Mimpe - Also, early subtle fatigue can have a major impact on function well before self reporting occurs
Interesting point – if you take, just for debate purposes, fatigue issues as a 'stand alone' risk.
A quick nasty analysis of say two dozen trucks all heading for the same parking area, all have been on the road all night. On the open road the chances of a fatigued driver having an accident are there, but the risk levels are low scale in comparison to a high density traffic situation, say morning rush hour. If the trucks are all due to arrive at about the same time, into a radio controlled unloading area; to keep things moving smoothly, the 'controller' would need, given the circumstances, to bring an A game performance to work.
Most of the drivers are knackered and at the terminal stages of the journey start thinking about getting out, not getting there. They all, in the terminal stages become dependant on the control, relaxing as the end of a long shift approaches.
Then the deck gets stacked; 25% of the drivers have done double shifts, 10% are sick, 20% have 'home' worries, 20% have money worries and the closer to home they get, the more prominence the problems assume. If the controller has the same problems, the seeds are sown. Someone in this (half arsed) mix has to be 'on the ball'.
We tend to think of 'fatigue as a 1 man issue; what I am trying (badly) to get at is the increased risk when everyone involved is fatigued, not just one. It must increase the risk levels?
I wonder just how deeply, and how often long term fatigue affects the very few coal face controllers we have? The ATSB stats for the last 12 months are 'interesting'.
Fatigue-countering mechanisms must include science-based, data-driven hours-of-service limits, particularly for professional drivers, pilots, mechanics, and air traffic controllers.
The medical oversight system must recognize the dangers of sleep-related medical impairments, such as obstructive sleep apnea, and incorporate mechanisms for identifying and treating affected individuals.
Employers should also (1) establish science-based fatigue management systems that involve all parties (employees, management, interest groups) in developing environments to help identify the factors that cause fatigue, and (2) monitor operations to detect the presence of fatigue before it becomes a problem.
Because “powering through” fatigue is simply not an acceptable option, fatigue management systems need to allow individuals to acknowledge fatigue without jeopardizing their employment.