American Public Transportation
Association
Rail Safety Committee
Human Factors Subcommittee
September 2002
Analysis of APTA Fatigue Survey
Introduction
In the past decade our understanding of the human physiology
of sleep, fatigue and alertness has expanded greatly. Similarly, transit
agencies have become aware of fatigue as an issue that must be addressed
by the industry. Both APTA and FTA have encouraged Transit agencies to
learn more about fatigue through conferences dedicated to the subject
and sessions at APTA conferences. To support these efforts, the Human
Factors Subcommittee of APTA’s Rail Safety Committee identified fatigue
as its first issue to work on and sponsored a survey to identify the current
state of the industry. Addressing this issue at this time also provides
a complementary product to the toolbox developed for use in the transportation
industry by the Transit Cooperative Research Program.
Upon completion of the survey, agency identifiers were
removed from the data and the results were tabulated and coded by Circadian
Technologies, Inc. The Human Factors Subcommittee, with assistance from
the staff at New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), then
developed the analysis that follows. It is hoped that by sharing this
information agencies will be encouraged to take appropriate next steps
within their own environment.
This top-line report provides information as provided
in the surveys. For purposes of this analysis, agencies are considered
in aggregate as well as by the mode represented and the size of the agency
based on the number of employees. Agencies that submitted two or more
questionnaires, one for each of two or more modes, are considered as two
or more agencies throughout the analysis.
One hundred fifty-five (155) surveys are included in this analysis. The
breakdown by mode follows:
|
Bus
|
99
|
|
Commuter Rail
|
17
|
|
Rapid Transit
|
10
|
|
Light Rail
|
9
|
|
Bus / Light Rail
|
6
|
|
Maintenance
|
9
|
|
Other
|
5
|
The "Maintenance" groups are subsets of different agencies
and are included as a separate category to the extent that responses were
different from the responses for the agency’s other modes. The "other"
category is primarily demand response/paratransit.
The number of responses represents a significant portion
of some modes, and a small sample of others. The APTA website indicates
the number of properties by mode.
% Included
|
Mode
|
# of Agencies in Survey
|
|
Bus
|
2262
|
4%
|
|
Commuter Rail
|
20
|
90%
|
|
Rapid Transit
|
14
|
71%
|
|
Light Rail
|
24
|
58%*
|
* Includes Light Rail and Bus/Light Rail
The responding agencies vary in size from 12 to nearly
25,000 employees. In addition, 9 surveys did not include this information.
For purposes of the size analysis, the surveys were subdivided into five
groups based on the total number of employees.
|
5,000+
|
14
|
|
1,000-4,999
|
31
|
|
500-999
|
21
|
|
100-499
|
57
|
|
Fewer than 100
|
23
|
|
Unknown
|
9
|
This analysis is generally descriptive in nature. The
reader must be aware that the sample size is relatively small. There were
many agencies that returned surveys that did not respond to particular
questions and for most questions, there were very few respondents for
some transportation modes.
In the discussion of responses to survey questions, the
percent calculations were based on the number of responses to the question.
If an agency indicated that a question was not applicable, or indicated
a negative response to a question, that agency was included in the universe
of agencies responding. If a question was left blank, that agency was
not included in the universe of agencies responding to that question.
Therefore, the reader must be careful not to make broad generalizations.
However, the information here does suggest some topics for further consideration
and study by the transportation industry.
APTA wishes to thank Andy Lehrer, Vice President, and
the staff of Circadian Technologies, Inc. of Lexington, Mass., as well
as the staff of the New York MTA for their invaluable assistance on this
project.
Executive Summary
Human fatigue and alertness are impacted by many interrelated
factors: quantity and quality of sleep, time of day and environment to
name a few. Furthermore, these factors are impacted by lifestyle, health
and work conditions. For example, inadequate sleep, night shift work,
early morning reporting times, sleep disorders or over-the-counter antihistamines
could all reduce alertness. Since many factors are involved in maintaining
alertness, employers and employees must work together. The survey covered
areas where employers could take opportunities to promote alertness in
the workplace.
The survey asked questions in the following seven areas:
Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures can define an organization’s
strategies with regard to alertness and enable it to manage fatigue-related
issues. Only one-third of agencies have internal protocols or regulations
concerning fatigue. For agencies that are just beginning to address the
issue of fatigue, developing appropriate policies and procedures is a
good first step. The survey questions on policies and procedures found:
-
There is very little concrete information relating
fatigue and accidents; asking questions during accident investigations
could improve the information available to the industry. When investigating
on-the road accidents, the majority (65%) of responding agencies ask
about hours on duty on the day of the accident, but fewer (30%) ask
about hours on duty for the prior week. Questions about hours slept
are even less commonly asked, only 19%. When investigating non-road
accidents, even fewer agencies ask these questions.
-
Napping is proven to be a very effective countermeasure
to fatigue when done appropriately. Only 4% of agencies reported that
they have policies to permit napping and more than half who responded
report that they have policies prohibiting napping. Despite these
findings, 70% reported that employees at their agencies are permitted
to nap. However, napping as a countermeasure is one of the topics
least often included in fatigue-related training provided to employees.
