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In spring, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) officials expect to learn the results of a fatigue study sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration and conducted by Foster-Miller Inc.

Designed to determine the impact of schedules and work environment on maintenance-of-way employees' performance, the study will include BMWE-member feedback. Foster-Miller plans to randomly select about 350 nationwide union members and ask them to maintain work/sleep diaries for two weeks.

Each day, participants would record work and sleep times; note the quality of their sleep and alertness level; document commute times, work hours, and meal periods; and comment on any circumstances involving overnight accommodations when away from home.

"The expansion of territories, the erratic on-call status of BMWE members, work week variations, and inadequate away-from-home lodging and meal arrangements contribute to an environment where fatigue is the norm," said acting BMWE President Fred Simpson in the union's January/February newsletter. "Over the years, we have tried to get the industry to address a number of conditions that contribute to fatigue in the maintenance-of-way craft."

The study aims to document and characterize work/rest schedules and sleep patterns, and examine the relationship between schedules and an individual's alertness/fatigue level under various conditions. FRA recently conducted similar studies involving train and engine personnel, and signalmen.

"Once the study results are in, I am hopeful that we can utilize the data to address those conditions that contribute unnecessarily to fatigue among BMWE members," said Simpson.