In past ISHN web exclusives we have spent a significant amount of time discussing the Fatigue Reduction Management System (FRMS) – how to define it, how to assess fatigue in your workplace, and how to develop a FRMS framework -- so some of you may be feeling like we haven’t actually DONE anything yet.

Once the basic framework of an FRMS is defined and critical focus areas are determined, we can begin to develop the specific countermeasures. These countermeasures fall into a handful of layers of protection.

If we have properly engaged leadership and stakeholders, and gone through a rigorous assessment, we should have a fairly clear picture of the size and shape of our fatigue problem. This makes defining our set of solutions a bit simpler.

The goal of the assess phase of a fatigue management process is to provide visibility to fatigue, which is often an unseen threat or at best one that people are aware of but has not been quantified or investigated.

Ensuring a systematic approach based on objective data and information is one of the most crucial elements in the ASSESS stage of the development and implementation of a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). Without this objective assessment, there is also not a clear way to measure the impact of the countermeasures that are put in place.

As a young child, I would occasionally ask my parents why I had to do something (OK, maybe more than just occasionally). I remember at a very early age the reason they gave me was, “Because I’m the parent and I say so.” It didn’t matter that they didn’t seem to be brushing their teeth when I did or making their bed when I was told to; even though I knew that they did those things too.