The human factors of mineworker fatigue: An overview on prevalence, mitigation, and what's next

Abstract

Background Though mining remains a vital shiftwork industry for U.S. commerce, problems of continued prevalence of mineworker fatigue and its mitigation persist. Publications and reports on fatigue in mining appear to be rich and diverse, yet variable and remote, much like the industry itself. Methods The authors engaged in a brief nonexhaustive overview of the literature on sleep and fatigue among mineworking populations. Results This overview covers: potential sources of fatigue unique to mine work (e.g., monotonous and disengaging Work Tasks, underground environments and light exposure, remote work operations); evaluation of mitigation strategies for mineworker fatigue or working hours (e.g., shift‐scheduling and training); and areas for future research and practice (e.g., fatigue risk management systems in mining, mineworker sleep and fatigue surveillance, lighting interventions, and automation). Conclusions Fatigue continues to be a critical challenge for the mining industry. While research on the problems and solutions of mineworker fatigue has been limited to date, the future of fatigue research in mining can expand these findings by exploring the origins, nature, and outcomes of fatigue using advancements in lighting, automation, and fatigue risk management.

Comparative Analysis of Methods of Evaluating Human Fatigue

“…The previously reviewed fatigue assessment methods found a wide variety of options, in which some do not differ fatigue from drowsiness. 10 50 51 52 In addition, the different forms of fatigue (cognitive, emotional, and physical) are difficult to identify separately. 53 Likewise, there is still no single test capable of jointly considering all forms of fatigue in a single assessment.…”

“…Excessive drowsiness and increased pressure to sleep, due to circadian (eg times of drop in core temperature) or homeostatic factors (sleep restriction and/or long periods of wakefulness) 59 have been identified as responsible for the increase in errors and accidents, especially among night shift workers, such as nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, drivers, and miners. 7 10 25 58 Sonômetro Light is a tool that allows you to assess accumulated fatigue, considering homeostatic and circadian factors in your test that allows you to indicate the level of fatigue at the time of assessment and infers fatigue until the end of the work shift. Such an assessment may have an advantage in monitoring fatigue, as it makes it possible to identify workers who may have higher levels of fatigue throughout the working day.…”

“…6 The more restricted the sleep, the greater the physical and cognitive damage, which leads to worsening of information processing and decision making, 7 8 working memory, and executive functions. 9 Bauerle et al (2018) 10 suggested that fatigue should be inferred through measurable and observable characteristics, as it manifests itself in different ways, such as: psychological (tiredness and lack of motivation induced by stress); physiological (loss of strength and endurance), cognitive (longer reaction time, forgetfulness); and behavioral (closing eyelids, slower speech). In this way, fatigue can be evaluated in a self-reported way, 11 through the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), which evaluates performance in vigilance, sustained attention, and is related to fatigue.…”

Approaches to managing work‐related fatigue to meet the needs of American workers and employers

“…Opportunities for further work include research on interactions between occupational and nonoccupational risk factors, identifying and evaluating other interventions such as fatigue detection technologies, and implementation of fatigue risk management systems. Bauerle and the Mining sector team explore the human factors of mineworker fatigue which include long work hours, ergonomic problems, exposure to hazardous substances, monotonous and disengaging work tasks, dim lighting in underground environments, and long commutes to remote locations 29 . Despite the variety of potential sources of fatigue, countermeasures have been limited to shift scheduling practices.…”

Presenting a Model for Enhancing Psychological Well-being and Reducing Stress among Mine Workers in the Workplace

“…This means an increase in sickness-related absences, high staff turnover, poor performance in the organization, and an increased likelihood of accidents due to human error (Henssler et al, 2021). Moreover, work-related stress can also manifest as heart disease, back pain, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, or various minor illnesses, as well as leading to psychological effects such as anxiety and depression, loss of concentration, and poor decision-making (Bauerle et al, 2018). Some jobs are more at risk of mental health problems than others.…”