Examples of approachable fatigue management practices in transport companies in the Netherlands

In transport the need for an effective fatigue management system has grown to give answer tothe growing economic pressure and flexible working circumstances in the sector. Fatigue orsleepiness due to stress, health problems or harsh working schedules has lead to traffic accidents in the past. Recent research has shown that approximately 10 - 25 % of all accidentsin transport companies have been related tot fatigue. Also fatigue can affect the health and wellbeing of drivers. Fatigue management systems can be seen as a set of measures, incorporated in the processes of the company, to prevent the existence of fatigue. A goodfatigue management system identifies what exactly the fatigue risks in a company are, andwhat can the organization do to manage the risk of fatigue. This is preferably done by way ofintegrating fatigue management into the company's safety management systems and generalpolicies and procedures. Actually, an important aspect of preventing fatigue is that fatigueshould be seen as just one of the risks (financial, safety, business continuity) in an organization.In this research we have carried out 6 approachable fatigue management practices in roadtransport companies in the Netherlands. These practices were build upon the theoreticalviewpoints of what a good fatigue management system should look like, for example: the need to look at the chain of events further away, a shared responsibility of management, schedulers and drivers together, assessment of early warning signals and integration within the organization's policy (safety mgt). But also, the practices had to be workable and useful in a variety of companies. The practices as well as some basic themes have been described and are compiled in a toolkit. This toolkit will be made available to all transport companies in the Netherlands via the internet.

• Authors:
  • STARREN, A
  • Besten, H
  • Kampen, J van
  • Dijkman, A
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: s 1044-1055
• Serial:
  • Road safety on four continents: 15th international conference, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 28-30 March 2010. Paper

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Conferences; Drivers; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Health; Knowledge; Management; Policy; Prevention; Scheduling; Working conditions
• Uncontrolled Terms: Models
• ITRD Terms: 8531: Case study; 1236: Lorry; 2234: Stress
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Policy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01207984
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
• Files: ITRD, VTI
• Created Date: Oct 19 2010 2:40PM