Safety Stand Down Toolbox Talk Fatigue Management

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Safety Stand DownToolbox Talk - Fatigue
Management

• www.safetystanddown.ca

www.safetystanddown.ca
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Safety Stand Down

• Introduction
• Fatigue has become a common subject for companies
  examining the health and safety hazards facing
  their operations. The impacts of fatigue extend
  to both home and the workplace. Studies have
  suggested fatigue can have an impact similar to
  alcohol impairment. Employers therefore have a
  safety and business reasons to deal with fatigue
  as part of an overall health and safety program.

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• What Causes Fatigue?
• The major cause of fatigue is a lack of sleep
  just once or over time. You may have a late night
  and be tired the next day, or you may get too
  little sleep every night and develop a sleep
  debt.

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• Sleep debt
• Most people need 8 hours of sleep a day some a
  bit more some a bit less. When you get less sleep
  than you need, youre creating a sleep debt. If
  you need your alarm clock to wake up on time,
  youre sleep debt territory. And cancelling that
  debt often cant be done overnight. The more
  sleep debt you have, the more good sleep it may
  take to pay it back.
• Work also plays a role in fatigue. Physical and
  mental activities tax your body, so its no
  surprise that you get tired from work whether
  on a rig or behind a computer.
• You need time off to rest before heading back to
  work, so you need to set limits on hours and
  days. When setting up your work schedule, you
  need to make allowances for these situations

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• Long hours of physical or mental activity
• Inadequate breaks
• Not enough rest between work days
• Shift work (permanent or rotating)
• Extended or compressed work weeks and day-off
  patterns
• Being on call
• Traveling in multiple time zones

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• How fatigue can affect health and safety
• Fatigue is a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion
  that comes from physical or mental exertion it
  is a message to the body to rest.
• It can be aggravated by acute lack of sleep or an
  accumulated sleep debt.
• It causes slower reaction time and can result in
  poor decisions, more mistakes, decreased
  performance, and dangerous lapses form
  microsleeps and automatic behavior.
• No one is immune to fatigue and its effects have
  an impact on the fatigued persons workplace,
  family, and community.

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• What does fatigue look like
• Becoming fatigued isnt like getting a cold. Your
  arent going to get such clear signs as a runny
  nose or a sore throat. Here are some fatigue
  warning signs to look out for
• Physical Symptoms
• Drowsiness
• Yawning
• Eyes closing or getting sore
• Vision going out of focus or blurring
• Slower physical reaction time
• Microsleeps
• Automatic behaviour

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• Mental Symptoms
• Poor concentration, including wandering thoughts
• Inability to remember things youve just done,
  seen, or heard
• Failure to respond to changes in your
  surroundings or situation
• Less alertness and watchfulness
• Poor logic and judgement, including taking risks
  you usually wouldnt

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• Emotional Symptoms
• Bored
• Restless
• Depressed
• Giddy
• Grouchy
• Impatient

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• Why manage Fatigue
• There is a moral imperative to manage workplace
  fatigue.
• The ill effects of fatigue can be reduced
  significantly and therefore it is the right thing
  to do.
• The benefits can be substantial including
  avoiding the costs of incidents and reducing
  worker absence and turnover.
• A fatigue management program can also provide
  proof of a companys due diligence in meeting
  fatigue-related and hours-of-service legal
  requirements.

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• What Can I do about it?
• If you notice you have signs of fatigue, dont
  ignore them. Take immediate action to make sure
  your fatigue doesnt make you a hazard to
  yourself or others. If youre working and
  fatigued, your employer may require that you
  report that to your supervisor. Your supervisor
  can then try to reassign you to a less risky task
  or let you rest.
• In the meantime, heres a list of temporary
  measures you can use to deal with fatigue.

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• Take a nap A 20 minute power nap may refresh
  you enough so you can keep working safely.
• Take a break Stop what youre doing, walk
  around or exercise, and get some fresh air.
• Make yourself uncomfortable sit straight if
  youre sitting in a chair, keep your environment
  cool, well ventilated, a bit noisy and brightly
  lit. If youre too comfortable, your alertness
  will decrease.
• Have a snack Stay hydrated, eat light meals,
  and avoid sleep-inducing foods and alcohol. Dont
  trust caffeine for alertness whether its in
  coffee, tea, energy drinks, pop, chocolate, or
  pills. Caffeine takes about a half an hour to
  take any effect, lasts only a short time and
  leaves you even more tired when it wears off.

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• Change it up Break any monotony youre
  experiencing. For example, if youre driving,
  change the radio station often, sing along, or
  talk to yourself. But please dont use your
  cellphone while driving.
• Stimulate your mind Do something else that is
  more interesting. Talk to a coworker or listen to
  talk radio.

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• Remember
• These are only temporary measures. If you are too
  tired to work safely, then stop what you're
  doing. Take Five, Stay Alive.
• How can I prevent it?
• Get enough sleep
• The best way to prevent fatigue is to get enough
  quality sleep. This means making time for
  effective sleep during your time off and catching
  up on your sleep debt if necessary.

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• Eat right for alertness
• Foods for good energy
• Lean meats (e.g., skinless chicken)
• Fish or shellfish
• Soybeans, Tofu, and other beans
• Fruits and vegetables

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• Foods to avoid
• Candies, sweets, and pastries
• Fatty meats (e.g., chicken with skin)
• Fried foods (e.g., French fries)
• Junk foods (e.g., potato chips)
• Fast food (e.g., pizza, burgers)
• Alcohol

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• Sleep Tips
• Dont go to bed if youre not tired.
• Dont associate your bed with tasks that need
  concentration leave the bills, textbooks, and
  computer outside the bedroom.
• Set up a good sleep environment.
• Get regular exercise (not right before bed).
• Give yourself a transition time before going to
  bed (e.g. a ritual such as watching a TV show or
  doing some light reading).
• Take a relaxing dip in a hot tub or bath, or take
  a nice warm shower.
• If you dont fall asleep within 15 minutes, get
  out of bed and dont go back unless youre tired.

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• Sleep Tips
• If you dont fall asleep within 15 minutes, get
  out of bed and dont go back unless youre tired.
• If you dont fall asleep, dont get worked up
  about it that just makes it worse.
• If youre worried about stuff, write it down on a
  notepad to look at when you get up.

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• Conclusion
• For more great information on fatigue management,
  refer to the Enform website for PDF versions of
  the Guide To Safe Work Fatigue Management
  Employers Guide and Workers Flip Guide at
  www.enform.ca