Increased risks of accidents in the workplace or while travelling

Poor quality of sleep have been shown to correlate significantly with motor vehicle accidents and fatalities.

Identify the risks

Businesses should identify their key fatigue risks. This could include the aforementioned shift work, sales personnel driving long distances or on-call engineers available throughout the night. As with all safety management, focus should be placed on the most significant risks, with resource appropriately delegated. Determining who is most at risk is not simply a matter of counting the hours, but should also include an assessment of:

*the type of work being performed and whether it is physically or mentally demanding:

*whether an individual has a long commute that significantly extends their working day;

*the choice each individual feels they have over the work they are being asked to do; and

*any home events (such as young children) which may adversely affect the amount of sleep individuals are obtaining each night.

Where relevant, fatigue risks should be captured in risk assessments, along with the appropriate control measures.