Fatigue at the forefront

Fatigue does not only cause workers to feel more tired – it increases the rate of accidents and injuries being made, particularly across Railway and Infrastructure sites. Not only is it one of the major causes of accidents within the workplace, but it can also lead to lower productivity levels. Worker fatigue can also result in a lack of attention, slower reactions, decreased awareness, reduced co-ordination, underestimation of risk and a reduced ability to process information.

So why does fatigue appear?

Fatigue can arise for a wide range of reasons. To name a few; sleep loss, long commutes to and from work, irregular working patterns, weather changes and strenuous activity. With this in mind, due to longer working hours, heavier workloads and number of consecutive days on shift for Railway & Infrastructure workers fatigue build-up is very common.

As Client Engagement Manager for the Rail and Infrastructure team here at Mane. I place priority in ensuring all our candidates benefit from an inclusive and safe working environment. Through our leadership team, there is a real commitment to promoting a work environment where all individuals are respected and foster a culture of safety, asserting safe working practices. We are able to utilise technology to provide real-time alerts based on planned and actual hours to ensure that all Rail and Infrastructure industry compliance requirements are met instantly.

In particular, we ensure that all our candidates have a minimum 12-hour rest period between each of their shifts to allow them to get the appropriate rest time, also ensuring that candidates are not working over the maximum working hours per week. In addition, we make certain that all of our candidates are up to date with the latest industry safety news by sending out quarterly updates via email. The topic of fatigue is one that has been and will always be at the forefront of our responsibilities to our workers and clients who choose to partner with us. Thus demonstrated through our drive for continued innovation in the way that we manage safety and fatigue here at Mane.

Mane actively supports and encourages our clients to continue to broaden the inclusivity and diverse nature of their workforce and the impact it has on health and wellbeing. To achieve this, we have several trained first aiders working within our recruitment teams, I myself being one. We are trained to help recognise and provide support to our workers so that they feel safe. We work closely with all the Safety, Health and Environment teams within our clients to ensure we promote and support great health and wellbeing. We will continue to work our hardest to provide our staff, clients and candidates with the best care so they can continue to carry out their day to day work responsibilities whilst feeling safe.

If you would like to learn more about how we can support your business please contact me on:

E: d.murphy@mane.co.uk        T: +44 (0)1923 470 791        M: +44 (0)7961 098 817