29 July 2019
Fatigue Management
Working in the construction industry is taxing - physically and mentally. It involves heavy lifting, a lot of manual labour, long days, sometimes night shifts. A personal fatigue management plan is a must if you're going to be productive every day on site.
Construction work involves high-risk activities. To work safely, construction workers must be physically and mentally alert. On-site, it’s up to you and your teams to manage fatigue.
Fatigue is the condition of being physically and/or mentally tired or worse, exhausted. Extreme fatigue can lead to an uncontrolled and involuntary shutdown of the brain.
How can we manage fatigue?
- Lack of sleep can be a contributor to fatigue. On average people generally need between 7.5 and 9 hours of sleep a night.
- The best sleep is deep, undisturbed and taken in a single continuous period.
- Keep a regular schedule by going to sleep and waking up at similar times each day.
- Avoid using electronic devices like phones or computers before sleeping.
- Eliminate noise where possible.
- Avoid eating large meals directly before sleep.
- Exercise regularly.
- Eating & drinking the right stuff.
- Take all scheduled work breaks. A snack or exercise during the break will refresh you.
- Work carefully and very methodically, always following proper procedures.
- Do you drink water regularly throughout the day? Health authorities also recommend drinking at least two litres of water a day.
Things to look for in your co-workers to help identify fatigue:
- Their job performance slows.
- They have trouble solving problems.
- They have trouble focusing
- They can’t stop yawning.
- They have a near-miss accident.
Remember team! Safety is a habit!
Any suggestions or improvements in regard to Health & Safety on site can be emailed to our Health & Safety Officer or have a conversation with him on-site when you see him.
