Insufficient Methods of Fatigue Risk Mitigation
Fatigue and fatigue-related incidents and accidents are always an ever-present risk in transportation services companies.
Before Readi was implemented, PTSI mitigated this risk through pre-start subjective self-assessment and pre-start subjective supervisory assessment. Before each shift, drivers completed a written fit-for-work assessment.
The operations team then reviewed pre-shift fatigue data and the post-shift, post-incident fatigue analytics weekly.
If systemic fatigue was identified in an individual, it was treated by the individual operators being sent to a doctor to assess and identify any potential sleep disorder. If systemic fatigue was identified without a disorder present, it was difficult to affect positive change since the fatigue was likely due to poor sleep habits and behaviors.
Despite their existing fatigue management program, PTSI continued to face challenges with fatigue-related incidents among its drivers. These traditional methods of fatigue mitigation simply weren’t enough.
The company needed a more robust solution to ensure the health and safety of its drivers.
How Fatigue Science Helped PTSI Gain Visibility into Driver Fatigue
Of particular significance, PTSI had zero visibility into the actual levels of fatigue their drivers were experiencing. This lack of insight made it difficult to take proactive measures to prevent fatigue-related incidents before they occurred.
Traditional methods, such as manual subjective self-assessments, were insufficient in providing accurate and actionable data.
Enter Readi
PTSI began with a 3-month pilot program of Readi to evaluate its effectiveness in managing driver fatigue. The results of the pilot were promising, leading PTSI to adopt Readi as their preferred fatigue risk management system (FRMS). This decision was driven by Readi's ability to provide predictive fatigue scores and actionable fatigue insights, which were actionable at shift start.
Readi provides personalized fatigue scores for 350 high-risk drivers out of PTSI’s 1,000 operational drivers. These scores are based on sleep data synced to supervisors’ tablets and sync stations, indicating drivers’ fatigue levels for the next 18 hours, hour by hour. This enables supervisors to identify who is too fatigued to drive and when drivers will be most at risk during their shifts.
Impact of Implementation
The use of Readi at PTSI has two primary impacts:
- The technology reduces the risk of serious accidents and incidents as a result of cognitive fatigue in the shift ahead.
- It improves the productivity of PTSI staff, ensuring priority task completion by those employees who are most fit for work.
Haniyoso Yasnul Zain, Transport Manager at PTSI, explains, “Prior to the implementation of the Readi Fatigue Management Information System, PTSI had zero visibility as to the actual levels of fatigue drivers were experiencing, or the unfortunate incidents that were the result of fatigue. With Readi, fatigue-related incidents have decreased within PTSI for those drivers who are currently being monitored in the system.”
Driver Fatigue Insights from Readi Implementation
During a 6-month period, data from 261 workers and over 160,000 individual work hours were analyzed. The key insights include:
- 44% of on-duty hours were spent in a state of high fatigue.
- Fatigue was significantly higher during night shifts, especially on nights 3 and 4.
- 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM and 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM were identified as fatigue hotspots.
- Only 3% of workers achieved the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep, with 51% sleeping less than 5 hours per night.
- 91 operators spent over 50% of their on-duty work hours at a high risk of fatigue (ReadiScores <70).
Proactive Fatigue Risk Mitigiation Measures Not Possible
With this newfound visibility into driver fatigue at both the macro and individual levels, PTSI supervisors can take proactive measures to mitigate fatigue risk.
Some of these actions include:
- Implementing Task Rotation and Driver Stand Down at the start of shift based on fitness to work.
- Using fatigue alerts to assign individualized rest breaks and task assignments based on each driver’s fatigue levels.
- Having regular fatigue awareness sessions to keep drivers informed about their fatigue risk.
- Improving workforce sleep health and optimizing shift schedules as a long-term strategy.
“Driver risk rating has improved significantly for those participating in the Readi program, now that fatigue is quantitative and measurable,” says Haniyoso.
Reducing Incidents and Costs
Since implementing Readi, the 350 monitored drivers have not been involved in any fatigue-related incidents, while the remaining drivers which are not monitored by Readi have had 14 such incidents. This stark contrast underscores the effectiveness of Readi in identifying fatigue, managing fatigue and improving safety within the business.
The reduction in fatigue-related incidents not only enhances safety but also reduces associated incident costs, including insurance, medical expenses, and operational downtime impacts.
Future Expansion
Haniyoso concludes, “We cannot change the fact that we are required to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and our employees are tired. We can, however, with Readi, measure and mitigate against the risk of cognitive fatigue causing a serious incident or accident. This has already proven to show positive results in decreased fatigue-related incidents.”
Given the success of Readi, PTSI plans to expand the system to include 260 high-risk drivers. This expansion aims to provide equal protection and fatigue visibility for all drivers, further reducing fatigue-related risks across the board.
PTSI’s use of Readi has set a benchmark for effective fatigue management in the transportation industry in Indonesia. With zero fatigue-based incidents among monitored drivers and plans to expand the system to additional high-risk drivers, PTSI demonstrates a strong commitment to safety and proactive risk management.
