Operator Fatigue Case Study

There have been many cases where workers have suffered fatal injuries from operating this type of equipment. Following are some of the ways that operators can work safely around such heavy-duty vehicles.

City management requires all departments to have a safety committee to investigate safety issues and accidents occurring in the workplace. During the last eighteen months, two of our engine companies were involved in collisions; one while responding to an incident and the other while operating at an incident on the interstate. Determining fault is tasked with law enforcement, we must determine if our personnel operated safely. Recommendations for safer department practices is within the scope of the committee. Changes that we have made recently include: having a blocking apparatus on all highway incidents to shield the working engine. A written recommendation was sent to the chief of the department requesting the city traffic light department work with the Texas Department of Transportation to install optic-coms at intersections that are regulated by that agency. Looking for trends in accidents and injuries to improve safety and reduce time loss and costs for the department. Back injuries are responsible many workers compensation claims for the Waco Fire Department. Some of the injuries involved responses regarding bariatric patients. Attempting to reverse the trend by recommending the department purchase titan tarps to move these patients in lieu of

According to Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), nurses stated fatigue as a contributing factor to errors related to procedures, treatments, tests, and medication administrations (Gardner, Dubeck, 2016). Many "near" errors, or “close-calls” were also attributed to mental fatigue and lack of recovery time between shifts (Maust Martin, 2015). It is reported that errors and "near" errors are related to factors, such as, lapses in attention, reduced motivation, compromised problem solving, and diminished reaction time. The Joint Commission believes that fatigue is a factor that greatly contributes to the increased number of sentinel events among patients (Gardner, Dubeck, 2016).

People should be punished for not taking action in a life and death situation. In the article the author, Jay Sterling Silver, believes that civil liability should be established for everyone everywhere. I somewhat agree with his point because it’s the right thing to do but that’s not always the case. During a life and death situation people tend to panic and when they do they start to lose control because they are torn between taking action or calling 911 but it might be too late for that. People will act without precaution in an emergency or some will not act at all because they’re scared they might make the situation worse than what it is.

The methods and protocols of all the articles are efficient, reliable, and accurate. They provide accurate data on the prevalence of WMSDs in the automotive manufacturing industry. Automotive manufacturing companies in two different countries (also different continents) are observed in order to get the most accurate results. The research shows the prevalence of WMSDs, but do not clearly examine the consequences in terms of worker productivity (Nur et al., 2014). Only a indefinite link has been established between WMSDs and worker productivity. Another aspect that could have been further examined is the current health state of the worker. Previous health issues could increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, which may not be due to the nature of the work. Lastly, there are numerous different types of disorders caused by work. Further research should be done in order to classify

No pilot is immune to fatigue. All pilots need the required rest to maintain their alertness and performance to function at their highest level. Part 121 flights and rest time are controlled the most because pilots are scheduled by taking into account rest schedules and previous duty schedules. Part 135 rest times are the same as Part 121, but allow more flight time per calendar year, month, and seven consecutive days. Part 91 in general are less stringent because pilots are normally weekend flyers and do not fly as many days as Part 121 and Part 135 pilots. All pilots, no matter which Part the fly under, should maintain regular sleep habits, avoid caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, and avoid going to bed hungry. Pilots should keep fit, eat regular meals, control emotional and psychological aspects of their life, and prepare for

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s released its Commercial Motor Vehicle Facts report in March 2013; that in 2012, there were 5,700,000 Commercial drivers operating in the United States and a total of 504,093 interstate freight carriers operating. There was also a total of 15,465 intrastate hazardous material carriers on the highway. In 2012 alone, there were 75,542 carriers permitted to drive on the highway and roughly an equal amount in 2011, with 75,519. The importance of all of these statistics is that with the ever-growing number of commercial vehicles on the road, the amount of accidents increase as well. In 2011, 3,757 traffic crash victims were killed in a crash with a large truck and nearly 88,000 were injured. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled is .136 for large trucks and busses and the injury rate is 3.8. The estimated costs of commercial motor vehicle crashes totaled $87 billion; with $39 billion from fatal crashes, $32 billion from injury crashes and $16 billion from property damage only crashes. Not all of these accidents and fatalities are commercial carriers fault, because there are other drivers on the road that are distracted or under the influence for instance, but there can be extra precautions taken to decrease the amount of crashes and damage. Decreasing the wait time, also known as detention time, at shipping and receiving facilities, allows the drivers to be driving

Many employees have stated that their workplace environments are harmful and unsafe. Employee fatigue, long working hours and the hiring of inexperienced labor have not only led to hundreds of injuries over the last decade but also hundreds of deaths. The Texas City, Texas plant is just one of many in which such “life or death” occurrences have impacted the safety of employees. In 2005 an explosion that killed 15 people has been said to have occurred due to employee fatigue after being forced to work long hours that ultimately contributed to employees making bad decisions.

