Request ID: FOI-0349-2324 Date published: 31 May 2023
You asked
• Between January 1st this year to today's date, could I have the number of reports filed by London Tube operators to the Safety, Health and Environment Fatigue Team within Tfl.
• Could I also have copies of these reports, with any personal information redacted?
• If that is not possible - could I please have a brief summary of the report, which would include the drivers concerns, any incidents which took place (including date, location and time of incident and a brief description of what happened)
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0349-2324
Thank you for your request received on 8 May 2023 asking for information about London Underground train operator fatigue reports.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. We have a fatigue reporting process across Customer Operations where we encourage staff to speak to a manager if they are feeling fatigued. As part of this, there is guidance for managers and information is displayed in all operational areas which supported the launch of the electronic fatigue reporting form. Occurrences of fatigue reported via the form are centrally monitored by the Safety, Health, and Environment Fatigue Team. All of this is signposted in our internal online learning tools available to staff. In addition, fatigue reporting awareness has been incorporated into the safety system checks tools used by frontline managers. We have a range of resources and support to help all staff, but particularly those that work shift patterns. These include: • ‘Shiftwork Awareness’ employee guide • Fatigue and Shiftwork Awareness course • Staff are encouraged to use the sleep self-assessment questionnaire for a personalised report to help understand their sleep and sleep hygiene We also have a pan-TfL Fatigue Management Programme which provides support to our business areas to enable them to identify fatigue risks present and guidance to manage this risk proactively. More information is available on our website:
Obtaining further evidence on the topic of fatigue will enable us to more proactively manage this risk, as well as know how to best support our personnel in their health and wellbeing. We take into consideration a number of human factors, including fatigue, during our safety investigations processes, and actively encourage our colleagues to inform us about incidents of fatigue so we can work to resolve them. Any colleagues who report feeling fatigued prior to a shift are not obligated to drive if they believe that it would compromise their ability to drive safely.
Between 1 January this year to the date of your request (8 May 2023), there were 11 reports filed by London Underground operators to TfL’s Fatigue Team within Safety, Health and Environment. There were no safety incidents recorded as a result of these fatigue reports. Please find attached a summary of each of the fatigue reports.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
