it comes to cuses of ftlities in the mining industy. Ou min chllenge in identifying whethe ftigue plyed ole is the fct tht it cnnot be tested in post-motems like dug o lcohol buse. It is n spect woth undestnding nd getting n ogniztion sensitive to mnging it popely to benefit both ogniztionl s well s employee needs. Ftigue cn significntly ffect peson s cpcity to function. The side effects of ftigue include decesing pefomnce nd poductivity, nd incesed potentil fo incidents/injuies to occu. Ftigue mngement is shed esponsibility between the employe nd employee s it involves fctos tht occu both in nd outside the wokplce. If peson is expeiencing ftigue it is impotnt to identify the fctos tht e contibuting to the ftigue, discuss the issue with the employe, mke chnges s equied (including sleeping pttens, woklod, oste nd lifestyle behvious), nd seek pofessionl help if necessy7 (Tble I.) The isk of ftigue is inheent in ny wok-time ngement involving shift wok, long hous of wok, iegul hous, extended wok hous nd wok tht is physiclly o mentlly demnding, epetitive o equies high vigilnce. Ftigue cn led to incidents/injuies becuse it ffects numbe of key mentl nd physicl bilities nd cn, fo exmple, esult in impied concenttion, poo judgement, educed hnd-eye coodintion nd slowe ection times. Industil wokes unde theml stess fo extended peiods become ftigued, physicl ftigue hs been identified s cusl fcto in het exhustion nd ttibuted to sevel physiologicl distubnces such s excessive cdiovscul stin nd hypethemi. A numbe of ccidents, which could be ttibuted to the loss of contol due to the sleepiness of dives, hve been epoted t mines whee hul tucks e used. In view of the seiousness of these ccidents, esech ws initited to identifying the fctos tht ffect dive letness duing mining opetions. The objective is to develop ftigue mngement pogmme tht would ddess tsk- s well s 4 JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 111 The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy

5 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 5 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement Tble I Responsibilities of employes nd employees 1 Employe Employee Educte To ensue tht employees e infomed of the isks ssocited To be fmili with the isks ssocited with shift wok with ftigue nd how to pticipte in contolling these isks. Undestnd the impotnce of wellness nd nutition in educing these isks. Identity To identify the isks ssocited with ftigue, including estblishing To epot poblems with ftigue nd monitoing n ongoing system fo identifying poblems. To ecognize nd epot thei own ftigue symptoms To contibute to estblishing nd monitoing epoting systems. Assess To ssess the isks ssocited with ftigue To contibute to the ssessment of isks To contol the isks ssocited with ftigue, specificlly To coopete with contol mesues Ensue tht shift ngements contol the isk of ftigue To contibute to the design nd implementtion of contol mesues Ensue tht wok ngements do not contibute to ftigue To mnge individul fctos which ffect ftigue, e.g. ensuing dequte poblems o intefee unesonbly with employees, cpcity to est between shifts meet fmily nd socil commitments Ensue tht helth fctos e epoted nd thus do not inhibit the bility to Povide tining, infomtion nd supevision tht suppot wok sfely. This includes: effective mngement of ftigue. Mediction (chonic o othe) Medicl pocedues tht would ffect fitness fo wok Immedite epoting of pegnncy/the need to bestfeed. Contol Ensue tht wok systems e flexible enough to del with fctos influencing ftigue, e.g. llowing supevisos to eschedule tsks if ftigue becomes poblem Povide conditions tht e conducive to sleep nd whee site ccommodtion is povided, supply blnced diet Estblish systems fo thoough nd egully mndted medicl exmintions Implement systems to ssess fitness fo wok pio to the shift s well s duing the shift. J o u n l P p e woke-elted fctos ssocited with woke ftigue. The impct of this implementtion of ftigue mngement pocedues in the mining industy hs the potentil to eliminte employee ftigue o its cuses, educe the likelihood of ftigue occuing in the wokplce, nd countect the effects of ftigue when it occus. Accoding to Schutte8 thee is no one-size-fits-ll ftigue mngement pogmme vilble. Any ftigue mngement pogmme should ddess the unique needs of the opetion in which it is to be implemented. It should be integted into the noml opetions, nd it should encouge