Fatigue Management
Fatigue Management
Fatigue Management
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Case Study Two. At 0115 hrs on the 11th day of a major training activity,<br />
an APC struck a rock causing the vehicle to veer. The driver over-corrected<br />
the movement causing the vehicle to turn violently and suddenly in the<br />
opposite direction. At this stage, concerned about his ability to control the<br />
vehicle, the driver carried out an emergency halt procedure causing the<br />
vehicle to stop suddenly. Each of these movements caused the passengers<br />
to be thrown about in the rear of the vehicle. One passenger hit his head on<br />
the vehicle's fittings and hull more than once and sustained fatal head<br />
injuries. Driver fatigue, due to successive days of 14 hours of driving<br />
without significant breaks, was identified as a major factor in the accident.<br />
Common fatigue-induced impairments in driving performance include<br />
reduced awareness, lowered response time and loss of fine motor control.<br />
Such deficiencies can combine to cause overcompensation in corrective<br />
steering.<br />
It is clear that fatigue can, and does, disrupt operational effectiveness and<br />
jeopardise safety in the military. Some recent research into fatigue has<br />
adopted a fatigue-related performance impairment index similar to the<br />
blood-alcohol concentration guidelines widely used in traffic regulations. For<br />
example, after 17 hours of sustained wakefulness, performance on cognitive<br />
and psychomotor tasks (such as hand-eye coordination) decreases to a level<br />
similar to performance with a 0.05 per cent blood alcohol content, while 24<br />
hours of wakefulness compares with a 0.10 per cent level. Equating the impact<br />
of fatigue with the effects of alcohol intoxication appears to be a useful<br />
technique for both predicting performance impairment and guiding<br />
commanders, policy-makers and workplace managers about the development<br />
of fatigue management programs.<br />
17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in<br />
performance equivalent to a blood alcohol content (BAC) of<br />
0.05 per cent. The decrease in performance after staying<br />
awake for 24 hours is equivalent to a BAC of 0.1 per cent. A<br />
person with a BAC of 0.05 per cent is twice as likely to have<br />
an accident as a person with zero BAC, while a person with<br />
a BAC of 0.1 per cent is seven times more likely to have an<br />
accident.<br />
Beyond the Midnight Oil: An Inquiry<br />
into Managing <strong>Fatigue</strong> in Transport, 2000<br />
22
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