Combating Fatigue: Lessons from Military and Aviation Safety

Whether in the air, on the manufacturing floor, or in the office, fatigue can have serious effects on safety and worker engagement. When employees are fatigued, their risk of injury compounds quickly, similar to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. When people don’t get adequate levels of high-quality, restful sleep, the consequences can be dangerous: decreased focus, slower reaction times, decreased hand-eye coordination, and other issues can lead to injuries in the workplace while causing productivity to drop.

In this week’s episode of the DORN Injury Prevention Academy Podcast, we meet with Maria Elena Gomez-Mejia (Senior Advisor, Human Factors – US & Latin America Operations at Solaris Fatigue Management). Maria began her career in the United States Airforce, where she led human performance training and aerospace, and physiology teams. Having developed comprehensive and innovative fatigue management strategies and training materials disseminated to thousands of students and professionals in aviation and other high-pressure work environments where fatigue can be a matter of life and death.

Catch the podcast here: https://youtu.be/nSGBoMrDQCU

In this episode, we cover:

• How concepts from military fatigue management training can be carried over to other settings like commercial aviation, ground transportation, and manufacturing
• What companies can do to create more robust strategies and tactics around fatigue prevention, especially in aviation
• How fatigue affects workers, especially women, who primarily work remotely or online
• How employers can foster and create a culture of wellness that encourages investment in fatigue management programs

Watch the episode on YouTube and make sure to subscribe to the DORN Companies channel!

By Kevin Lombardo

Courtesy of DORN

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