ctive pticiption fom ll stkeholdes. It is, theefoe, necessy to develop cultue in the ogniztion in which eveyone ccepts tht ftigue is bie to excellence in sfe poduction nd wellness, nd tht eveybody needs to wok togethe to ovecome this bie. The effective mngement of ftigue depends on the mngement of the ogniztion s cultue nd on the pomotion of self-mngement the thn on technologicl solutions. In view of the bove it is impotnt tht compehensive ppoch be tken to ddess the issue of ftigue t mine sites. In genel, the gol of ftigue mngement pln is to mintin nd, whee possible, enhnce sfety, pefomnce nd poductivity in the opetionl setting, nd mnge the isk of ftigue in the wokplce. The ecommended pocess of developing nd mintining successful ftigue mngement pln consists of five inteelted elements: Secuing nd mintining senio mngement commitment Developing policy nd pogmme Mnging ftigue Communicting the policy nd ftigue mngement pln Monitoing, eviewing nd modifying. In ode to mke the ftigue mngement pogmme s pcticl nd compehensive s possible, emphsis needs to be plced on3: Stuctue nd design of wok-time ngements (optiml design of shift system nd osteing8) Egonomics design of wokplces nd tsks (egonomics intevention tking bilities nd limittions of wokes into ccount8) Employee fitness fo wok Mngement pocesses fo monitoing nd contolling woke s potentil fo ftigue Ftigue-elted eduction nd infomtion (sleep mngement, eduction nd tining, lifestyle inteventions, helth sceening nd counselling8) Employee ssistnce pogmmes (nutition8). Ftigue ffecting sfety Ftigue leds to poo judgement, poo pefomnce on skilled tsks nd slowe ection times. Ftigue stops peson fom ppeciting how seious sitution hs become. It is hde to undetke complex tsks when ftigued. Poo decision-mking s esult of ftigue leds to incidents/injuies. Resech hs shown tht the isk of wokelted incidents/injuies nd illnesses is incesed in people woking moe thn 60 hous week, o woking 12 hous o moe in dy. Comped with n 8-hou shift, incidents/ injuies tes e doubled fte 12 hous t wok. A 17% incese in incidents/injuies tes occu fte the fouth dy The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy VOLUME 111 JANUARY

6 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 6 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement shift. Thee e lso 30% moe incidents/injuies on the fouth night shift comped with the fist, unless othe mesues such s fequent est beks, e put in plce.6 Duing the study the impct of ftigue in the wokplce ws investigted. This does not only include the impct on poduction tgets but, vey impotntly, the impct on sfety. With the end gol of zeo hm in mind, the objective ws to detemine if thee is eltionship between ftigue nd cuent incidents nd ccidents expeienced on mines. The impotnt question tht needs to be nsweed is: How mny times hve we ctully exploed in ou investigtions the spects of ftigue? We efe to lck of concenttion o not identifying the hzds o poo judgement in some cses s the bsic cuse. Thus, by knowing the fundmentls of ftigue n dditionl leve cn be pulled towds impoving sfety. Sfety consequences of ftigue The sfety consequences of ftigue include6: Decesed letness nd slowed ection time Poo hnd-eye coodintion nd highe eo tes Poo communiction Reduced vigilnce nd decision-mking bility Poo judgement of pefomnce, especilly when ssessing isks Being esily distcted duing complex tsks Difficulty esponding to emegencies Loss of weness of citicl situtions Inbility to emembe the sequence of events. Ftigue the sfety discussion Accoding to Mining Mn5, woke ftigue is topic not usully delt with duing on-the-job sfety behviou obsevtions. It is difficult thing to obseve, nd the vey fct tht someone is being obseved cn tend to wke him up nd msk ny behvioul signs of ftigue. Although we my not be ble to obseve ny signs of ftigue, the cuses nd consequences of ftigue e cetinly something tht we should be discussing with ou tems one-on-one, nd the best time to do tht is duing sfety obsevtion pocess. Even if we do not obseve ny of these behvioul signs, we cn still discuss ftigue s pt of ou obsevtion. Thee e some convenient times nd situtions which cn ct s pompts to discussing ftigue: Lst shift of the week/tou When people my be bout to dive long distnces t the end of the shift Duing ny night shift o shift whee the peson hd pticully ely stt At the end of vey long shift On jobs with epetitive wok Woking in hot