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Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 June 2015) | Viewed by 49623

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Drew Dawson

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Guest Editor

Appleton Institute, CQUniversity Australia, 44 Greenhill Road, Wayville, South Australia 5034, Australia
Interests: applied psychology, health and well-being
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Paul Robers

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Guest Editor

Australian Road Research Board, 500 Burwood Hwy, Vermont South VIC 3133, Australia

Prof. Dr. Lynn Meuleners

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth Western Australia 6102, Australia
Interests: road safety and injury research

Mrs. Libby Brook

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Guest Editor

Organisational Psychology Program, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch Western Australia 6150, Australia
Interests: explored fatigue in different roster patterns; burnout; job satisfaction; work-life balance; fatigue; work motivation; organisational measurement

Prof. Sally Ferguson

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Guest Editor

Appleton Institute, Central Queensland University, 44 Greenhill Road, Wayville, Adelaide SA 5034, Australia
Interests: relationships between sleep, work and work patterns, particularly for those working shiftwork

Dr. Greg Roach

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Guest Editor

Appleton Institute, Central Queensland University, 44 Greenhill Road, Wayville, Adelaide SA 5034, Australia
Interests: sleep loss; circadian rhythms; shiftwork; biomathematical models of fatigue

Dr. Charli Sargent

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Guest Editor

Appleton Institute, Central Queensland University, 44 Greenhill Road, Wayville, Adelaide SA 5034, Australia
Interests: sleep/wake behaviour of elite athletes; health impacts of sleep restriction; chronic fatigue syndrome

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce the 9^th International Conference on Managing Fatigue. This biennial conference commenced life in Fremantle in 1992, where it lived before migrating to Seattle in 2005 and Boston in 2009 before returning to Fremantle, Western Australia, in 2011, and again in 2015. While the main emphasis of the meeting has always been on fatigue in transportation, and other industries, such as resources and health, have also been strongly represented. Cross-fertilization of research findings has been a particular strength of our meetings in the past, and will be again in 2015.

The Managing Fatigue conference series is now an established and respected forum for research updates and discussion in the fatigue management community. First convened in 1992 by Associate Professor Laurence Hartley, the meeting was most recently held in Fremantle in 2011. Each conference has primarily focused on the effects of fatigue in the transportation sector and this has involved working in conjunction with organisations such as the “National Road Transport Commission” (NRTC) and the “Australian Transport Safety Bureau” (ATSB). Over the years, the meeting’s focus has also evolved to encompass a wider arena, including sectors such as Aviation, Maritime, Industrial, Resources and Health. The themes of the 2015 conference are managing fatigue in the transportation, resources, and health industries.

Prof. Drew Dawson
Dr. Paul Robers
Prof. Dr. Lynn Meuleners
Mrs. Libby Brook
Prof. Sally Ferguson
Dr. Greg Roach
Dr. Charli Sargent
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 229 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

The Relationships between Human Fatigue and Public Health: A Brief Commentary on Selected Papers from the 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health

by Charli Sargent, Paul Roberts, Drew Dawson, Sally Ferguson, Lynn Meuleners, Libby Brook and Gregory D. Roach

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(9), 842; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13090842 - 24 Aug 2016

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4084

Abstract

The 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in March 2015. The purpose of the conferences in this series is to provide a forum for industry representatives, regulators, and scientists to discuss recent advances in the field of fatigue research. We have produced a Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health based on papers from the conference that were focused on various aspects of public health. First, the Special Issue highlights the fact that working long shifts and/or night shifts can affect not only cognitive functioning, but also physical health. In particular, three papers examined the potential relationships between shiftwork and different aspects of health, including the cardiovascular system, sleep disordered breathing, and eating behaviour. Second, the Special Issue highlights the move away from controlling fatigue through prescriptive hours of service rules and toward the application of risk management principles. In particular, three papers indicated that best-practice fatigue risk management systems should contain multiple redundant layers of defense against fatigue-related errors and accidents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

Research

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10 pages, 945 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tests of a New Drowsiness Characterization and Monitoring System Based on Ocular Parameters

by Clémentine François, Thomas Hoyoux, Thomas Langohr, Jérôme Wertz and Jacques G. Verly

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020174 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4820

