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 Cognitive fatigue: Multidisciplinary perspectives on current research and

future applications (pp. xviii-333). American Psychological Association.

Smith, A. (2011). From the Brain to the Workplace: Studies of Cognitive Fatigue in the
Laboratory and Aboard Ship. In P. L. Ackerman (Ed.), Cognitive Fatigue: Multidisciplinary
Perspectives on Current Research and Future Applications (pp. 291–306). American
Psychological Association. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1chrtc3.20

Cognitive fatigue can be defined in many ways, and an initial distinction is between narrow
definitions focusing on a restricted range of phenomena and wider approaches that
conceptualize it as a multifaceted functional state requiring multiple levels of explanation. An
example of the narrow approach is the view that cognitive fatigue refers to the decrement in
cognitive functioning as a function of time on task. This fatigue is seen as different from
endogenous modulation of arousal and alertness. In many real-life situations, exogenous and
endogenous factors both influence cognitive functioning, and this leads to the involvement of
different mechanisms, a variety of individual differences, and a range of potential
countermeasures. Indeed, even specific phenomena can be seen as complex and as arguing
against a focused approach to cognitive fatigue. This last point can be illustrated by
considering the postlunch dip in alertness and our ability to sustain attention.
The mechanisms underlying the effects of lunch on sustained attention are likely to involve
central nervous system effects of cholecystokinin and changes in vagal stimulation. There is
considerable evidence for effects of the post lunch dip on performance and safety at work
(see Monk, 2005), and it is important to consider countermeasures that can prevent such
effects.
Cognitive fatigue often takes the form of declining task engagement, low energy, loss of
motivation, and increased distractibility. The fatigue process involves motivational control
that acts to inhibit activation of current goals and allow competing goals to gain control over
behavior. Such inhibition may be overcome by additional effort. Multilevel explanations
based on neuroscience systems are becoming more popular. These approaches examine
fatigue in terms of genetics, microbiology, brain structure and function, individual behavior,
and the impact on society.
Seafarers’ Fatigue
Global concern with the extent of seafarer fatigue and its potential environmental cost is
widely evident across the shipping industry. Maritime regulators, ship owners, trade unions,
and insurers are all alert to the fact that with certain ship types, a combination of minimal
manning, sequences of rapid port turnarounds, adverse weather conditions, and high levels of
traffic may find seafarers working long hours with insufficient recuperative rest. In these
circumstances, fatigue and reduced performance may lead to environmental damage, ill
health, and reduced life span among highly skilled seafarers who are in increasingly short
supply. A long history of research into working hours and conditions in manufacturing as
well as road transport and civil aviation industries has no parallel in commercial shipping.
Fatigue at sea has huge potential consequences in terms of both ship operations (accidents,
collision risk, poorer performance, economic cost, and environmental damage) and the

1
individual seafarer (injury, poor health and well-being). Not only has there been relatively
little research on seafarers’ fatigue, but what research there has been is largely focused on
specific jobs (e.g., watch keeping), specific sectors (e.g., the short sea sector), and specific
outcomes (e.g., accidents). Given the absence of extensive research on seafarers’ fatigue, my
colleagues and I have carried out a research program (Smith, Allen, & Wadsworth, 2006)
aimed at providing a knowledge base to (a) predict worst-case scenarios for fatigue, health,
and injury; (b) develop best practice recommendations appropriate to ship type and trade; and
(c) produce advice packages for seafarers, regulators, and policymakers. These aims have
been met using several different methodologies, some of which are outlined later. Underlying
this research program is a conceptualization of fatigue as a process. This process begins with
risk factors for fatigue (i.e., work characteristics and conditions associated with fatigue), then
moves to subjective perceptions of fatigue (i.e., how and when an individual experiences and
reports fatigue), and concludes with the consequences of fatigue both in the short term (e.g.,
symptoms of fatigue, such as loss of concentration, poor performance) and the longer term
(e.g., ill health). This process approach has been suggested elsewhere in relation to work
characteristics, fatigue, and ill health and is analogous to the approach to stress widely used
in studies of the general working population. Both subjective and objective measures of
fatigue were used in the research. The aims of the program were achieved through surveys,
analysis of existing databases, and field research. The methods involved a review of the
literature; a questionnaire survey of work and rest hours and physical and mental health;
physiological assays assessing fatigue; instrument recordings of sleep, ship motion, and
noise; self-report diaries recording sleep quality and work patterns; objective assessments and
subjective ratings of mental functioning; pre- and posttour assessments; and analysis of
accident and injury data. The main results can be summarized as follows. First, the review of
the international literature (Allen, Wadsworth, & Smith, 2008) showed that research is
increasingly revealing fatigue to be a significant problem in the seafaring industry. Present
reporting systems, however, are often not designed to record this factor. Evidence shows
seafarer shift and working patterns are often conducive to fatigue, with two-man watches and
excessive working hours being areas of particular concern. Research also suggests that the
impact of fatigue on seafarers may be seen in terms of health, psychosocial consequences,
impaired cognition, and increased risk of accidents.
A survey of 1,856 seafarers was conducted. Most of the respondents were deck (49%) or
engineering (36%) officers. Just over 40% worked on ferries; 25% on offshore support,
supply, or standby vessels; and 19% on tankers. Two thirds of the respondents worked on
United Kingdom flagged vessels. Results from the survey showed that fatigue was
consistently associated with poor sleep quality, negative environmental factors, high job
demands, and high stress. Other factors found to be important included frequent port visits,
physical work hazards, working more than 12 hours a day, low job support, and finding the
switch to port work fatiguing. The short-term consequences of fatigue (reported symptoms of
fatigue and the perception of risk to personal safety) were also associated with a similar range
of factors. Those most at risk of high levels of fatigue and associated consequences were
those who reported the greatest number of fatigueinducing factors. It is therefore important to
consider the combined impact of negative factors rather than considering them alone. An
association between perceived fatigue, self-reported health status, and cognitive function was

