Current state of worker fatigue assessment and associated recommendations in oil and gas and petrochemical industries

Abstract

Oil and gas extraction (OGE) and petrochemical workers are prone to fatigue due to shiftwork, circadian rhythm disruption, and workload. Currently, there is not a standard set of worker fatigue assessment methods developed to address the constraints in this industry. A systematic review was conducted to 1) identify and categorize fatigue assessment methods, 2) compare the effectiveness of identified methods, and 3) provide recommendations for use in this industry and future research. A total of 20 articles were selected for this review. The findings show that studies used subjective questionnaires (100%), task performance (35%), and physiological measurements (5%) as main fatigue assessment methods. Subjective questionnaires (measuring sleepiness and sleep quality), actigraphy, and task performance were effective at capturing fatigue levels. Finally, this review recommends that subjective questionnaires be employed to assess worker fatigue and supplement them with objective measurements, such as actigraphy (sleep quality) and Psychomotor Vigilance Task (task performance).