There are barriers to CRF occurring at the patient, professional and system levels. The patients barrier is due to the patient believing that their fatigue is not important, that it is inevitable or untreatable. Patients usually do not consider fatigue as a valid problem to complain about to their providers. Even when patients communicate an overwhelming or severe fatigue, they are not sure about the process that care health care providers will use to diagnosis their fatigue (Borneman, 2007). Barriers at the professional levels, include a lack of knowledge about the complex nature of fatigue. Also there is lack in literature agreement about the definition of fatigue, it’s causes, effects and remedies used for fatigue management. Usually health care providers focus on managing pain and nausea because they interfere with quality of life but fatigue is not considered one of these symptoms that needs to be addressed.

In modern aviation, pilot fatigue has become a vital problem that needs urgent intervention. The full effect of fatigue is frequently unforeseen however, many of its harmful effects have been known for a long time. When comparing with individuals who usually have enough rest, individuals who suffer from fatigue act slowly, have difficulties in memory, and are involved in many mistakes. In addition, the negative impact can or may lead to aviation accidents and errors (Caldwell, Mallis, Caldwell, Paul, Miller, & Neri, 2009).

I never thought I'd be the type of person to go to university as I never found a course that made me excited to learn until now. When I finished year 12 I had no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life and certainly never dreamed of being 24 and looking at the VTAC guide. But now I'm at the point of my life where my everyday interests are what I would like to make a career out of, and unfortunately I cannot pursue them without a bachelor degree.

Fatigue can be a symptom of many disease condition such as thyroid problems, a brain tumor, vitamin deficiency, anemia, hypothyroidism, pregnancy and depression. It is important to ask questions that should rule out all these differential diagnoses. As the interview progresses some of the diagnosis can be ruled out. The initial questions that the patient was asked include

Perceived fatigue at work is often viewed as important, because it may interfere with the high efficiency demanded in many occupational settings. Examples of effects of fatigue are poor judgement, omission of details, and generally, inadequate performance. Fatigue that becomes chronic or excessive may interfere with a person's quality of life, and without recovery prolonged fatigue may also lead to work-related disorders. Managing human fatigue and reducing excessive fatigue are of significance in areas such as healthcare industry, where fatigue has been shown to be an influential factor in a variety of medical errors result in substantial unnecessary personal and economic costs (Tourangeau et al. 2006). DeLuca emphasize the complex nature of

The fatigue associated with working the night shift was brought into the spotlight after an aircraft incident that occurred on June 10, 1990. British Airways flight 5390 had just departed from Birmingham International Airport when the aircraft experienced a rapid pressure loss due to the pilot’s windshield blowing out of the aircraft. This resulted in the pilot being sucked halfway out of the aircraft and another flight crew member grabbing the pilots belt and holding him from being sucked completely out while the copilot to take control of the aircraft and land it safely at a nearby airport. The official findings of the accident investigation linked the windshield blowout to the wrong size bolts being installed. The bolts were installed early in the morning hours and the fatigued shift maintenance manager who installed them didn’t recognize that they were the wrong bolts. He thought that the countersinking on the window was unusually large (Baron, 2009). This is just one example of mistakes made on night shift due to fatigue. Fatigue is a dangerous human factor that is present in the aircraft maintenance community.

In this section I will discuss about the causes of stress in a pilots life and this are as follows: unusual tasks and challenges faced by pilots, passing the medical examinations, problems with family, illness, time schedules, temperature and humidity etc. Stress, a state of highly unpleasant emotional arousal associated variously with overload, fear, anxiety anger and hostility – can threaten both individual performance and teamwork. It can undermine the