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Causes of fatigue

Fatigue was highlighted as a major issue at a Symposium on Human Factors and Aviation Safety which I attended recently. The transport sector has a variety of areas where fatigue is a concern, including aviation, trains and road transport. There are specific regulations in some of these industries to address concerns about fatigue incidents. The security industry has many regulations, but in an industry where the type of work and other conditions lend themselves to fatigue, there is little on the handling of fatigue.

Fatigue has direct consequences for alertness, involvement and motivation in the job, and the capacity to pick and respond to warning signs either within a CCTV environment or with alarms or access violations. While many common security violations may be minor, there are situations in which life threatening conditions or those that involve substantial loss can be incurred.

We expect security, and in particular, surveillance personnel to be constantly alert. In many cases they have this capacity and in a previous article I mentioned that we found high level personnel able to concentrate in intensive viewing tasks for 90 minutes without a break. However, the industry often fails to recognise fatigue issues besides having rules that forbid people from sleeping on the job.

In a previous article on sleep and control rooms (http://www.securitysa.com/news.aspx?pklnewsid=38749), I noted that many CCTV control rooms create the kinds of clean, cool, dark and comfortable atmosphere needed to create an ideal sleep environment. There are, however, a number of other factors both within the work environment and outside that need to be considered from a fatigue point of view.

Fatigue factors

Poor control room design, broken furniture, ineffective ventilation systems and poor supervisory oversight are all potential issues that increase the potential for fatigue. I’ve seen chairs that have lost all support and have become involuntary recliners still being used

in control rooms, and places where the air-conditioning has been switched off because being in the path of cold air is likely to result in ongoing health conditions.

The issue of shifts relates to two main concerns. Longer shifts make it more difficult for people to maintain concentration. Further, the shift system itself means rotation through different periods, disrupting the circadian rhythms and affecting times of alertness, sleep cycles, and quality of sleep. Despite this, people do remarkably well in a whole range of industries including security, in handling and adjusting to these demands. However, there are areas of fatigue outside of work that can also impact on how well people can handle the demands thrown at them.

One of the main challenges of working in the industry is the length of travel time to work and back. For some sites, travel times of 90 minutes to two hours each way is common. With a 12 hour shift, this can potentially mean that a person is on the road or at work for 16 hours a day. Some companies have reorganised their shifts to allow travel out of peak hours, while others provide transport to facilitate the commute and reduce reliance on public transport. However, shifts and travel in combination can be a major restriction of available personal and sleep time. The general recommendation is for seven to eight hours of sleep per day.

Many staff have family with the attendant responsibilities. Looking after children, cooking, cleaning, maintenance of accommodation, homework, all take up time within the day. Socialising with family and friends also takes time, with enthusiasm for sporting events also leading to late nights or avoiding sleep during rest periods. In poorer communities, noise and outside activities can also detract from the sleep quality. Despite this we find many in the security industry also studying during available hours to improve themselves and their career prospects.

Personal factors

Personal attributes may impact on potential fatigue. Medical conditions, physical fitness, and illness including diabetes all contribute to capacity to deal with fatigue inducing tasks, as well as sleep quality. Seasonal or unexpected outbreaks of flu or other diseases cause problems not only for the individuals, but also the capacity of the organisation to maintain staffing levels.

People vary in how well they sleep, with physical, mental, anxiety and issues like sleep apnoea leading to an impact on the quality and duration of sleep. Stress also potentially leads to alcohol or substance abuse which impact on activities and quality of sleep. Even something like excessive drinking of coffee can lead to insomnia, or reduced alertness when coming down from the stimulus effects. Psychological conditions like depression also impact on sleep, alertness, and physical capacity to deal with stress.

Companies need to acknowledge that both work and conditions outside work have a direct impact on the capacity of security personnel to handle the mental and physical demands of control room work and surveillance. Effective supervision is an important part of recognising and addressing fatigue or sleep related issues. It is also an important part of providing guidance, stimulation, activities that allow rest breaks at work, and facilitate ongoing performance in a safe and supportive environment.

The design of the control room environment should also balance the need for alertness and detection with conditions that avoid creating undue demands on the body which can lower vigilance and cause undue physical strain.

Dr Craig Donald is a human factors specialist in security and CCTV. He is a director of Leaderware which provides instruments for the selection of CCTV operators, X-ray screeners and other security personnel in major operations around the world. He also runs CCTV Surveillance Skills and Body Language, and Advanced Surveillance Body Language courses for CCTV operators, supervisors and managers internationally, and consults on CCTV management. He can be contacted on +27 (0)11 787 7811 or [email protected]

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