Fatigue Management in the Workplace: Causes, Risks and Practical Controls

Fatigue is a workplace hazard like any other. Long hours, night shifts, heavy workloads and poor rest breaks all add up, and a tired worker behind the wheel, on a forklift or at a machine is a real risk. Australia now has a model Code of Practice on managing the risk of fatigue at work. This guide covers what causes fatigue, the warning signs, practical controls, and how to build fatigue into your everyday safety checks.

What Australian WHS law expects

Under the model Work Health and Safety laws, a business must manage risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable, and fatigue is one of those risks. Safe Work Australia has published a model Code of Practice on managing the risk of fatigue at work, which states and territories are adopting, with New South Wales among the first. It sets out how to identify fatigue hazards, assess the risks and put controls in place.

Some industries also have their own fatigue rules, including heavy vehicles, rail, aviation, maritime, mining and offshore oil and gas. For heavy vehicle drivers, see our guide to Chain of Responsibility compliance.

What causes fatigue at work

Work factors

• Scheduling: long or irregular hours, night shifts, early starts and short breaks between shifts
• Job demands: physically, mentally or emotionally demanding work, or long stretches of monotonous work
• Breaks: too few or too short breaks during and between shifts
• Environment: heat, cold, noise, poor lighting or poor air quality
• Travel and accommodation: long commutes, remote work and poor-quality accommodation

Factors outside work

• Not enough sleep, or poor-quality sleep
• Second jobs and caring responsibilities
• Long travel to and from work
• Health and wellbeing factors

Businesses can’t control everything outside work, but they can take it into account, for example by asking workers to let them know about second jobs.

Signs of fatigue

• Yawning, heavy eyelids or nodding off
• Slow reactions and reduced alertness
• Trouble concentrating or following conversations
• Poor decisions, forgetfulness and more mistakes
• Irritability or withdrawal from the team
• Frequently arriving late or needing extra time to get going

If someone shows these signs before or during safety-critical work, such as driving or operating plant, they shouldn’t continue until the risk has been dealt with.

How to manage fatigue risks

1. Identify the hazards. Review rosters, overtime, shift patterns, job demands and incident reports, and talk to workers about when and why they feel fatigued.
2. Assess the risks. Consider how likely fatigue is and how serious the consequences could be, especially for safety-critical tasks such as driving and operating plant.
3. Control the risks. Start with how work is designed and scheduled, then add supporting measures such as breaks, task rotation and policies.
4. Consult workers. Involve workers and health and safety representatives in designing rosters and fatigue controls.
5. Monitor and review. Track hours, overtime, incidents and fatigue reports, and review controls when things change or when they aren’t working.

Practical controls

Rostering and scheduling

• Limit long shifts and excessive overtime.
• Allow enough time between shifts for travel, meals and a proper sleep.
• Limit the number of consecutive night shifts, and plan recovery time after a block of nights.
• Avoid very early starts and late finishes where possible.
• Give workers notice of rosters so they can plan their rest.

Breaks and workload

• Provide regular breaks, and more frequent breaks for demanding or monotonous work.
• Set realistic deadlines and staffing levels.
• Rotate tasks to vary physical and mental demands.
• Schedule safety-critical work away from the lowest points of alertness, such as the early hours of the morning.

Environment and support

• Control temperature, noise and lighting.
• Provide rest areas and access to food and water.
• Have a fatigue or fitness-for-work policy, developed with workers.
• Train workers and supervisors to recognise and report fatigue.

What to include in a fatigue management plan

A fatigue management plan, or policy, sets out how your business identifies and controls fatigue. It works best when it’s developed with the workers it affects. Most plans cover:

Fatigue rules for heavy vehicle drivers

Drivers of fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles, generally trucks over 12 tonnes gross vehicle mass and buses built to carry more than 12 adults including the driver, must follow the work and rest rules in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) in participating states and territories. Western Australia and the Northern Territory have their own arrangements.

Drivers generally need a work diary when working more than 100 km from their base. Fatigue is also a chain of responsibility duty, so schedulers, loaders and consignors must not cause drivers to breach the rules. The HVNL is being reformed, including changes to fatigue and work diary requirements, so check the NHVR website for the current rules and commencement dates. See our guide to chain of responsibility evidence, our truck pre-start checklist app and our truck driver safety checklist.

What workers can do

Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and follow reasonable instructions and policies. For fatigue, that means using rest time to sleep, reporting when they are too tired to work safely, and letting their employer know about things like second jobs that could affect how rested they are.

Building fatigue into your checks

Fatigue is easy to overlook because it doesn’t show up on a machine. A few simple steps help:

• Add a fitness-for-work question to pre-start checks for drivers and plant operators, such as “Are you fit and rested for this shift?”
• Make it easy to report fatigue without blame, and make sure a report leads to action.
• Include fatigue in incident investigations, not just equipment and procedures.
• Review rosters and overtime as part of your regular safety reviews.

With DIGI CLIP, you can add fitness-for-work questions to any pre-start or daily check. Each form is location- and time-stamped, and a “No” answer can create an action in the Action Log, so a supervisor follows up before the shift starts. See our truck pre-start checklist app and 5 Whys guide for investigating incidents.

Illustrative scenario: a driver after a short break

A delivery driver starts his pre-start check after only nine hours off, following a late finish. He answers “No” to “Are you fit and rested for this shift?”, which creates an action for his supervisor. The supervisor moves him to a shorter local run later in the morning and flags the roster so late finishes aren’t followed by early starts. The action is closed out with a note of the change.

This scenario is illustrative. It shows how a business could use DIGI CLIP and is not an account of a specific customer.

For other workplace hazards, see our guide to workplace safety hazards and workplace risk assessments.