Managing employee fatigue is a widely recognised challenge within the energy networks sector, with known risks to safety, health and wellbeing of staff.
Furthermore, fatigue has also been found to be a causal factor in many major accidents and incidents, with the potential to cause significant financial and reputational damage.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is clear that the legal duty lies with the employers to manage risks of fatigue and HSE have regulatory powers to prosecute if companies are in breach of health and safety legislation. Despite the significance of this issue and the regulatory duty, fatigue management is not always effective as the process of fatigue is not typically well understood. There are many definitions and models of fatigue which drive (as well as limit) solutions. The HSE definition is that:
“Fatigue refers to the issues that arise from excessive working time or poorly designed shift patterns. It is generally considered to be a decline in mental and/or physical performance that results from prolonged exertion, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal clock. It is also related to workload, in that workers are more easily fatigued if their work is machine-paced, complex or monotonous.”
This definition focuses primarily on sleep disruption as the main cause of fatigue, but recognises that there are causes relating to workload and work characteristics. Current academic models of fatigue are aligned with this wider view of fatigue and models typically go beyond sleep-related risks to incorporate mental and physical workload and emotional demands as potential causes of fatigue.
Therefore, to effectively manage fatigue, companies need to
- Identify the breadth of fatigue risks prevalent in an operational context.
- Design and implement effective fatigue risk controls and mitigations
You can find the full Project EFRIN explanation here
Project phases and notes
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Phase 1: Exploration of fatigue risks in energy networks
This phase consisted of a series of facilitated focus groups with 60 staff from member companies across six occupational groups: fitters, jointers and civils, OHP, control room engineers, SAPs and managers including company trade union health and safety representatives. These groups explored the main fatigue risks associated with working in this context and reflections on their company fatigue management policies and practices. Analysis of the data gathered through this staff engagement revealed two levels of findings: (1) Findings to enhance understanding of fatigue risks that can support effective risk management both at an individual and company level, and (2) Industry-level challenges impeding companies from implementing risk controls.
- Fatigue risks: A broad range of drivers/causes of fatigue were identified including long working hours, shift patterns resulting in limited recovery time and extreme weather conditions. The most notable consequences of fatigue were impacts on driving performance (as the most vulnerable task), impacts on the safe and effective delivery of routine work (as this is more likely to result in task disengagement), wider effects on family/personal relationships, and effects on health and wellbeing. In particular, limited understanding of the fatigue processand poor recognition of signs, symptoms and effects of fatigue were notable – consequently, the training programme planned for Phase 2 prioritised fatigue awareness and enhancing fatigue-related decision making.
- Industry-level challenges: In addition to the exploration of role and company-level challenges in effective fatigue management, findings from Phase 1 identified root-cause risks at the industry level: There appears to be a significant skills shortage within energy networks, with a positive feedback loop appearing to exacerbate this challenge (see Figure 1). Essentially, skills shortages across the industry drives reliance on (1) more highly paid contractors and (2) challenging shifts and standby rotas, both of which further drive the skills shortages at the company level.
In terms of fatigue management, a shortage of skilled staff drives overburdening of existing staff and inhibits the application of effective fatigue management.
Figure 1. Industry level challenges highlighted in this workFigure 1 alternative text: Poor long term investermnet in skilled staff across the industry leads to a major skills shortage and a lack of experienced staff. This means that the industry relies on contractors and gains heavy burdens, which also feeds into the shortage of skills in the workplace.
Further exacerbating this challenge is the pressure for companies to comply with their license obligations to the energy regulator with regards to ensuring continuity of electricity supply with limited customer interruptions. This has a contributing effect on companies being pressured to resource emergency or unplanned work, irrespective of available staff who are fit for work. Given the positive feedback loop outlined above, the current situation does not appear to be sustainable. However, these challenges are complex and addressing then will require strategic and industry-wide collaboration and long-term investment in skilled staff. -
Phase 2: Development of a training package
The overall objective of Phase 2 is to instil a change of mindset towards healthier and safer practices in the management of fatigue risks, at both the individual and organisational levels. At the individual level, the aims are to:
- Upskill all relevant stakeholders in identifying and understanding fatigue risks to enable them to make more well-informed decisions.
- Enhance understanding of each stakeholder’s role and accountability in managing fatigue risks.
- Deepen their understanding of what a positive culture around fatigue looks like. At the organisation level, we aim to encourage ENA member companies to take action for mitigating identified risks.
The training package developed in Phase 2 is based a series of five distinct units, each designed to address an element
of the fatigue challenge. These resources were developed on the basis of academic expertise and informed by engagement and findings in Phase 1. Feedback from the ENA steering group further shaped the resources to better-fit the energy networks context. Each unit comprises key elements of the issue, individual and group activities and useful resources.Units also include a short video summarising the key points covered in the individual units.The units were designed to underpin interactive/live training and will be most effective using this approach. The videos may perhaps be particularly useful for refresher training or to provide a high level overview of each unit.
Each member company has the option to disseminate these resources among their own staff consistent with their current approaches to staff training, learning and development. The positive changes brought by the overall package would be amplified if the organisation adopts or reinforces some practices:- Open culture in which staff members feel free to report they are not fit for work without blame.
- Communication messages which reiterate that staff health and safety is top priority.
- Behaviours aligned with the prioritisation of staff safety
The expected associated benefits of implementing this training programme include (1) improved recognition of fatigue, (2) well-informed decision fatigue-related decision making, to stimulate open communication in a supportive environment and to enhance health and safety through deeper fatigue awareness.
- EFRIN training modules
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Final notes
Industry-level challenge: We know that lack of staff resources is at least partially driving unhealthy work practices around work scheduling. However, companies would benefit from considering the impact of these practices in the longer term. The greater the pressure placed on existing staff to continue to deliver, the greater risk of accidents and incidents, the sooner they may become unfit for work (due to ill health) and the poorer staff retention will be
Manager-level challenges: Fatigue management will be enhanced with well-informed managers who know their team. Currently, some managers are being held accountable for their team member’s fatigue, but they have unmanageable numbers of direct report (40+ in some reports). Therefore, it is difficult for managers to be vigilant to fatigue signs or behavioural changes.
Frontline challenge: The emergence of fatigue is complex and not always predictable. Every staff member is different in how they cope with exposure to fatigue risks, due in part to personal or environmental factors. At the Centre for Human Factors, we promote an individualised and responsive approach to the management of fatigue. A mature workforce undertakes a continuous assessment of their levels of fatigue and does not fear sharing when they have reached their limits. The effectiveness of personal fatigue assessment will be enhanced through meaningful engagement with the training materials.
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Explanatory videos
- Why does fatigue matter and why is it complex to manage?
- Causes of fatigue found within industries
- The state of fatigue & consequences
- Factors influencing fatigue and decision making - Part 1
- Factors influencing fatigue and decision making - Part 2
- Understanding rights, responsibilities and best practice in fatigue
To support member companies in addressing these challenges, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) commissioned Project EFRIN from the Professor Fiona Earle & Dr Léa Fréour, Centre for Human Factors, University of Hull.
