Safer Together’s Aviation Working Group organised a 90 minute webinar on Fatigue Management in late April that brought together representatives from the Land Logistics, Marine and Aviation industry sectors of the Australian oil and gas industry to explore the challenges of, and approaches used to manage fatigue. The event also included a keynote speech from a renowned expert in the field of sleep science.

A full recording of the webinar is available free of charge to Safer Together member companies to view online – click here to view.

The live streamed event was attended by 80 participants and included four presentations, followed by a Q&A session with a panel of all the presenters:

“Sodexo Safe Driver Program”
Greg Howes, National Manager HSE, Sodexo

Greg opened his presentation by highlighting that if the driver of a vehicle has a microsleep while travelling at 100km/h for just 4 seconds, they will travel for 111 metres without being in control of that vehicle. He then spoke about a Driver Monitoring System that Sodexo has successfully trialled and the benefits that have been realised.

Greg’s presentation can be viewed at 01:30 minutes in the webinar recording.
 

“Management of Fatigue in the Maritime Sector”
Anna Schwartz, HSSEQ Manager, Solstad Offshore ASA

Anna opened her presentation by pointing out that fatigue was identified as a contributing factor in the Exxon Valdez incident, one of the worst maritime environmental incidents in the last century. She then explained how the marine industry has responded, and how the regulatory regime around fatigue has evolved since the Exxon Valdez incident.

In wrapping up her presentation, Anna highlighted that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Fatigue Guidelines are an excellent resource and encouraged people to take a look for themselves.

Anna’s presentation can be viewed at 06:50 minutes in the webinar recording.
 

“Fatigue Risk Management at CHC Helicopter”
Luke Vanson, Sales Manager APAC, CHC Helicopter

Luke’s presentation focused on explaining how fatigue is managed in the Commercial Aviation industry, the regulatory framework and recent regulatory developments, and showing examples of how a bespoke tool used by CHC Helicopter is used to help manage fatigue.

Luke’s presentation can be viewed at 17:00 minutes in the webinar recording.
 

“Designing at Fatigue Risk Management System”
Keynote Speaker - Dr Ian Dunican, Director and Chief Adviser, Melius Consulting

Ian opened his presentation by highlighting that the Basics of Sleep Science are important to understand because it frames how we design an effective Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) for the workplace. He then talked about the impact of shift work; sustained wake and impact on human performance; sleep loss and impact on human performance; sleep problems and disorders; components of an effective FRMS; biomathematical modelling; fatigue management wearables and applications; and the Business Benefits of a FRMS.

Ian’s presentation can be viewed at 28:50 minutes in the webinar recording.
 

Q&A Panel Session

Webinar participants submitted a wide range of questions for the panel.  The Panel Session can be viewed at 01:07:00 minutes in the webinar recording
 

The event was well received by the participants, who provided strong positive feedback that it was a worthwhile investment of their time. Based on participant response, the intention is that another Fatigue Seminar will be arranged to take place in about 6 months.

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“When you’ve Gotta Sleep, You’ve Gotta Sleep” (Photo: White House/Pete Souza)

Fatigue Management is a topic that is relevant to all companies in our industry. The oil and gas industry is diverse and has a number of unique characteristics that can contribute to fatigue, such as challenging work environments, fly-in fly-out operations, time zone changes, 24/7 operations, shift work; and transportation work. If you haven’t yet watched the webinar, take the time to have a look and learn from others in our industry that have shared their knowledge and experience about this important topic.

For more information: [email protected]