nd humid conditions Following n incident whee ftigue ws thought o known to be involved. The key to good sfe behviou obsevtion is the discussion which you hve with the peson you hve just obseved. It is this discussion tht elly engges you both on the sfety topic, nd helps to embed thinking bout mnging hzds nd peventing injuies. Depending on the eltionship between youself nd the peson you e obseving, it my o my not be ppopite to diectly discuss whethe he ppes ftigued o not nd wht the cuses might be. It is bette to ppoch the topic in moe genel wy, something like this: Hi, I m doing my weekly sfety obsevtion nd I noticed it s quite wm hee nd thee s still quite bit moe mteil left to move. Given tht's it the middle of ou fist night shift, how e you feeling? Wht do you think some indictos might be if you stt to get tied o ftigued nd need bek? o Hi. Following up fom the ne miss we hd with tht vehicle incident in the middle of the night lst week, we e doing ou sfety obsevtions this week on ftigue nd how to mnge it. Wht do you think e some of the things tht cn cuse people to be ftigued t wok? The discussion which follows on fom these intoductoy questions should cove the peson s knowledge of: Fctos which cn cuse ftigue Symptoms/Signs of ftigue Dnges of woking o diving while ftigued. The discussion cn lso cove wht contols peson o wok tem e putting in plce to mnge ftigue, but in genel the hzds of ftigue e best mnged by pevention the thn mnging it once it hs set in. Some contols tht e possible if peson is feeling ftigued include est, chnging jobs, woking in coole es, voiding woking lone, nd voiding ny high isk jobs o diving. The esponsibility of mnging ftigue Ftigue mngement is shed esponsibility nd should be mnged by both individuls nd mngement t the wokplce (Tble II). Wok-elted ftigue needs to be mnged by employes o those in contol of wokplce o business undetking. This cn be done using isk mngement ppoch. (Tble III). Non-wok-elted ftigue fctos e best mnged by individuls. As n employe we hve socil esponsibility tht towds ou communities nd how we she knowledge. Should ftigue mngement nd ou sensitivity to the ole of mnging it popely not fom gete pt of ou esponsibility to the extent whee it cn mnifest itself s positive tool on so mny levels including sfety? Employees hve the esponsibility to ensue they get enough sleep, tke sufficient nd egul nutition, helth nd physicl fitness nd come to wok fesh nd let. But we need to give wy of enbling them to do just tht: i.e. Tble II Two min souce of ftigue 6 Wok-elted ftigue Extended hous of wok Shiftwok Indequte time between shifts fo sleep Time of dy Wok design Second jobs Non-wok-elted ftigue Commuting times Fmily nd socil obligtions Community ctivities Emotionl issues Age Helth nd fitness level 6 JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 111 The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy

7 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 7 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement Tble III Risk fctos nd contol mesues employe 6 Fctos to conside Extended hous of wok Contol mesues Ensue sufficient cove fo wokes who e on nnul o sick leve. If ovetime is necessy, pln fo it so wokes cn schedule thei ctivities ound it. Note tht exposue stndds e bsed on 8-hou dys seek expet dvice on noise nd chemicls in the wokplce if you hve longe shifts. J o u n l Wok shift tht is 8 hous long Wok shift tht is 10 hous long Wok shift tht is 12 hous long Woking second job Shiftwok Pooe sleep duing the dy fo night shift wokes, leding to n cute sleep debt on the fist few nights Cumultive sleep debt (e.g. less thn 7 to 8 hous of sleep between ech wok shift ove sevel shifts) People who hve hd less thn 5 hous sleep hve n incesed isk of c ccident when diving Accident isk inceses by 30% by the fouth night shift Accident isk inceses by 27.5% on 12 hou shifts, comped with 8 hous on duty Time of dy Ely stt times befoe 6m give wokes less time to get dequte, sleep s it is vey difficult to go to sleep duing the ely evening (6 9 pm), s ou intenl body clocks e set fo letness Wok design Low letness on night shift t 3 5 m, with incesed ccident isk Limit ovetime to 4 hous Limit ovetime to 2 hous Do not llow ovetime Hve policy on second jobs ensue tht the woke undestnds the obligtion to get sufficient sleep Ensue the oste povides fo continuous 7 to 8 hous sleep in ech 24 hous, nd t lest 50 hous sleep fo evey