2
also shown (Wadsworth, Allen, McNamara, Wellens, & Smith, 2008). This association was
independent of work characteristics shown to be risk factors for fatigue. Subjective fatigue
may therefore be a factor that impacts health, independent of other risk factors. A high
proportion of the sample reported having been involved in a collision with another vessel
(most of these incidents were between two moving vessels) or with another object (in most
cases, the harbor side). Nearly half of the sample considered fatigue to be a key factor in
reducing collision awareness. One in four watch keepers (particularly those on longer
watches) reported having fallen asleep on watch. Almost all watch keepers were required to
multitask while on watch, and just under half of these found this to be problematic. Those
who found multitasking problematic reported higher fatigue levels and were more likely to
have fallen asleep while on watch. A smaller but significant number (17%) were concerned
about potential collisions and were again found to have higher fatigue levels and be more
likely to have fallen asleep on watch.
Two subsamples were identified that had very high levels of fatigue. The first group was
fishermen. Many fishermen reported that they had worked to the point of collapse and fallen
asleep at the wheel, and over half of the sample believed that their personal safety was at risk
because of fatigue. Comparisons were also made across different sectors of the shipping
industry. Seafarers in the short sea and coastal sample were found to report higher levels of
fatigue than those from an offshore oil support sample. This may potentially be explained in
terms of type of vessel and frequency of port turnaround, and data from a mini-bulker crew
are shown in a subsequent section.
Diary studies were also conducted. In one study (Wadsworth, Allen, Wellens, McNamara, &
Smith, 2006), the seafarers completed a daily diary over the complete tour–leave cycle (203
respondents completed tour diaries, 197 leave diaries, and 182 completed both). Fatigue was
found to increase most significantly in the first week of tour. Evidence suggested that
recovery from tour does not typically occur until the second week of leave. In this study,
more frequent port calls were associated with greater fatigue among those on shorter tours,
with lower fatigue among those on longer tours. This difference would appear to reflect ship
type, as those on shorter tours mainly worked on ferries, whereas those on longer tours
mainly worked on supply, support, and container or tanker vessels. Of methodological
significance, the diary study found fatigue on waking to be a more sensitive measure of
fatigue than a measurement taken before bed. Another method involved on-board
performance testing. Results showed that fatigue risk factors, such as noise, night work, and
days into tour, had an impact on alertness and performance. The next section considers results
obtained from a mini-bulker crew, which represented the most extreme case of fatigue my
colleagues and I have come across. Mini-bulkers are small ships that carry a variety of dry
cargoes around Europe. They typically have a crew of about eight and only have two watch
keepers who work 6 hours on, 6 hours off. They are compared with bulkers, shuttle tankers,
and a container ship, which operate different watch keeping systems that are better adapted to
the fast port turnarounds that now take place. Previous research on accidents at sea (Marine
Accident Investigation Branch, 2004) suggested that mini-bulkers were involved in a number
of fatigue-related incidents. Our results confirm that fatigue is a major problem for the crew
of mini-bulkers. This was observed with both subjective reports and objective measures of
performance. For example, subjective reports of fatigue were 80% higher for the crews of

