The tendency for public safety workers to sacrifice rest because of a sense of duty is inherent in the culture and belief system. Answering the call to potentially save a life or catch a criminal musters up extraordinary efforts. Often seen as a badge of honor, these efforts take a toll on responder health and safety.
Fatigue and burnout are pervasive problems affecting performance, attendance, health, and safety. To provide the highest quality of service while maintaining safe working conditions for responders, public safety leaders must take steps to better manage sleep deprivation and fatigue through effective policies and scheduling practices.
Managing a public safety workforce is a balancing act of manpower, minimum staffing requirements, constant staffing, labor agreements, and risk management. 24/7/365 shift work in public safety has always been a challenge. As the demands of public safety work increase and evolve, rules-based automated scheduling solutions can help leaders promote responder health and optimal work schedules and create a safe environment for both citizens and workers.
This report includes startling statistics from several recent studies on fatigue and a short case study of how the Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement Center is using automated scheduling technology to increase safety.