The once prescriptive nature of fatigue risk management in the Australian Energy Production Industry (e.g., hours of work vs rest) is generally no longer accepted as sufficient to address fatigue-related risk in the workplace. A Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) is now recommended to facilitate the systematic identification of workplace hazards relating to fatigue and define and guide organisations to evaluate, manage and mitigate fatigue-related risks.
In a work context, fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion which reduces a person’s ability to perform work safely and effectively, and comes in three forms:
- PHYSICAL: Pronounced physical exhaustion and reduced ability to engage in physical activities
- MENTAL: Pronounced mental exhaustion and reduced ability to engage in mental or cognitive activities
- EMOTIONAL: Pronounced emotional exhaustion and reduced ability to engage in emotional activities
To support effective implementation of fatigue management in the workplace our WA/NT and Qld. Health Working Groups have collated information and data from member companies, key industry and government bodies and prepared tools to support FRM in the workplace, that include:
- Fatigue Risk Management Guidance, a summary evaluation and comparison of available guidance material, including best practice, and
- Individual Fatigue Risk Assessment Tool, which enables a worker to self-assess their fatigue and can be used to assess fatigue risk in various scenarios.
These documents should be considered as guidance only, and an effort to reduce the impact on companies to undertake a review and analysis of available material and provide recommended materials and references based on company requirements, location, and work environment.
Follow this link to all our Fatigue-related resources, including:
- Safety Alerts
- Safety Moments
- Safety Toolboxes
- Learning Event Bulletins
- Incident Review Panel Videos
- Other References
- Events - Fatigue Management Seminar
- Events - Fatigue Management Seminar (Oct 22)
For any questions, or for more information or assistance with anything fatigue-related, get in touch at: [email protected].