seven dys If on otting thee shift oste system, fowd ottion (dy, ftenoon to night shifts) is toleted bette Limit numbe of consecutive night shifts to fou End night shifts by 8 m Ensue thee is minimum of 12 hous between consecutive shifts Ensue tht oste llows fo t lest 2 full nights sleep fte the lst night shift Conside whethe 12 hou night shifts e elly necessy Use dditionl contol mesues, such s two houly beks of t lest 10 minutes dution Hve oom fo wokes to sleep befoe commuting home Minimize ely moning stts befoe 6 m Avoid moe thn 5 consecutive ely moning stts Encouge c pooling o povide tnspot Minimize sfety citicl tsks t cicdin low points. Avoid sfety citicl tsks duing the ely hous of the moning, hve gete supevision, hve egul beks P p e Tble IV Risk fctos nd contol mesues employees 6 Fctos to conside Contol mesues Recoveing o peping fo wok Pesonl fctos ffecting sleep Medicl conditions ffecting sleep, such s sleep pnoe Poo sleep envionment Poo sleep hygiene wtching television in bed, dinking coffee o lcohol o eting hevy mel befoe going to bed Pooe sleep qulity, moe fgmented nd less deep estotive sleep in people ove 45 yes of ge Hectic socil life Second jobs Hve n ftenoon np befoe the fist night shift Dink lcohol in modetion s it cn distub you sleep Avoid cffeine fte midnight when on night shift Seek medicl dvice Instll hevy cutins tht keep the light out Reduce the volume of the telephone nd the television keep them in nothe oom, not the bedoom Insulte you house nd/o hve i-conditioning on to down out bckgound noise Let neighbous nd fiends know if you e shift woke nd when you need to sleep so they do not mow lwns o visit t these times Get into outine fo going to sleep (e.g. tke wm showe o elxing bth befoe going to bed, listen to soothing music) Avoid hevy mels, lcohol nd te o coffee befoe going to bed Conside moving out of shift wok if you find you e moe moning peson nd cnnot get enough sleep when on night shifts Pln you socil ctivities nd ensue you get sufficient sleep befoe stting wok Follow you employes pocedues bout disclosue Ensue you get dequte sleep in eltion to both jobs The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy VOLUME 111 JANUARY

8 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 8 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement eduction on nutition including eduction to thei spouses, tnspot ngements to nd fom wok nd the bsics of pope sleep ptten (Tble IV). Ftigue fighting tips Accoding to the Bette Helth Chnnel2 chnces e tht peson knows wht is cusing ftigue. And with few simple lifestyle chnges, it is likely tht the peson hs the powe to put the vitlity bck in his/he life. Conside these diffeent wys to boost enegy levels. Diety suggestions Hve good look t diet it is vey impotnt if peson wnts moe enegy in his/he dily life. Suggestions include: Dink plenty of wte dehydted body functions less efficiently. Be ceful with cffeine 1 o 2 cffeinted dinks (like coffee, te o col) pe dy boosts enegy nd mentl letness. Howeve, hevy cffeine uses (moe thn 6 dinks pe dy) e pone to nxiety, iitbility nd educed pefomnce. Et bekfst food boosts you metbolism nd gives the body enegy to bun. The bin elies on glucose fo fuel, so choose cbohydte-ich bekfst foods such s ceels o wholegin bed. Do not skip mels going without food fo too long llows blood sug levels to dip. Ty to et egully to mintin you enegy levels thoughout the dy. Do not csh diet low kilojoule diets, o diets tht seveely estict cbohydtes, do not contin enough enegy fo you body s needs. The educed food viety of the typicl csh diet lso depives the body of nutients such s vitmins, minels nd tce elements. Et helthy diet incese the mount of fuit, vegetbles, wholegin foods, low ft diy poducts nd len mets in you diet. Reduce the mount of high ft, high sug nd high slt foods. Do not oveet lge mels cn din enegy. Insted of eting thee big mels pe dy, ty eting six minimels to sped you kilojoule intke moe evenly. This will esult in moe constnt blood sug nd insulin levels. The peson will lso find it esie to lose excess body ft if he ets this wy. Et ion ich foods women, in pticul, e pone to ion-deficiency (nemi). Mke sue the diet includes ion ich foods such s len ed met. If you et food nd dink befoe going to bed it cn ffect you sleep qulity. The timing of mels nd the qulity of foods you et cn ffect you sleep, nd my led to digestive complints such s hetbun, constiption nd indigestion. The