41234 Fatigue compounded by shift patterns at Worksop

February 2011 in Freight Operations

Fatigue Rostering Not Specified

Drivers are concerned by shift patterns and the associated risk of fatigue at Worksop depot.

It is felt that shift patterns often ignore the advice on rostering to reduce fatigue, despite apparent management awareness of contributory factors. It is believed factors such as shift length, late start times and returning to work after a holiday are not being considered sufficiently when rosters are designed.

Unfortunately, Drivers have sometimes returned to work after annual leave to find that all the fatigue related risks are combined in a single shift even when safety briefings advise against it.

This is likely to increase the risk of a Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD).

• Could DB Schenker assess whether fatigue is adequately factored into the design of rosters?

Response from DB Schenker

DB Schenker Rail UK would like to thank the reporter for raising their concerns regarding shift patterns and fatigue at Worksop depot.

As a company we are working hard to ensure that all of our Drivers' links are processed using the fatigue index tools. During a recent restructuring we introduced a management team dedicated to producing safe and efficient rosters. We have investigated the concerns raised and highlighted a number of areas within the current roster that may be causing fatigue. Over the next few weeks our team will be looking at measures that can be introduced in order to reduce this.

As a safety conscious company we encourage our staff to highlight any concerns they may have and have introduced processes throughout the business to ensure these concerns are investigated thoroughly and feedback is given to each individual on the outcome. We also welcome any suggestions on areas for improvement.