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Transportation Safety Board worried about employee fatigue

Agency says fatigue poses safety risks for freight train, marine and air operations
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Transportation Safety Board of Canada board member Paul Dittmann and TSB Chair Kathy Fox arrive for a press conference to release Watchlist 2018 in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

Pervasive fatigue in rail, marine and air transportation is a top concern for the Transportation Safety Board.

In its annual safety watch list released on Monday, the agency that investigates transportation incidents says fatigue poses safety risks for freight train, marine and air operations because it can degrade performance.

It says transportation crews often work long and irregular hours, frequently in multiple time zones and challenging conditions.

The TSB says fatigue has been found to be a risk or contributing factor in more than 90 investigations conducted by the agency since 1992.

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TSB chair Kathy Fox says that Transport Canada, operators, unions, and employees all need to work to prevent and manage fatigue at work.

The board’s watch list also flags the “disturbing safety record” of the fishing industry, which it says experienced an all-time high of 17 fatalities in 2018.

The Canadian Press

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