Fatigue Risk Calculator: Folkard-Lombardi Scoring with Regulatory Frameworks

How It Works

1. Enter Shift Inputs

   Enter shift length, shift type, consecutive shifts, recovery time, one-way commute, rotation pattern, physical demand, and age band.

2. Review the Local Score

   Use the point score as a preliminary calculator for schedule review. It is a local heuristic, not a certified fatigue-index result.

3. Check Framework Flags

   Review the API, NRC, FMCSA, and EU source-pointer screens. These flags identify follow-up items and do not decide legal compliance.

4. Review Awake-Time Context

   Compare estimated awake time against sustained-wakefulness impairment reference bands, then verify actual sleep and travel history.

5. Escalate as Needed

   Use high scores, short recovery, failed screens, or long commutes to trigger qualified safety, occupational-health, supervisor, labor, or legal review.

Built For

• Refinery safety teams screening a proposed rotation before a full API RP 755 and site-policy review
• Nuclear schedulers identifying work-hour patterns that need qualified 10 CFR 26 review during outage planning
• Fleet or field supervisors spotting schedules that need FMCSA HOS, driver-log, and exception review
• HSE professionals communicating preliminary fatigue concerns with a sustained-wakefulness reference
• Plant managers comparing 8-hour and 12-hour rotation concepts before detailed staffing and safety review
• Incident investigators documenting fatigue-screen context while gathering actual sleep, callout, and work-history records
• Labor or safety committees reviewing proposed schedule changes before final policy, contract, and legal review

Features & Capabilities

Local Fatigue Point Score

Scores shift length, shift timing, consecutive shifts, recovery time, commute, rotation, physical demand, and age band as a preliminary scheduling calculator.

Source-Pointer Framework Screens

Shows simplified API RP 755, NRC 10 CFR 26, FMCSA HOS, and EU WTD flags for follow-up review, not legal compliance.

Sustained-Wakefulness Reference

Displays a fatigue and alcohol-comparison reference range for communication, not a measured BAC or legal impairment finding.

Factor Breakdown

Shows which local factors drive the score so supervisors can target rest, staffing, commute, or task controls.

Exportable Warning Record

PDF and report exports include assumptions, source pointers, warnings, and recommendations for review documentation.

Assumptions

• Local point score uses shift length, shift timing, consecutive shifts, recovery, commute, rotation, physical demand, and age-band factors
• BAC equivalence is a communication reference for sustained wakefulness, not a measured BAC or legal impairment determination
• Framework rows are simplified source-pointer screens and not legal compliance decisions
• Weekly hours are estimated from the entered consecutive shifts and shift length, not from a full rolling calendar or work-history record
• Actual sleep, callouts, overtime, second jobs, commute, workload, environmental exposure, health, medication, and task risk remain outside the local score

Limitations

• Local score weights are not a validated or certified fatigue-index implementation
• Does not measure actual sleep obtained, sleep debt, sleep disorders, medication effects, caffeine, illness, or individual fitness for duty
• Commute time is included only as a simple awake-time estimate and does not capture travel conditions or fatigue while driving
• Does not account for sleep disorders (obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia) which dramatically increase fatigue risk independent of schedule design
• Moonlighting or second-job hours are not captured unless manually entered as additional shift entries
• Framework screens do not assess the full scope of API, NRC, FMCSA, EU, state/local, labor, employer-policy, exception, or recordkeeping requirements
• BAC equivalence is a communication heuristic, not a precise physiological measurement - actual impairment varies by individual and task complexity

References

• Folkard, S. and Lombardi, D.A. (2006) - Modeling the Impact of the Components of Long Work Hours on Injuries and Accidents, American Journal of Industrial Medicine 49:953-963
• NIOSH Publication 2004-143 - Overtime and Extended Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries, and Health Behaviors
• Dawson, D. and Reid, K. (1997) - Fatigue, Alcohol and Performance Impairment, Nature 388:235
• API RP 755 public fact sheet - Fatigue Risk Management Systems for Personnel in the Refining and Petrochemical Industries
• NRC 10 CFR 26 Subpart I - Managing Fatigue
• FMCSA Hours of Service summary and 49 CFR Part 395 source context
• EU Directive 2003/88/EC - Working Time Directive

Frequently Asked Questions