following tips cn help you pevent digestive complints nd my help you sleep bette7. When to et nd dink Wheeve possible, keep to dytime eting pttens. When woking night shift ty hving two mels t egul times nd light mel in the middle of the night shift. Conside hving you lgest dily mel duing the dy. Do not hve big mel o dink too much liquid befoe sleeping. Et mel befoe 1 m s the effects of digesting mel cn decese letness in the second pt of the night shift. It is bette to et befoe becoming ftigued t night. Wht to et nd dink Alcohol lowes the qulity of sleep nd ovelods the bldde. It is ecommended tht you do not consume lcohol in the lst few hous pio to sleeping. Avoid dinks which contin cffeine (such s te, coffee o col) in the lst few hous pio to sleeping. Et light, helthy food tht is esy to digest. Sleep suggestions It is impotnt tht shift wokes get s close to the vege mount of equied dily sleep s possible, which is ound seven to eight hous of continuous sleep ech dy. Humn beings e dy-oientted. We e designed to wok duing the dy nd sleep t night. Also, thee is moe light nd usully moe noise duing the dy thn t night so the qulity of sleep is likely to be pooe duing the dy thn t night. It is theefoe good ide to do some fowd plnning to ensue you sleeping conditions e s fvouble s possible. A common cuse of ftigue is not enough sleep, o poo qulity sleep. Suggestions include: Get enough sleep dults need bout eight hous sleep pe night. Mke the necessy chnges to ensue you get bette night s sleep. Limit cffeine too much cffeine, pticully in the evening, cn cuse insomni. Limit cffeinted dinks to five o less pe dy, nd void these types of dinks fte dinne. Len how to elx common cuse of insomni is fetting bout poblems while lying in bed. Expeiment with diffeent elxtion techniques until you find one o two tht wok fo you; fo exmple, you could think of estful scene, focus on you bething, o silently epet mnt o phse. Avoid sleeping pills sleeping pills e not long-tem solution becuse they do not ddess the cuses of insomni. The following e suggestions how to void unwnted disuptions while tying to sleep duing the dy7: Use blinds o cutins with bcking to educe the level of light in the bedoom duing the dy using hevy cutins nd sound insultion on doos nd windows cn lso educe noise levels. Cool conditions cn help in getting to sleep nd stying sleep. A peson should infom eltives nd fiends of his/he wok schedule nd sleep times to void unwnted disuptions. Use n nsweing mchine, o tun the phone down to help minimize distubnces. Develop wys of unwinding fte the ftenoon o night shift, e.g. tke wlk o wtch some television. Tke showe o elxing bth befoe going to bed. Go though ll the noml ituls of going to bed s you would befoe noml sleeping night. Avoid hving television in the bedoom. 8 JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 111 The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy

9 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 9 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement Do not get upset if you cnnot sleep stight wy. Reding the ppe o listening to music my help, but emembe tht est in itself is impotnt. Be cutious with using sleeping tblets, which my ppe useful in the shot-tem, but cn ctully be quite hmful to helth in the long-tem. Lifestyle suggestions Suggestions include: Do not smoke cigette smoke contins mny hmful substnces. Thee e mny esons why smokes typiclly hve lowe enegy levels thn non-smokes. Fo exmple, fo the body to mke enegy it needs to combine glucose with oxygen, but the cbon monoxide in cigette smoke educes the mount of oxygen vilble in the blood. Incese physicl ctivity physicl ctivity boosts enegy levels, while sedenty lifestyle is known cuse of ftigue. Physicl ctivity hs mny good effects on the body nd mind. A good bout of execise lso helps you sleep bette t night. Limit the time you sit down educe sedenty behvious such s wtching television nd using computes. Seek dvice if you hve not execised in long time, e obese, ged ove 40 yes o hve chonic medicl condition, lwys seek you docto s dvice nd encougement bout the smll steps you cn tke towd moe ctive lifestyle. Seek tetment fo substnce buse excessive lcohol consumption o ecetionl dug use contibutes to ftigue, nd is unhelthy nd potentilly dngeous. Wokplce issues demnding jobs, conflicts t wok nd bunout e common cuses of ftigue. Tke steps to ddess you wok poblems. A