The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) published new operational safety information. “Guidelines for Developing Fatigue Risk Management (FRM) Systems.” The guidelines were designed to help IAI member companies and other industry stakeholders develop a systematic approach to managing employee fatigue in the workplace.
“There is overwhelming evidence that fatigue, a consequence of lack of sleep, negatively impacts the health and safety of workers,” said Chris Bayliss, IAI deputy secretary general. “It is therefore important that fatigue is identified as a health and safety risk and management systems are put in place to control that risk. This is particularly relevant as the industry adapts its working practices to manage COVID and other disease transmission risks.”
Fatigue can be caused by lack of sleep and is a feeling of constant tiredness or weakness and can be physical, mental or a combination of both. It can affect anyone, and most adults will experience fatigue at some point in their life. Therefore, the IAI considers these guidelines to be of the utmost importance in protecting the safety and wellbeing of the industry’s workforce and safety in the workplace.
The guidelines provide several key recommendations, including:
- Aluminum companies should include “fatigue” as a specifically listed contributing factor in incident reporting and also in accident investigation systems.
- As appropriate, companies should integrate the fatigue risk management approach within existing health & safety, wellness, and human resources initiatives.
- Companies should deploy comprehensive training that focuses on the science of sleep, fatigue physiology, sleep disorders, alertness, etc.
- Companies may also make use of technologies (such as app-based personal monitoring, vehicle operator-centered systems, pre-shift testing etc.) to assist in the measurement and management of fatigue.
“It is essential that organizations begin to look at how fatigue can be considered within existing or emerging health and safety risk management systems and that such systems get buy in from workers as well as management,” added Bayliss. “Fatigue risk management is a shared responsibility of both the employer and the employee and must be implemented across organizations. If all stakeholders work together, they can build a culture of fatigue awareness which will benefit all.”