-
Holding a second job may also impact an employee’s
ability to get adequate rest. Most agencies allow employees to have
secondary employment. About 81% permit full-time employees to hold
second jobs, and another 9% "sometimes" permit it. 91% of agencies
permit part-time employees to have second jobs.
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Education and Training
Employees and management who are educated as to the role
of fatigue both in work-place safety and in their personal lives are better
able to manage for alertness. Management can support employees’ efforts
to get adequate rest and employees can maintain good sleep habits to ensure
they are not fatigued when they report for work. Education and training
programs can help both management and employees recognize their responsibilities
in maintaining an alert workforce.
-
About half of agencies indicated training or education
is provided regarding alertness, fatigue and sleep. Hourly employees
are most likely to receive this training.
-
Information on lifestyle, coping with family, and
material specific to an employee’s schedule are more likely to be
included in education programs than information on tools such as napping
or caffeine to promote alertness.
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Medical
One aspect of addressing fatigue-related issues is attention
to medical issues such as sleep disorders and medications. Virtually all
transportation agencies have some medical staff or outside medical resources
available to assist with management of issues of fatigue. Information
and screening on sleep disorders may be a way to address this possible
risk. Both prescription and non-prescription medications may impact alertness;
medical personnel can ensure individuals have necessary information and
agencies have policies concerning medications. The survey questions on
the use of medical resources found:
More than 80% of agencies that responded to the question
report that their employee medical insurance covers sleep disorders. Nearly
the same portion of agencies responding report that employee assistance
programs address fatigue. Still, most agencies don’t screen for fatigue-related
conditions or disorders in pre-placement or periodical physical exams.
Employee education regarding sleep disorders is also limited.
-
Most agencies do not have policies that specify appropriate
action in the event that an employee reports suffering from a sleep
disorder.
-
While more than 80% of agencies reported having policies
regarding the use of prescription drugs that may cause fatigue, fewer
than 60% have similar policies governing use of over-the-counter medications.
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Scheduling
Employee schedules play an important role in any consideration
of fatigue and alertness. The number of hours worked, when they are worked
and how frequently or greatly those hours vary all interact with the individual’s
personal life to influence the amount of rest and the quality of rest
the person gets in a day or a week. Schedules that consider or incorporate
information about human physiology will improve the alertness of employees
working those schedules. The survey questions on scheduling found:
-
Most titles are subject to restrictions with regard
to the maximum number of hours worked – generally 12 or 16 hours per
day.
-
Most are also required to have a minimum of 8 hours
off between shifts.
-
More than 80% are entitled to a certain number of
days off each week. Those employees entitled to days off each week
are generally entitled to two days off, and about half of them are
entitled to have consecutive days off, but fewer than 30% are required
to take their scheduled relief days off.
-
Maximum continuous days worked is generally between
5 and 8 days for titles that provided clear responses to this question.
Employees in operator titles were likely to be more limited with regard
to the maximum number of continuous days worked.
-
Most titles don’t work split shifts, but when they
do the break is generally 2 to 4 hours. Split-shifts reported in responses
to the survey are generally 10 to 12 hours.
-
Non-split-shifts were generally 8 to 10 hours (83% of responses).
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General Work Environment
Many aspects of the work environment such as light, noise
or vibration may influence alertness. Environmental factors may be adjusted
to enhance alertness and provide warnings of possible fatigue. Activities,
such as chatting or snacking may reduce boredom and provide stimulation
that facilitates alertness.
-
Only 15% of responses reported using indicators or
alarms to indicate slow response times by operators.
-
Fewer than 45% of agencies report that they have
addressed seating as a means to increase alertness. One-third or less
have addressed any of several other environmental factors the survey
asked about, including vibrations, temperature, lighting, and noise.
-
More than 2/3 of agencies report employees are permitted
to have food and beverages or chat with others while working.
General Work Environment
Emergency Response Requirements
Most transportation organizations face occasional emergency
situations that require special effort to deal with extraordinary circumstances.
Response to these extraordinary circumstances require comprehensive management
plans; it is important that these plans recognize that the needs of individual
workers to get appropriate rest do not go away because there is an emergency.
There may be times when it is appropriate to require longer hours and
fewer or shorter breaks, but agencies should consider managing fatigue
in addition to managing the emergency.
-
Many agencies have staff that is continuously on-call during emergencies.
-
Fewer than half of responses indicate employees are
guaranteed relief after a certain period (which may be up to 20 hours)
in their emergency plans. Only 35% of emergency plans provide for
work breaks.
-
Most agencies use the same emergency response plan
for long and short-term emergencies.
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Rest Facilities
Napping has been shown to be an effective countermeasure
to fatigue.
Appropriate facilities make it easier for employees to make use of this
effective countermeasure.
-
Most non-commuter rail agencies do not provide separate
napping facilities. Of non-commuter rail agencies, only 44 (37% of
respondents) reported they provide rest facilities, and only half
of these report that the rest facilities are separate from other activities.
- All but one of the 24 agencies that report frequent use of rest facilities
provide beds, cots, couches, lounge chairs or recliners for employee
use.
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Appendix
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