good plce to stt is to tlk with you humn esouces office. Psychologicl issues Studies suggest tht between 50 nd 80% of ftigue cses e minly due to psychologicl fctos. Suggestions include: Assess you lifestyle fo exmple, e you putting youself unde unnecessy stess? Ae thee ongoing poblems in you life tht my be cusing polonged nxiety o depession? It my help to seek pofessionl counselling to wok out fmily, cee o pesonl issues. Relxtion tining constnt nxiety dins the body of enegy nd cn led to bunout. Sttegies include lening elxtion techniques, such s medittion o yog, to help switch off the denline nd llow the body nd mind to ecove. Moden life is the uge to dive ouselves to bigge nd bette heights. A hectic lifestyle is exhusting. Ty to cve out few moe hous in week to simply elx nd hng out. If it is impossible to find few moe hous, it my be time to ethink you pioities nd commitments. Hve moe fun being peoccupied with commitments nd pessues do not llow enough time fo fun. Lughte is one of the best enegy boostes ound. Coping with the mid-ftenoon enegy slump Most people feel dowsy fte lunch. This mid-ftenoon dop in enegy levels is linked to the bin s cicdin hythm nd is hd wied into the humn body. Pevention my be impossible, but thee e wys to educe the seveity of the slump, including: Incopote s mny of the bove ftigue fighting suggestions s possible into you lifestyle. A fit, helthy nd well-ested body is less pone to sevee dowsiness in the ftenoon. Et combintion of potein nd cbohydtes fo lunch, fo exmple tun sndwich. Cbohydtes povide glucose fo enegy. Moe good esons to et potein fo lunch the mino cid tyosine llows the bin to synthesise the neuotnsmittes dopmine nd noepinephine, which help keep you mind ttentive nd let. Get moving. A bisk wlk o even 10 minutes of stetching t you desk impoves blood flow nd boosts enegy. Impotnt fctos to emembe Alwys see medicl pctitione to mke sue tht the ftigue is not cused by n undelying medicl poblem. Activity nd nutition e n impotnt pt of putting moe enegy into peson s dily life. Existing bies in the context of the South Aficn mining industy It is impotnt to note tht ftigue is function of when you e wke nd when you e suppose to be sleeping. Consideing the cicdin hythms (intenl body clock), one hs to conside wht it mens being South Aficn minewoke: Pedominntly the employee could sty in n infoml settlement, fcing hot summes nd cold wintes, without the bsic needs like unning tp wte (wm o cold), snittion o electicity. The ccommodtion (mostly single o double oom) is usully shed with vious fmily membes nd childen. The employee could pobbly be the only bedwinne in the fmily. The employee s nutition would be bsed on the bsic need to suvive, with food peped in the most pimitive wy. The luxuy of multiple mels pe dy does not exist. The employee s dy usully stts t 3 m to ctch to the fist public tnspot to wok. Thee could be vious tnsfe points between the vious stndd outes befoe ctully getting to wok. The employee would clock in t wok t ound 6 m, whee the ctul shift fo the dy would stt. At the end of the shift, the employee will hve to wit fo vilble public tnspot to tke him/he bck home. The employee could ive home t 5 pm. Thus noml woking dy fom going to wok to iving bck t home could be 15 hous. If the employee is femle, she would pobble still hve to pefom the household duties. J o u n l P p e The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy VOLUME 111 JANUARY

10 text:templte Jounl 1/20/11 12:43 PM Pge 10 Ftigue knowledge new leve in sfety mngement The question emins: wht could we s employes do to ensue tht employees wok optimlly, dily, sfely unde these cicumstnces? Conclusions Fom the wok of Boshoff4, ny ethicl employe hs the desie to povide sfe woking envionment fo ll employees, in which isks e ppopitely mnged. To potect the helth nd sfety of employees, combt ftigue, incese poductivity nd pevent ccidents, injuy o dmge to employees nd equipment, it is necessy to develop mngement pln to ensue tht isks ssocited with opeto ftigue e mitigted ppopitely. Boshoff4 expessed tht ftigue mngement is n ongoing pocess tht equies ceful supevision. The involvement of mngement in the mngement of ftigue is cucil to its success. It must theefoe be emphsized tht employees nd mngement must ct in the spiit of the lw (i.e. the Mine Helth nd Sfety Act; Act 26 of 1996) nd tke esponsibility fo the sfety of fellow employees nd othe pesons