Abstract

Drowsiness is the intermediate state between wakefulness and sleep. It is characterized by impairments of performance, which can be very dangerous in many activities and can lead to catastrophic accidents in transportation or in industry. There is thus an obvious need for systems that are able to continuously, objectively, and automatically estimate the level of drowsiness of a person busy at a task. We have developed such a system, which is based on the physiological state of a person, and, more specifically, on the values of ocular parameters extracted from images of the eye (photooculography), and which produces a numerical level of drowsiness. In order to test our system, we compared the level of drowsiness determined by our system to two references: (1) the level of drowsiness obtained by analyzing polysomnographic signals; and (2) the performance of individuals in the accomplishment of a task. We carried out an experiment in which 24 participants were asked to perform several Psychomotor Vigilance Tests in different sleep conditions. The results show that the output of our system is well correlated with both references. We determined also the best drowsiness level threshold in order to warn individuals before they reach dangerous situations. Our system thus has significant potential for reliably quantifying the level of drowsiness of individuals accomplishing a task and, ultimately, for preventing drowsiness-related accidents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

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11 pages, 860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Suspected Sleep Disordered Breathing Impact on the Sleep and Performance of Firefighting Volunteers during a Simulated Fire Ground Campaign?

by Sarah M. Jay, Bradley P. Smith, Samantha Windler, Jillian Dorrian and Sally A. Ferguson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020173 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4665

Abstract

Adequate sleep is fundamental to workplace performance. For volunteer firefighters who work in safety critical roles, poor performance at work can be life threatening. Extended shifts and sleeping conditions negatively impact sleep during multi-day fire suppression campaigns. Having sleep disordered breathing (SDB) could contribute further to sleep deficits. Our aim was to investigate whether those with suspected SDB slept and performed more poorly during a fire ground simulation involving sleep restriction. Participants, n = 20 participated in a 3-day-4-night fire ground simulation. Based on oximetry desaturation index data collected during their participation, participants were retrospectively allocated to either a SDB (n = 8) or a non-SDB group (n = 12). The simulation began with an 8 h Baseline sleep (BL) followed by two nights of restricted (4 h) sleep and an 8 h recovery sleep (R). All sleeps were recorded using a standard electroencephalography (EEG) montage as well as oxygen saturation. During the day, participants completed neurobehavioral (response time, lapses and subjective fatigue) tasks. Mixed effects ANOVA were used to compare differences in sleep and wake variables. Analyses revealed a main effect of group for Total sleep (TST), REM , wake after sleep onset (WASO) and Arousals/h with the SDB group obtaining less TST and REM and greater WASO and Arousals/h. The group × night interaction was significant for N3 with the SDB group obtaining 42 min less during BL. There was a significant main effect of day for RRT, lapses and subjective fatigue and a significant day × group interaction for RRT. Overall, the SDB group slept less, experienced more disturbed sleep and had poorer response time performance, which was exacerbated by the second night of sleep restriction. This could present a safety concern, particularly during longer campaigns and is worthy of further investigation. In addition, we would recommend promotion of awareness of SDB, its symptoms and potential impact among volunteers and relevant agencies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

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8 pages, 271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Blood Pressure, Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Shift Working Police Officers: Effects of a Twelve Hour Roster System on Cardiovascular and Sleep Health

by Jaymen L. Elliott and Sara Lal

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020172 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 10306

Abstract

Background: Police officers have been reported to exhibit a high incidence of pathologies, which present prematurely in an otherwise healthy population. Shift work has also been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and sleep disorders, attributable to its propensity for circadian rhythm dysfunction. However, contention exists as to whether shift work has a direct effect upon blood pressure (BP) regulation. Methods: This cross-sectional study sought to determine changes in BP and associations with the overall sleep quality and fatigue in 206 general duties police officers (n = 140 males) of the New South Wales Police Force in Australia. The subjects’ BP was assessed before and after their twelve hour shift, during which time they also completed the Lifestyle Appraisal Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Results: Poor sleep quality (PSQI) and fatigue severity (FSS) were found to predominate in the sample (69% and 51% respectively). Although there was no change in BP for male participants, female officers’ systolic blood pressure (SBP) was found to increase significantly across the shift (p < 0.001), but with no change found in females’ diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Finally, higher pre and post-shift SBP (r = −0.26, p = 0.001; r = −0.25, p = 0.001, respectively) and DBP (r = −0.26, p = 0.001; r = −0.26, p = 0.001, respectively) were significantly correlated with lower FSS scores after accounting for age, waist-hip ratio and lifestyle risk factors. Conclusions: Based on these preliminary findings, there was a significant increase in SBP of female police officers after shift work, while BP and fatigue levels in all police officers were strongly related. Moreover, the predominating poor sleep quality and impact of fatigue in this sample remain a concern. Further research is required to ensure the physiological welfare of police officers, while strategies must be implemented to manage the detrimental effects shift work may be having upon their cardiovascular and sleep health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

