Study puts fatigue to sleep
Fatigue
is often the reason mistakes and accidents happen in the workplace. In
highly stressed jobs, such as air traffic control, this can mean the
difference between life and death.
UniSA recently accepted a consultancy contract from Airservices Australia to help develop a management system aimed at reducing the fatigue for air traffic controllers, whose rosters rotate between early mornings and late nights on a 24/7 basis.
According to Kirsty McCulloch, a research associate in the Centre for Sleep Research, the system is unique in that it looks at fatigue from a sleep-related as well as a work-related perspective.
“By taking into account the amount of sleep workers have before starting a shift, we are able to determine whether it would be appropriate for them to perform high risk tasks safely, using a safety management approach,” McCulloch said.
She says the system has been implemented within existing infrastructure with the benefits already starting to show.
“The system was really well received and has gone smoothly since it started. The employees really enjoyed the fact that their ideas were being heard and that they’re being taken seriously,” she said.
The Centre for Sleep Research has also played a part in developing similar systems throughout a number of other industries.