Fit for Duty Is a Safety Decision, Not a Diagnosis

A Professional Safety article, Workplace Impairment, makes a good point that often gets overlooked in investigations: the first decision is not why someone appears impaired, but whether they are fit for duty and able to safely perform the job at that moment.

It’s an important distinction. As the article points out, what looks like substance impairment could be a medical emergency, fatigue, medication reaction, or injury. The correct first action is to remove the worker from duty and ensure safety, rather than jumping to conclusions about the worker’s behavior. “The cause of impairment should not be the focus,” the author writes. “Rather, the question should be whether the employee is a danger to themselves or others.”

Where Fit-for-Duty Thinking Shows Up in TapRooT® RCA

TapRooT® Users know this idea connects to the Worker Selection Near Root Cause (under the Basic Root Cause Work Direction) on the TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®.

The TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary (a companion resource to the TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®) teaches us that Worker Selection is not limited to hiring decisions. It also asks:

• Was the worker physically and mentally capable of performing the task at that time?
• Did the organization have effective fit-for-duty criteria?
• Were supervisors equipped to recognize impairment and act appropriately?

When organizations lack clear fitness-for-work expectations, training, or decision support, the system sets both workers and supervisors up to fail.

From a Corrective Action Helper® Guide perspective (the TapRooT® System’s resource for developing better fixes), effective actions may include:

• Clear fit-for-duty policies tied to task risk
• Supervisor training on recognizing impairment without diagnosing causes
• Defined decision pathways for medical response, testing, and duty removal
• Job design and staffing practices that account for fatigue, health conditions, and task demands

This is an important reminder that human performance is often situational and that safe systems support good decisions before an incident occurs.

Look for Improvement Opportunities in Your Work Systems

If this way of thinking resonates, the 5-Day TapRooT® Advanced Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Training goes deeper into how to design work systems that support safe decisions before incidents occur. Participants build skills in evidence collection, interviewing, and proactive use of TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to strengthen systems like worker selection, work direction, and fit-for-duty decision making. Plus, you’ll receive all the valuable resources and tools mentioned above: TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®, TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary, and the Corrective Action Helper® Guide.

References:

Martin, B. (2024, Sept.). Workplace impairment: Determining whether an employee is fit for work. Professional Safety, 69(9), 38-39.