Assess shift patterns for fatigue risk using recognised scoring tools and biomathematical models.
Occupational Health & Safety
Fatigue Risk Management Systems for Shift Work and Extended Hours
Trains operations and safety managers to design a fatigue risk management system that assesses shift patterns, sets working-hour limits and detects fatigue before it causes incidents.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Fatigue degrades judgement, reaction time and risk perception in ways that a fit-for-duty check at the start of a shift cannot detect, and extended hours or poorly designed shift patterns can leave workers operating at a level equivalent to being over a legal alcohol limit. This course trains operations managers, rostering staff and safety advisors to build a fatigue risk management system that assesses shift patterns against fatigue science, sets working-hour and rest limits, and creates channels for workers to report fatigue without fear of penalty. Through shift-pattern analysis exercises and case scenarios from transport, healthcare and industrial operations, participants learn to score shift patterns for fatigue risk, apply biomathematical modelling tools, design rostering rules that protect recovery sleep, and respond when a worker reports being too fatigued to work safely. The course also covers the governance and data needed to keep the system credible over time. Participants leave with a shift risk scoring tool, a fatigue reporting procedure and a fatigue risk management system outline for their own operation.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Set working-hour, rest break and consecutive shift limits that protect recovery sleep.
Design a fatigue reporting procedure that workers can use without fear of penalty.
Recognise behavioural and performance signs of fatigue in colleagues and direct reports.
Respond appropriately when a worker reports being too fatigued to continue working safely.
Redesign shift schedules and handover practices to reduce cumulative fatigue over a roster cycle.
Monitor fatigue-related incidents and near misses to evaluate the fatigue risk management system.
Who Should Attend
Operations and rostering managers designing shift patterns for continuous operations.
Health and safety advisors building or reviewing a fatigue risk management system.
Transport, healthcare and industrial supervisors managing extended or night shift work.
Occupational health practitioners assessing fitness for shift and extended-hours work.
HR professionals handling fatigue-related grievances and reasonable adjustment requests.
Team leaders responsible for recognising and acting on visible signs of fatigue.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Understanding Fatigue and Its Causes
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1How Fatigue Develops and Affects Performance
- Explain how circadian rhythm disruption and sleep debt combine to produce workplace fatigue.
- Describe how fatigue degrades reaction time, judgement and risk perception even without visible tiredness.
- Identify shift characteristics, including night work and rapid rotation, that raise fatigue risk most.
- Distinguish acute fatigue from cumulative fatigue that builds across a roster cycle.
Session 2Assessing Shift Patterns for Fatigue Risk
- Score shift patterns using a recognised fatigue risk index or biomathematical modelling tool.
- Assess the effect of shift length, start time and consecutive shifts on fatigue accumulation.
- Identify commuting and second-job factors that add to a worker's overall fatigue exposure.
- Compare current shift patterns against fatigue risk benchmarks used in similar operations.
02Setting Limits and Designing Safer Rosters
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Setting Working-Hour and Rest Limits
- Set maximum consecutive shift and weekly hour limits appropriate to the operation's risk profile.
- Define minimum rest periods between shifts sufficient to allow recovery sleep.
- Set limits on overtime and voluntary extra shifts that could push workers past safe hour limits.
- Build limits into rostering software so unsafe shift combinations are flagged before publication.
Session 2Designing Roster Patterns That Protect Recovery
- Design shift rotation direction and speed to align with circadian rhythm rather than against it.
- Schedule recovery days after runs of night shifts before returning to day shift patterns.
- Plan handover timing to avoid critical decisions occurring at the point of peak fatigue.
- Involve shift workers in roster design to capture practical fatigue and commuting constraints.
03Detecting and Responding to Fatigue
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Building a Fatigue Reporting Culture
- Design a fatigue reporting procedure that lets workers flag fatigue without fear of penalty.
- Train supervisors to respond supportively to a fatigue report rather than treating it as a performance issue.
- Provide alternative options, such as reassignment or rest breaks, when a worker reports fatigue.
- Track fatigue reports over time to identify shift patterns or roles generating repeated concerns.
Session 2Recognising Behavioural Signs and Responding in Real Time
- Train colleagues and supervisors to recognise behavioural signs of fatigue, including micro-sleeps and irritability.
- Establish a buddy system for high-risk tasks performed during known high-fatigue periods.
- Set criteria for standing a worker down from safety-critical tasks when fatigue signs are observed.
- Provide rest facilities and napping guidance for workers on extended or night shifts.
04Fatigue Risk Governance and System Assurance
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Investigating Fatigue-Related Incidents
- Include fatigue as a standard line of enquiry in incident and near-miss investigations.
- Analyse incident timing data to identify correlation with shift patterns and time since last rest.
- Feed investigation findings back into roster design and working-hour limits.
- Report fatigue-related incident trends to management as part of the safety performance dashboard.
Session 2Sustaining and Auditing the Fatigue Risk Management System
- Audit compliance with working-hour limits and rostering rules across the operation.
- Review the fatigue risk management system after operational changes such as new shift patterns.
- Benchmark the system against sector-specific fatigue management guidance and standards.
- Present fatigue risk management performance to senior leadership to sustain resourcing and support.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
Complete your registration
We will contact you within one business day to confirm.
Ready to start?
Reserve your seat and start building the skill.