Why Fatigue Management Matters

Fatigue is a workplace hazard, not a personal failing, and quarrying carries some of the conditions that make it more likely. Around 54% of Australian mining and quarrying operations run extended shift schedules of 12 hours or more.

After 17 hours without sleep, impairment is comparable to a blood alcohol reading of 0.05. After 24 hours awake, it is comparable to 0.1, double the legal driving limit.

Machinery operators and drivers already carry the highest workplace fatality rate of any occupational group in Australia, more than five times the national average. Fatigue compounds that risk further, and under work health and safety law, employers carry the same duty to manage it as any other hazard.

Topics to be Covered

• What fatigue is, and how it builds as “sleep debt”
• Shift patterns, circadian rhythm, and recovery
• Early warning signs in yourself and your team
• Fatigue risk controls for rostering, breaks, and workload design
• Having the conversation, without it feeling like a performance issue
• Embedding fatigue management into daily leadership practice

Learning Objectives

• Understand fatigue as a workplace hazard with the same legal weight as physical risk
• Recognise the early signs of fatigue in self and others
• Apply practical fatigue risk controls to rosters and work design
• Build the confidence to raise a fatigue concern early
• Strengthen a team culture where fatigue is spoken about, not hidden

Who Should Attend?

Fees

IQA Member: $160
Non-member: $210