New research into fatigue in the maritime industry finds that the sector is increasingly out of step with the established best practices for fatigue management.

A new report, published today by innovation consultancy Thetius has found that the maritime industry is increasingly falling behind other safety-critical industries when it comes to fatigue management. Fatigue science has advanced a great deal in recent decades. Much has been discovered recently about the impacts of cumulative fatigue, not just on day-to-day decision making but also on long-term health. To date, very little of that science has been applied effectively in the maritime industry.

The report, published in partnership with Safetytech Accelerator, a not-for-profit established by Lloyd’s Register and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation explores the viability of a goal-based approach to fatigue management. The report found that while there is a great deal that individual ship and port operators can do to improve fatigue management, those efforts are limited by the prescriptive nature of the current work and rest hours rules.

“Our industry has been grappling with fatigue for many decades and the pandemic has only compounded the problem.” says Nick Chubb, Managing Director of Thetius, “Countless studies have been done to prove the impact of fatigue on maritime safety, but comparatively little has been done to find better ways of managing it.

“Our aim is that this report will help industry operators to understand some of the simple steps they can take to improve fatigue management today, and put pressure on the IMO and other regulators to examine how new approaches to the issue could work in practice tomorrow.”

Other key findings of the report are:

A risk-based approach to fatigue management has been proved to improve safety and productivity in industries such as aviation, road transport and rail.

A raft of new technologies such as wearables and computer vision systems are making it possible to accurately monitor fatigue using cheap, non-invasive, widely available technology.

The best way for operators to reduce fatigue-related safety issues is improved education and the development of a just reporting culture.

The report is freely available to download at: https://thetius.com/fatigue/
Source: Thetius