ABSTRACT
The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between working conditions, fatigue and safety on vessels sailing along the coast of Norway. The study employs three methods: small-scale survey (N = 180) to crewmembers on NOR-registered vessels sailing along the coast of Norway, reference group meeting and qualitative interviews with sector experts (N = 10). The study indicates that respondents’ opportunities to get sufficient sleep and rest on board, and demanding working conditions influence safety compromising fatigue. Deck personnel were more likely to be fatigued in manners that may compromise-safety. The study also indicates that having a good organisational safety culture decreases the risk of safety-compromising fatigue. Thus, future re-search should examine whether safety culture interventions could be developed to counter challenging working conditions and fatigue. The study focuses on the coastal cargo sector, and previous research and qualitative data suggest a high work load and thus more fatigue in this sector.
Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with the statement: “Sometimes I am so tired during working hours that safety is compromised”. A total of 17% agreed somewhat/totally. Regression analyses showed that the older seafarers are, the less likely they are to report of safety-compromising fatigue. Second, deck personnel were more likely to be fatigued in manners that may compromise safety. Third, we found that having a good safety culture decreases the risk of safety-compromising fatigue. Finally, we found that respondents’ experiences with demanding working conditions was the most important predictor of safety-compromising fatigue.
