This commendable achievement is reflected in the APIA’s and member companies’ commitment to ensuring safety, the AS 2885 standard, which was developed by the industry, and research by the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre (EPCRC), which was established in 2009 continuing and expanding the industry association’s Research and Standard Committee’s work.
However, as noted by Hayes, Tuft and Hopkins2 of the EPCRC, the pipeline industry has typically focused on technical issues of pipelines without the commensurate focus on the organisational causes of accidents and incidents. An extension of this therefore is the nature of psychosocial and biological contributors to safety incidents, such as fatigue.
Human fatigue is complex. On the one hand, fatigue is an almost universal feeling of tiredness or drowsiness as a result of normal activities we all perform every day. On the other hand fatigue, when in excess, can have disastrous results for the community, resulting in nuclear meltdowns and severe road, rail, aviation and maritime accidents. Fatigue can also result in significant reductions in organisational productivity, and increased operating costs.
Whilst studies based in rail, road transport, construction and mining have identified excess fatigue impairment in each respective industry the key question remained: what degree of fatigue exists in the Australian pipeline industry?
Fatigue in the pipeline industry
TMS Consulting was commissioned in 2011 by APIA to answer this question through the Fatigue Management Study (FMS). Based on these findings a range of recommendations for both APIA and member companies were provided in order to aid effective fatigue management in the pipeline industry. The FMS report, with all recommendations, is currently being reviewed by APIA and will be released to industry shortly.
The FMS involved extensive data collection, over a period of twelve months, based on a large-scale coal seam gas pipeline construction project in Queensland. Data measurements (from over 400 pipeline industry employees) included self-reported sleepiness and fatigue, objective reaction time measurements, objective sleep measurement readings, hydration measurements, and extensive health, sleep and safety questions. In general, most data were obtained over 28-day work cycles that are common in the Australian pipeline industry. Profiling sleep and sleep/wake characteristics were a primary focus in the FMS due to the key links between sleep and fatigue.
The FMS made several important observations. Primary findings suggested that reaction-time performance gradually declined over the length of the work cycle to levels comparable to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 per cent (the legal driving limit). Average sleep was around 6.5 hours per night – with lower levels of sleep recorded for vehicle and plant operators.
The FMS also looked at a range of other factors of safety in this population, including the probability of sleep apnoea, again focused around vehicle and plant operators. Health factors, alcohol consumption and level of smoking in the workforce were identified as risk factors. The level of pipeline industry experience per individual was also categorised, as this could be another indicator of potential risk.
Finally, a majority of the participants commuted an average 5-8 hours home via private transport following the final shift of a full 28-day work cycle. Taken together, these findings suggested a significantly elevated fatigue risk in this pipeline construction project, particularly focused around vehicle operations.
References:
Tuft, P., & Bonar, C. (2009). Experience with the Australian Pipeline Incident Database, in APIA Convention. 2009: Cairns. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from: http://www.apia.net.au/
Hayes, J., Tuft, P., & Hopkins, A. (n.d.). Organisational Safety – A New Research Venture for the Australian Pipeline Industry. Energy Pipelines CRC. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from: http://www.epcrc.com.au/getdoc.php?doc=724bcd176008dff5
If you would like to receive information about the study and its results, please visit www.tmsconsulting.com.au/fms or contact TMS Consulting on (07) 3003 1473.