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7C h a p t e r 1 The National Highway System (NHS) is composed of 163,000 miles of significant rural and urban roads, including about 46,000 miles of the Interstate system. Many of the pavements on these highways, constructed during the infrastructure con- struction boom in the 1960s and 1970s, have exceeded their design lives due to continuously increasing traffic demand and aging without major renewal. The FHWA recently released trend data indicating that the total number of vehicles over the last 40 years (1970 to 2010) has increased by 90% and the total freight movement (ton-miles) has increased by about 580%, while highway facilities (lane miles) have expanded by only 6%. This increased traffic comes at a time when many highway assets are reaching the end of their useful design life and need to be rebuilt or replaced. In recent years state transportation agencies have shifted their focus from building new transportation facilities to â4-Râ projects: restoration, resurfacing, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Today, almost 61,000 miles (37%) of all lane miles on the NHS are in poor or fair condition. More than 152,000 bridgesâone of every four bridges in the United Statesâare structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has given low grades for the surface transportation system: Roads (D-), Bridges (C), Transit (D), and Rail (C). The ASCE estimated in 2005 that the nationâs infrastructure would require an invest- ment of $2.2 trillion over the next 5 years to bring the infra- structure to a state of good repair (Lee and Ibbs, 2005). To meet the challenge of aging and increasingly congested highways, rapid renewal construction approaches are being developed and implemented to minimize the impact of construction on traffic flow, especially during peak periods. Working conditions associated with rapid renewal approaches include working during off-peak hours, continually on week- ends, at night, and in zones adjacent to traffic. All of these work- ing conditions have the potential to increase workforce fatigue and stress, resulting in reduced levels of workforce safety and construction productivity. In response to these concerns, SHRP 2 Renewal Project R03, Identifying and Reducing Workforce Fatigue in Rapid Renewal Projects, was initiated so that the factors associated with work- force fatigue and stress in the rapid renewal environment could be understood and the risks to worker safety and con- struction productivity could be managed and reduced. The results of Project R03 will support the overall SHRP 2 Renewal program objective of facilitating the development and implementation of effective rapid renewal construction approaches. By providing the highway construction commu- nity with tools and a strategy to address workforce fatigue and stress under the demanding conditions of rapid renewal projects, this project will help to ensure that rapid renewal projects are conducted safely and productively. The project objectives are as follows: ⢠Document and assess the impact of human fatigue on work activities commonly associated with rapid renewal high- way construction projects, including the impact on safety, quality, cost, and schedule. ⢠Develop strategies for organizing, structuring, and executing rapid renewal projects that incorporate fatigue reduction techniques into the project planning process. ⢠Evaluate a range of techniques that reduce fatigue and its effects on the workforce. ⢠Develop strategies for educating the community and its leaders on the importance of mitigating fatigue on rapid renewal projects. To achieve these objectives, the team implemented a two- phase approach, involving initial research activities such as background information and literature review and field work to document fatigue impacts, followed by a develop- ment phase that created contextually appropriate training, work schedule assessment and work practice guidance, and fatigue countermeasures. The team also addresses organiza- tional issues and processes for implementation of fatigue Introduction and Background
8risk management as an integral part of contractor safety management systems. This report consists of five additional chapters that integrate the results of the research and development phases of this project. Chapter 2 provides an overview of fatigue risk fac tors in rapid renewal work and illustrates them using 13 scenarios based on specific accelerated construction projects. This chap- ter also provides a detailed review of the scientific and technical literature on fatigue in operational work settings. Chapter 3 presents the results from field research conducted with three rapid renewal projects. Chapter 4 provides an overview of fatigue countermeasures and discusses prospective application in the highway construction environment. Chapter 5 outlines a number of critical issues related to implementing fatigue risk management for highway construction projects. Chapter 6 inte- grates the results of the projectâs development efforts by pre- senting (1) an organizational process and steps for implementing fatigue risk management, (2) training materials, (3) outreach approaches, and (4) work schedule and work practice guidance based on fatigue risk modeling. The chapters of the report are supplemented by appendices with more detailed information on rapid renewal scenarios, field research survey instruments, and individual fatigue coun- termeasures. This report is complemented by a separate guide, SHRP 2 Renewal Project R03, Guide for Identifying and Reduc- ing Workforce Fatigue in Rapid Renewal Highway Projects, that can be used by contractors and others for reference, training material, work schedule analysis, and work practice guidance.