11 pages, 350 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fatigue in Emergency Services Operations: Assessment of the Optimal Objective and Subjective Measures Using a Simulated Wildfire Deployment

by Sally A. Ferguson, Bradley P. Smith, Matthew Browne and Matthew J. Rockloff

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020171 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 6215

Abstract

Under controlled laboratory conditions, neurobehavioral assays such as the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) are sensitive to increasing levels of fatigue, and in general, tend to correlate with subjective ratings. However, laboratory studies specifically curtail physical activity, potentially limiting the applicability of such findings to field settings that involve physical work. In addition, laboratory studies typically involve healthy young male participants that are not always representative of a typical working population. In order to determine whether these findings extend to field-like conditions, we put 88 Australian volunteer firefighters through a multi-day firefighting simulation. Participants were required to perform real-world physical and cognitive tasks under conditions of elevated temperature and moderate sleep restriction. We aimed to examine changes in fatigue in an effort to determine the optimum objective and subjective measures. Objective and subjective tests were sensitive to fatigue outside laboratory conditions. The PVT was the most sensitive assay of objective fatigue, with the Samn-Perelli fatigue scale the most sensitive of the subjective measures. The Samn-Perilli fatigue scale correlated best with PVT performance, but explained a small amount of variance. Although the Samn-Perelli scale can be easily administered in the field, the wide range of individual variance limits its efficacy as a once-off assessment tool. Rather, fatigue measures should be applied as a component of a broader fatigue risk management system. Findings provide firefighting agencies, and other occupations involving physical work, guidance as to the most sensitive and specific measures for assessing fatigue in their personnel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

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10 pages, 1418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Daily Rhythms of Hunger and Satiety in Healthy Men during One Week of Sleep Restriction and Circadian Misalignment

by Charli Sargent, Xuan Zhou, Raymond W. Matthews, David Darwent and Gregory D. Roach

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020170 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 7980

Abstract

The impact of sleep restriction on the endogenous circadian rhythms of hunger and satiety were examined in 28 healthy young men. Participants were scheduled to 2 × 24-h days of baseline followed by 8 × 28-h days of forced desynchrony during which sleep was either moderately restricted (equivalent to 6 h in bed/24 h; n = 14) or severely restricted (equivalent to 4 h in bed/24 h; n = 14). Self-reported hunger and satisfaction were assessed every 2.5 h during wake periods using visual analogue scales. Participants were served standardised meals and snacks at regular intervals and were not permitted to eat ad libitum. Core body temperature was continuously recorded with rectal thermistors to determine circadian phase. Both hunger and satiety exhibited a marked endogenous circadian rhythm. Hunger was highest, and satiety was lowest, in the biological evening (i.e., ~17:00–21:00 h) whereas hunger was lowest, and satiety was highest in the biological night (i.e., 01:00–05:00 h). The results are consistent with expectations based on previous reports and may explain in some part the decrease in appetite that is commonly reported by individuals who are required to work at night. Interestingly, the endogenous rhythms of hunger and satiety do not appear to be altered by severe—as compared to moderate—sleep restriction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

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Other

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9 pages, 1205 KiB

Open AccessConference Report

Fatigue Risk Management: A Maritime Framework

by Michelle Rita Grech

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(2), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020175 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 10777

Abstract

It is evident that despite efforts directed at mitigating the risk of fatigue through the adoption of hours of work and rest regulations and development of codes and guidelines, fatigue still remains a concern in shipping. Lack of fatigue management has been identified as a contributory factor in a number of recent accidents. This is further substantiated through research reports with shortfalls highlighted in current fatigue management approaches. These approaches mainly focus on prescriptive hours of work and rest and include an individualistic approach to managing fatigue. The expectation is that seafarers are responsible to manage and tolerate fatigue as part of their working life at sea. This attitude is an accepted part of a seafarer’s role. Poor compliance is one manifest of this problem with shipboard demands making it hard for seafarers to follow hours of work and rest regulations, forcing them into this “poor compliance” trap. This makes current fatigue management approaches ineffective. This paper proposes a risk based approach and way forward for the implementation of a fatigue risk management framework for shipping, aiming to support the hours of work and rest requirements. This forms part of the work currently underway to review and update the International Maritime Organization, Guidelines on Fatigue. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue)

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