Fatigue can be an important factor affecting controller performance. NTSB has recommended that PHMSA establish requirements in this area, and the 2016 PIPES Act required that operator plans covering human factors include a maximum hours of service limit. Fatigue is something that affects all people at some time. The CRM regulations require that operators implement methods to reduce the risks associated with fatigue.

This website provides additional information to supplement inspection guidance and FAQs. It also provides publicly available resources for additional information about fatigue mitigation in general in other industries and other modes of transportation.

The following links provide additional information to supplement inspection guidance and FAQs

• Advisory Bulletin (ADB–05–06) Countermeasures to Prevent Human Fatigue in the Control Room (70 FR 46917)
• Staffing of Regular, Cyclic 24/7 Operations This white paper is provided to assist operators with guidance for calculating and using an employment ratio to help determine adequacy of staffing levels of controllers in 24/7 operations.
• Investigating the Possible Contribution of Fatigue to Pipeline Mishaps This white paper has been developed to assist operators with information to consider to help determine the potential contribution of controller fatigue to incidents and accidents.
• Shift Plans with Seven Consecutive Shifts (Miller, April 2012) This white paper has been developed to discuss the fatigue risks and potential countermeasures to consider for shiftwork plans that use work compression with seven consecutive days or nights of work and varying numbers of consecutive days off.

• Educational programs for shift and night workers
  • NIOSH
  • National Sleep Foundation

• Training available for controllers and supervisors on factors that impact human fatigue:
  • NTSB course IM-303, “Investigating Human Fatigue Factors.” 2011 course can be found at the following link: http://www.ntsb.gov/TC/CourseInfo/2011-Courses/IM303_2011.html

• US DOT HFCC Operator Fatigue Management Program Information and Resources: http://hfcc.dot.gov/ofm/index.html

• Publicly available reports and resources:
  • American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) (2012). Fatigue Risk Management in the Workplace. Posted with permission from ACOEM.
  • Miller (2010). Unpublished Shiftwork Annotated Bibliography
  • Miller, J. C. (2010). Fatigue Effects and Countermeasures in 24/7 Security Operations. CRISP Report. Alexandria VA: ASIS International.
  • Miller, J. C., & Eddy, D. R. (2008). Operational Risk Management of Fatigue Effects II. TR no. 2009-0030, Brooks City-Base, TX: Air Force Research Laboratory. (www.dtic.mil ADA501985)
  • Miller, J. C. (2006). Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling. TR no. 2006-0011, Brooks City-Base TX: Air Force Research Laboratory. (www.dtic.mil ADA446688)
  • Folkard & Tucker (2003). Shift work, safety and productivity. Oxford Journals: Occupational Medicine 2003. Volume 53, Issue 2, pp. 95-101. (http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/53/2/95.short) 
    Note the link takes you to an abstract page. A link to the full pdf is available to the right of that page.
  • J.C. Miller and M.M. Mitler (1997), Predicting accident times. Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications, 5(4), 13-18.

• Resources in other modes. PHMSA is actively engaged in cross-modal activities involving human factors, including fatigue, through initiatives like the DOT Human Factors Coordinating Committee and information sharing with other modes. For more information on the HFCC including some additional resources visit http://hfcc.dot.gov/. Some additional information and links to reports specific to certain modes, is included below.
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
    • "Fatigue Risk Management in Aviation Maintenance: Current Best Practices and Potential Future Countermeasures", June 2011
    • “Comparison of Aviation Industry Fatigue Reporting Forms as Established in Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS)”. Poster Presentation at Aerospace Medical Association's Scientific Meeting, May 2011
  • Federal Railroad Administration: FRA has reports that document the validation and calibration of fatigue models such as FAST and FAID. They also have work/rest diary studies for several railroad occupations. One that might be of most interest to Pipeline Control Rooms is for dispatchers because they work shifts.
    • FAST validation and calibration: Validation and Calibration of a Fatigue Assessment Tool for Railroad Work Schedules, Final Report
    • FAST AutoSleep validation: Measurement and Estimation of Sleep in Railroad Worker Employees
    • FAID validation and calibration: Procedures for Validation and Calibration of Human Fatigue Models: The Fatigue Audit InterDyne Tool
    • Work/Rest diary studies: Work Schedules and Sleep Patterns of Railroad Train and Engine Service Workers
    • Work Schedule and Sleep Patterns of Railroad Dispatchers
    • Work Schedules and Sleep Patterns of Railroad Maintenance of Way Workers
    • Work Schedules and Sleep Patterns of Railroad Signalmen
    • Fatigue Status of the U.S. Railroad Industry