In this 3 part blog series, we take a closer look at the issue of workplace fatigue. Read part one of the fatigue series.

Many people already intuitively know that they are not operating at their best when they haven’t had a good night’s sleep. However research indicates something that not everyone may realise; being awake for just 17 hours is the equivalent of having a blood alcohol level of 0.05, the legal limit for blood alcohol levels to drive a car in Australia. Being awake for just 3 additional hours after that is enough to push you to twice the legal blood alcohol limit.

Safe Work Australia has set out some key recommendations for rostering to avoid fatigue. These include using a forward rotation system, designing rosters with enough rest time, avoiding morning starts before 6am, offering choices to suit employees, and ensuring rosters have the right skilled workers on hand. With regards to shift work, Safe Work Australia recommends setting rosters well in advance and avoiding last minute changes so workers can prepare better, controlling overtime (with caps at 12 hours), allocating shift workers consecutive days off, and minimising instances of consecutive night shifts. It is also important to give staff helpful information and tips for them to prevent and manage fatigue too.

Mitrefinch Time and Attendance solutions enable businesses to better measure, analyse and manage employees’ working time, and deploy human resources more effectively and efficiently. The system enables you to monitor employee data, and carefully plan rosters and work schedules, while automating alerts and warnings. In the event of an accident, you can rest assured knowing that a complete, auditable trail of compliance can be quickly produced.