Statistics suggest that a significant percentage of accidents are caused by human error.
A major contributing factor in a number of these cases is fatigue. It is important to understand what fatigue is and how to deal with it. We hold our team accountable by measuring fatigue through Circadian Technologies’ CAS System.
Fatigue is more than just a general feeling of tiredness. It is a loss of our ability to remain vigilant, to perform a task, to maintain situational awareness, to think clearly and logically, to react appropriately and to maintain motor coordination skills. Very simply, when a person is fatigued, he is more prone to making mistakes. Fatigue affects everyone, even the most professional and dedicated people. It is not a question of mind over matter. Rather, it’s the body’s natural physiological response to working too much or getting too little sleep or rest.
Fatigue is monitored by examining the
following 9 variables:
- Average sleep length per day
- Percentage of time below red and yellow thresholds on duty
- Average duration of episodes below red on duty
- Average alertness score while awake
- Number of recovery breaks per week
- Hours of work per week
- Hours of work per shift
- Biological limitations for sleep recovery
- Time of day activity occurs