3
mini-bulkers than for other types of ship with similar crews but different watch keeping
patterns. The objective performance data revealed that the mini-bulker crew was more
impaired than the crews on the other ships and that the magnitude of this became greater as
the tour progressed. For example, after the first day of a voyage, the simple reaction times of
the mini-bulker crew was about 50 milliseconds slower than other ships, and this difference
increased to about 70 milliseconds after 7 days. The project evaluated the efficacy of methods
aimed at preventing or managing fatigue. The results showed that the impact and
effectiveness of working time directives appear to be undermined by widespread
underrecording of working hours. Evidence suggests large numbers of seafarers are working
hours in excess of those allowed by current legislation and that underrecording of working
hours is associated with higher levels of fatigue. Fatigue guidelines produced by the
International Maritime Organization put excessive emphasis on the responsibility of
individual crew members to manage fatigue without acknowledging the critical role of
corporate and legislative bodies. Fatigue can only be addressed if all levels of the seafaring
industry are cooperatively involved and accountable. Given the diversity of activities
undertaken in the maritime sector and the different profiles of fatigue risk factors in different
work groups, it is clear that a range of strategies will be needed to prevent or manage fatigue.
Evaluation of current working time directives and a fatigue guidance publication from the
International Maritime Organization shows that existing approaches seem largely inadequate.
Improvement of these approaches is clearly one strategy that could reduce the problem,
although an awareness campaign approach, as proved successful in other transport sectors,
may also have value. Similarly, fatigue management programs have been developed in other
industries, and such approaches could form part of a package for dealing with fatigue at sea.
Indeed, the general absence of fatigue awareness and management training in the seafaring
industry shows that fatigue has not been treated as a health and safety issue. This could be
achieved using approaches designed to address other areas of health and safety (risk
assessments, audits, training) and would, therefore, involve established procedures rather than
development of novel approaches.
This holistic approach to fatigue will require all layers of the industry (regulators, companies,
and seafarers) to be involved. What is crucial is that strategies for prevention and
management are evaluated, for without reliable auditing systems, the success of any change
will be impossible to judge. There are huge potential consequences of fatigue at sea, and,
correspondingly, great benefits to be had by addressing it.
As described earlier, this research program has provided an evidence base for the
development of fatigue recommendations and guidance. These general recommendations for
addressing seafarers’ fatigue can be summarized as follows:review how working hours are
recorded, establish fatigue-management training and information campaigns, develop an
industry standard measure of fatigue, and develop a multifactor auditing tool. Analysis has
shown that it is the combined effect of a range of factors that is associated with fatigue. The
development, implementation, and, crucially, evaluation of strategies to address fatigue must
be carried out jointly across all levels of the industry. However, their application must also be
tailored, at a local level, to be appropriate and practical. Tackling fatigue at sea must involve

4
the industry as a whole because it has the potential to benefit at an equally universal level.
Research on the nature of cognitive fatigue, mechanisms that underlie it, evidence from the
field, and the efficacy of countermeasures will be crucial steps in taking this forward.
Conclusions
The research described in this chapter supports the approach to studying cognitive fatigue
outlined in the introduction. The subject matter is very wide, and it is essential that
phenomena are described appropriately and the area is conceptualized clearly to allow
validation. The risk factors for fatigue are many, and it is argued that one should consider the
combined effects of these variables rather than examining them in isolation. Underlying
mechanisms need to be considered at many different levels, and systems neuroscience
provides a framework for doing this in an organized way. Appropriate countermeasures for
fatigue have been identified, and this knowledge must be incorporated into fatigue policies
that aim to prevent and manage fatigue at work and in safety-critical activities such as
driving. This holistic approach to fatigue requires involvement of all stakeholders, but it is
apparent that those who conduct research on the nature of cognitive fatigue, the mechanisms
that underlie it, and the practical implications of fatigue will continue to make an essential
contribution to this most important topic.

Discussion:
Take, for example, a lot of the fatigue that’s induced by the administration in port, that can
easily be handed over to administrators in the port, rather than on the ship. By doing it
electronically, it can reduce fatigue. I think the other thing is that there are organizations that
clearly know next to nothing about shift work, and so part of it can be recommendations.
You know about the long tradition from the stuff that Peter Colquhoun (e.g., Colquhoun,
1985) did. It is one of those things that when I say to everyone, “You know, these people
work 100 hours a week,” it puts you off going onboard the ship ever really when you think of
that. But to them, it is a very normal way. It has always been like that and very difficult to
change, I’m afraid.
The question is, are there specific aspects of fatigue that we’re likely to target with particular
drugs that are aimed at one or other neural mechanisms? I think a lot of the countermeasures
that are successful, like caffeine, do hit many different systems. And it’s quite interesting that
you still get benefits of caffeine even when you are relatively alert, but that tends to be
through the cholinergic system, not the noradrenergic system. I think there is some utility in
having things which have got these multiple potential mechanisms. It is the same when one
needs a range of strategies. I’m not against the notion that if you know you are tired and you
can have a nap, then have a nap. But there are many situations where that is just not feasible,
and hence you need the stimulating side as well as the sleep side. I think one of the
difficulties is knowing just how different the effects of these factors are. Are they very
different, but they’ve got some common pathways? Or, are they essentially very similar? And
I tend to agree with Bob that sleep deprivation is very different from the fatigue you get with
time on task. And yet, they clearly will have some commonality. One of the oldest findings is
that the effects of sleep deprivation become much clearer when you have long-duration tasks.
And that suggests that there are at least some similarities between the two.

5
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