ABSTRACT
Workplace fatigue increases the likelihood of errors and incidents and constitutes a threat to safety and productivity, which puts a premium on managing fatigue risk across a wide range of industries and operations. One common approach to curbing fatigue risk is to mandate working time restrictions, typically involving maximum work hours and minimum rest time, but this approach can be suboptimal due to incongruence between working time limitations and risk management outcomes. An alternative or complementary strategy involves managing fatigue risk directly by measuring or predicting fatigue and the attendant risks and comparing these to one or more fatigue risk thresholds. Fatigue measurements and fatigue risk thresholds based on accidents, safety-critical events, subjective and objective fatigue assessments, real-time fatigue monitoring, and biomathematical model predictions each have specific applications and different strengths and weaknesses. While the appropriate level for a fatigue risk threshold is context-dependent, comparison with pre-established standards, historical records, or previously collected evidence of acceptable risk levels under similar circumstances can provide a basis for setting a threshold level. This chapter provides guidance for establishing and applying fatigue risk thresholds.