not employed by the mine. As n employe we hve socil esponsibility towds ou communities nd how we she knowledge. Employees hve the esponsibility to ensue they get enough sleep, tke sufficient nd egul nutition, helth nd physicl fitness nd come to wok fesh nd let. But we need to give wy of enbling them to do just tht: i.e. eduction on nutition including eduction to thei spouses, tnspot ngements to nd fom wok nd the bsics of pope sleep ptten. Ftigue my ffect peson s bility to wok sfely. It must be identified, ssessed nd contolled like othe hzds in the wokplce. Impotntly, ftigue impis peson s judgment of his/he own stte of ftigue. This mens the effective mngement of ftigue should not be the esponsibility of the employee lone. Both employes nd employees hve ole to ply in mking sue ny isks ssocited with ftigue e minimized. The isk of incidents/ccidents lso inceses with the length of shift. The isk of incidents/ccidents geneted by two 12 hou shifts is equl to the isk of six 8 hou shifts. Contolling ftigue equies coopetion between employes nd employees. Contol sttegies need to be implemented to educe the isk of incidents/ccidents s esult of ftigue. The isk of ftigue is educed when wok schedules povide fo sufficient good qulity sleep. The most beneficil sleep is good night s sleep of t lest six hous, tken in single continuous peiod. The estotive effects e less if the sleep is split between dy nd night time. Night shift wokes e six times moe likely to hve incidents/ccidents thn dy shift wokes. The isk of incidents/ccidents inceses with the numbe of nights woked, with 45% incese by the fouth night nd 90% by the seventh night. People who wok t night hve touble djusting thei body clocks. No mtte how much sleep peson hs befoehnd, he/she will feel sleepy between 1 m nd 6 m. Infomtion should be povided on how best to cope with night shift wok by chnging nd impoving the envionment fo wok nd sleep both t wok nd t home. Employees coming off night shift should lso hve the oppotunity to ecove ny sleep loss befoe etuning to wok. Thee should be t lest 24 hous off between shift chnges to pepe fo the new dy o night shift. A ftigue mngement pln is witten document tht povides infomtion on the ogniztion s ppoch to ftigue mngement nd the pocedues tht e to be followed. It should cove the following es: Employee s fitness fo wok; eduction in ftigue mngement; mnging incidents; nd estblishing nd mintining ppopite wokplce conditions. In some situtions the ftigue mngement pln will be mde up of numbe of policies nd pocedues tht e ledy in othe copote documents. Fo exmple, fitness fo wok policies nd pocedues my be in humn esouce mngement mnuls nd elevnt infomtion on tining my be in genel sfety induction mnuls. Some policies nd pocedues tht e used fo ftigue mngement, such s policies on lcohol nd dugs in the wokplce nd hzd nd incident epoting pocedues, my pply to wide nge of cicumstnces within the one ogniztion. Whee elevnt policies nd pocedues exist, which hve been developed in consulttion with employees nd sfety nd helth epesenttives, they could be used fo the ftigue mngement pln. To comply with the equiement to hve ftigue mngement pln, it would not be necessy to cete documents especilly fo this pupose. The pln could identify nd efeence existing policies nd pocedues. This would be cceptble s long s the full nge of items included in the list bove ws edily vilble nd ll e diectly elevnt to ftigue mngement. Refeences 1. Anglo Ftl Risk Best Pctice, Employee Ftigue Mngement, Issue 1, AFRBP_000019, 2 June BETTER HEALTH CHANNEL, Helthie living online: u/bhcv2/bhcticles.nsf/pges/ftigue_explined _tips (ccessed 25 Apil 2010). 3. BHP BILLITON Fit fo wok/fit fo life (Issue 1), My BOSHOFF, D. Sishen Ion Oe Mine Ftigue Mngement Pogmme, Anglo Ameicn Mining Confeence, MINING MAN, Fcebook (ccessed 12 My 2010). 6. QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Mnging Ftigue A guide fo the wokplce, Septembe QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Mnging Ftigue: Hndy tips fo shift wokes, SCHUTTE, P.C Guidelines on ftigue mngement bsed on the best pctices fo South Aficn mines. Poject Repot SIM Mine Helth nd Sfety Council, Johnnesbug. 9. THE STATE OF QUEENSLAND (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL), Ftigue mngement, (ccessed 25 Apil 2010). 10 JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 111 The Jounl of The Southen Aficn Institute of Mining nd Metllugy