40653 Changes to the base rosters causes fatigue

August 2009 in Freight Operations

Fatigue Rostering Not Specified

Last minute changes to base rosters at GB Railfreight resulting in fatigue and non compliance with the fatigue index is a concern for one reporter.

According to the reporter the base rosters are constantly being changed at very short notice. This is resulting in staff working several consecutive weeks of night shifts causing fatigue amongst staff, as well as affecting their family life. With the constant changes to the base rosters, the reporter feels that they no longer comply with the fatigue index. However, the reporter is keen to state that staff are still getting their appropriate rest days.

The reporter would like to highlight that fatigue could result in a safety related incident, such as a SPAD. There has apparently been a fatigue related incident in the past and as a result the reporter states that several recommendations were made.

These included:

• not booking on between 00:00 and 04:00;
• not allowing staff returning from annual leave to be rostered on before 08:00;
• not allowing staff who have worked a night shift to undertake any driving duties after 07:00 the next day.

The reporter believes that these recommendations are now being breached.

In order to resolve the issues, the reporter suggests that the base rosters for GB Railfreight should not be altered. If this is not possible on occasion, the reporter requests that change of shifts should be optional for staff and that a suitable notice period be given to staff affected.

Please comment.

Response from GB Railfreight

All of FGBRf base rosters are validated against the RSSB Fatigue Index prior to implementation.

FGBRf base rosters are changed only on the occasion of new staff arriving at a location, or there being a significant change to the workload at that location. This is standard practice throughout the industry. When the need to change our base rosters arises, we always publish the proposals to all staff concerned and welcome any feedback, which is then considered, before the final implementation. Following the implementation, staff are free to "claim" any rest days from the previous roster pattern, by mutually agreeing where they are to be moved from in the new roster.

The 'recommendations' as listed are incorrect and are as follows:

1. No booking on between the hours of 00.02 & 03.59
2. Staff returning from weekly rostered annual leave will not be rostered on before 06.00
3. All turns booking on at 00.01 or the previous night are planned so that staff will finish train/van driving or train working activity no later than 08.00. If this is not possible, then mitigation measures (such as double manning, taxis or travelling on passenger services) shall be considered and approval sought from the Head of Production (or nominated deputy) or On-Call Operations Manager, if out of hours.

These constraints placed on rostering practices are in fact voluntary and did not arise as a result of any post incident recommendations. The measures were discussed and agreed by the Operations Executive Group as it was felt that we should give our staff as much as assistance as possible in managing their work/life balance. Their introduction is part of our continued commitment to effectively manage the potential for fatigue and in several instances the processes we follow have been externally verified, with confirmation received that they are an effective measure.

The introduction of these measures has received a widespread welcome and adherence to these guidelines is strictly monitored by the management team.