Measuring fatigue could be as simple as telling time, a Fatigue Risk Managing System (FRMS) technology provider, Fatigue Science's ReadiBand, a wrist-worn actigraphy device, easily allows for an accurate characterization of sleep quality, sleep quantity and sleep/wake timing, according to the company.

Using the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool (FAST), developed by the United States Air Force in 2000, ReadiBand calculates a series of algorithms to measure sleep quality from continuous wrist movements or actigraphy. Fatigue Science then downloads data from those movements for work schedule assessment.

The data is then entered into the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) model to show a minute-by-minute curve from the beginning of a workers schedule to the end of what the effectiveness level of the crew would be at any point in time, explained Dr. John Caldwell, senior experimental psychologist at Fatigue Science based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

U.S. Air Traffic Control (ATC) has taken a lot criticism in the last few months because of aviation professionals controllers falling asleep or being distracted while on duty. FAA has taken considerable action to mitigate recent fatigue issues, including the launch of a Call to Action program and an analysis of the nation's air traffic control system.

By wearing the device 24 hours a day, ReadiBand tracks the number of hours a worker sleeps, the quality of the sleep and knows when a worker is sleeping or awake, Caldwell told ASW.

Caldwell believes that if a company or industry has employees working night shifts, the margin of differentiation is large, as working eight hours during the day is disparate to working the same during the middle of the night. Many industrial professionals, including those in aviation, could use ReadiBand.

Other countries, Caldwell believes, have taken a more proactive approach. A client in Australia recently used the ReadiBand for mitigating fatigue in miners.

Due to the more favorable political climate on handling fatigue management, Caldwell says Australia combats the fatigue problem throughout various industries by having a responsible legislation, an obstacle many other countries face.

"I think we are completely ignoring the circadian part of the equation and I think we're also ignoring what people are doing with their off-duty periods," Caldwell said.

The results from the mining company prompts Fatigue Science to point out the industry that they have a responsibility for the consequences of having fatigued employees. Using ReadiBand is one way a company can take control of the situation.

"In one case, the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool, you're estimating typically the amount of sleep people are getting through their work schedule. With the ReadiBand program you're actually measuring the amount of sleep people are getting on a day-to-day basis, but the results of both are processed through the SAFTE model to come up with that risk calculation," said Caldwell.

The current version of the device has been used by industrial workers since Jan. 2010 and has been also used in the mining, rail and defense industries.

"I think that generally, in industrialized societies around the globe are doing a horrible job managing fatigue and we are still focusing on hours on duty and that's what we try to regulate," Caldwell said.

Fatigue mitigation efforts "elevates the level of interest for everybody in the society to say, 'You know, look, we need to deal with this issue not only in our workplace but if we're going to hire suppliers or support companies, then we need to make sure fatigue management is on their radar screen as well,'" said Caldwell.