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Fatigue Management Policy

Purpose

A M Water Services Ltd recognises that worker fatigue is a real operational risk in a water-services contracting business — long days, driving to and from sites, emergency call-outs, lone working and overnight stays all build cumulative tiredness that, if unmanaged, increases the chance of road traffic accidents, hand-arm vibration injuries, near-misses and slipped decision-making on site. This policy sets out our practical commitment to managing that risk, scaled to AMWS as a ~20-person team.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees, directors, labour-supply subcontractors and visitors involved in AMWS operations — water-main installations, self-lay schemes, grab and aggregate haulage, emergency call-out work, lone-working tasks, plant operation and office-based driving for work.

This policy supports our duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (sections 2 and 3), the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (regulation 3 — risk assessment), the Working Time Regulations 1998 (rest breaks and weekly working-time limits), the Road Traffic Act 1988 (driver responsibility) and the Worker Protection Act 2023.

Policy Statement

A M Water Services Ltd commits to:

  • Treating fatigue as an operational risk — assessed at RA_HO_18 Fatigue Management and reviewed alongside the other home-office and field risk assessments.
  • Scheduling work to avoid foreseeable fatigue — drivers' hours reviewed weekly; on-call rotation capped at a maximum of 1-in-4; emergency call-outs over 10 hours or starting before 06:00 trigger a buddy check-in under SOP 8.8 Lone Working.
  • Controlling vibration exposure alongside fatigue — HAVS trigger-time caps applied per SOP 8.10 HAVS; fatigue and HAVS interact and are managed together.
  • Driving safely — fleet telematics, driver journey planning and DVSA Earned Recognition monitoring per SOP 8.13 Driving for Work; no operative drives at the end of a shift if visibly fatigued — the Site Supervisor or a Director arranges alternative transport.
  • Acting on what operatives tell us — any worker raising a fatigue concern (their own or a colleague's) is heard at the next toolbox talk or weekly Director / HSQE compliance call. Fatigue is a legitimate reason to stop work or refuse a task.

Fatigue controls at AMWS

Trigger Control Reference
Long driving day Drivers' hours reviewed weekly; telematics-based monitoring SOP 8.13 Driving for Work
Emergency call-out > 10 hours or pre-06:00 start Buddy check-in mandatory; permit issuer confirms fitness at shift start SOP 8.8 Lone Working
High-vibration tool use (breakers, vacuum excavators) HAVS trigger-time caps; rotation between operatives SOP 8.10 HAVS
Cumulative on-call exposure On-call rotation maximum 1-in-4 weeks RA_HO_18 Section Controls
Fatigue-related near-miss Logged under SOP 8.1 Incident Reporting; reviewed at next weekly compliance call APP_21 NC Register

Responsibilities

Role Responsibility
Aaron Mason (Managing Director) Final accountability for fatigue-management commitments; approves on-call rotation; reviews fatigue-related incidents at the weekly call
Jason May (Site Supervisor) Monitors operative wellbeing during morning brief; arranges alternative transport for visibly fatigued operatives; raises any concerns same-day
Leanne Mason (Director, HR/Admin) Maintains drivers' hours records; tracks on-call rotation; ensures Working Time Regulations opt-outs are current
Sean Ashton (HSQE Consultant, Onyx Operations) Annual review of RA_HO_18 and this policy; benchmarks against incident trends and ISO 45001 clause 8.1.2 expectations
All workers Raise fatigue concerns early; never drive at the end of a shift if visibly tired; use the buddy check-in for long/early shifts

Connection to other AMWS controls

Linked control Purpose
RA_HO_18 — Fatigue Management The full risk assessment behind this policy
POL_HSQE_29 — Mental Health Fatigue is a mental-health risk factor; MHFA cover available via Jason May + Leanne Mason
POL_HSQE_26 — Welfare Physical welfare provisions support fatigue management
POL_HSQE_25 — Use of Company Vehicles Driver fatigue is the highest-impact fatigue pathway
SOP 8.8 Lone Working Buddy check-in for long / early shifts
SOP 8.10 HAVS HAVS-fatigue interaction; trigger-time caps
SOP 8.13 Driving for Work Drivers' hours, telematics, journey planning
APP_07 Hazard Register HO-18 Hazard-register entry with initial / residual scores and owners

What's deliberately NOT in this policy

Scaled to AMWS's actual risk:

  • No fatigue-monitoring wearables or biometric tracking — disproportionate for a 20-person SME and not required by ISO 45001 at this scale.
  • No formal Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) — the aviation / heavy-haulage FRMS model is not proportionate for AMWS's operational mix. We operate the listed controls consistently and review them annually.

If AMWS's risk profile changes (a contract requiring shift-pattern work, growth past ~50 operatives, or a series of fatigue-related incidents), this policy is reviewed and the controls scaled up to match.

Review

This policy is reviewed annually or sooner if:

  • A fatigue-related incident occurs at AMWS or in the supply chain
  • Working Time Regulations or driver-hour rules change materially
  • AMWS's operational pattern changes (new on-call rotation, shift work, etc.)
  • The annual RA_HO_18 review identifies a new fatigue pathway

This document forms part of A M Water Services Limited's Integrated Management System. Paper copies are uncontrolled when printed.

Signed:

Aaron Mason Director A M Water Services Ltd 1st July 2026

Where this policy is implemented

This block is portal navigation, not part of the policy. The policy wording and the Word controlled copy below are unchanged. It links the policy to the procedures that deliver it and the records that evidence it.

Local controlled copy

Word version of this controlled document (for offline / paper records):

Download POL_HSQE_31 (.docx)

The page above and the Word copy are the same policy. The Word copy carries the AMWS letterhead and the Director’s signature and is the signed original, so where the two ever differ on the approval date or the issue, the Word copy governs and the page is corrected to it.

Audit trail

Date Action By Details
01/06/2026 Issue 1 drafted Sean Ashton, HSQE Consultant New standalone Fatigue Management Policy. Builds on RA_HO_18 Fatigue Management (04/05/2026) and consolidates the fatigue controls previously held across SOP 8.13, SOP 8.10 and SOP 8.8 under a single policy statement. Raises fatigue from risk-assessment and procedure level to a policy statement.

How this document is approved

This document is maintained under AMWS's continuous-compliance model. Substantive revisions are reviewed and signed off by the Directors at the standing weekly Director / HSQE compliance call (Sean Ashton, Onyx + Leanne Mason). Currency, cross-references and minor edits are checked at the monthly Onyx site visit. The annual Management Review (September) provides the strategic-level confirmation. Compliance is therefore continuous, not gated on a single annual meeting.

Document control

Document Reference POL_HSQE_31
Revision 1
Issue Date 1st July 2026
Next Review 1st July 2027
Status Uncontrolled when printed