Factors contributing to officers’ fatigue in high-speed maritime craft operations

• Published in: Applied ergonomics Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 565 - 576
• Main Authors: Leung, Ada W.S., Chan, Chetwyn C.H., Ng, Jimmy J.M., Wong, Peter C.C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2006; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Administrative Personnel - psychology; Adult; Applied physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Boats; Ergonomics; Ergonomics. Work place. Occupational physiology; Fatigue; High-speed craft; Hong Kong; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Occupational health; Perceived fatigue; Questionnaire; Shift work; Ships; Surveys and Questionnaires; Work Schedule Tolerance; Hong Kong; High-speed craft; Questionnaire; Perceived fatigue; Human; Affect affectivity; Body perception; Night work; Fatigue; Subjective evaluation; Recommendation; Workload; Shift work; Work safety; Ergonomics; High speed; Anxiety; Ship; Maritime transportation; Working condition
• ISSN: 0003-6870; 1872-9126
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2005.11.003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the level of fatigue induced by high-speed maritime craft operation between the day- and night-shift officers. The demographic and work-related factors that contribute to fatigue were also explored. A total of 93 high-speed maritime craft officers participated in the survey, of whom 35 worked a day shift (Mean age=48.3 years) and 58 worked a night shift (Mean age=45.8 years). Fatigue experience was measured with the Chinese version of the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI-C) at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the work shift. Information on age, work experience, perceived voyage difficulty and duty schedule was obtained. The study found that the night-shift officers seemed to manifest an overall higher level of perceived fatigue than the day-shift officers, while the day-shift officers demonstrated a fatigue carry-over effect across the two workdays. Besides the shift pattern, age, experience in operating high-speed maritime craft and perceived voyage difficulty were the significant factors contributing to the officers’ fatigue experience. The finding that the fatigue experience associated with high-speed maritime craft operation has a rapid and accumulative nature suggests that different occupational safety and health guidelines should be devised for these two groups of officers.