Fatigue and Human Error
What is Fatigue? Is there more to it than getting more sleep?
The word “fatigue” seems so simple to understand. In the workplace, it’s a convenient way of describing how mental or physical exertion can affect people’s performance. We all recognize it when we see it, right?
And yet, when we actually sit down to understand the causes of fatigue, it is not easy. It’s more than just working too many hours or excessive physical activity. There are connections between mental activity, physical activity, and personal health that, when combined, produce a complex response that can affect how people respond to specific situations. Recognizing fatigue is not easy.
And even when fatigue is identified, putting effective corrective actions in place can be surprisingly tricky. “Getting enough sleep” is just the tip of the iceberg. We must consider physical conditioning, the type of work being performed, environmental conditions, mental activity, diet, time of day, etc. There are many levers to pull when we think about combating fatigue in the workplace.
So, what can we do about fatigue?
That’s why the 2025 Global TapRooT® Summit session titled “Fatigue and Human Error” is such an important topic. Bill Davis from CIRCADIAN is an expert in identifying and preventing workplace fatigue. He and his company have decades of research and experience in combating the root causes of fatigue and understanding how the many forms of fatigue lead to human error. This session will be more than “Ensure your employees get enough rest before shift.” It will dig down to understand how fatigue can affect many aspects of worker performance and the errors they can cause. This is one of the areas of investigation and root cause analysis that can greatly benefit from an expert in the field, and Bill brings this expertise to you.
