Based on a review of the existing research in this field (including research by Fatigue Experts Group in Australia, the Fatigue Experts Group in Canada, and the report of the consultant to Transport Canada (Sherry, 2000), a number of risk factors have been identified as likely to increase operator impairment as a result of fatigue. (1) The total length of the work shift exceeding 14-16 hours. (2) Continuous hours of wakefulness beyond 19 hours. (3) Working between the hours of 0000 and 0600. (4) Obtaining less than six hours of continuous sleep in a 24-hour period. (5) Break times that do not permit reasonable recuperative times (<8 hrs). (6) Continuous work beyond 64 hours in a seven-day period. (7) Less than two consecutive nights of recuperative sleep. (8) Continuous work for over five hours without at least a 30-minute break. (9) Undiagnosed or untreated medical conditions (eg. sleep apnea) that may affect fatigue. (10) Differences in ability to sleep and respond to conditions (eg. age, hardiness). (11) Quality of sleep. While the above list has been designated as “risk factors” it cannot be said that, for example, simply giving a person two consecutive nights of sleep will be sufficient to prevent accidents. Nor does it stand to reason that exceeding the risk factors will automatically lead to an accident. These risk factors are based on the best judgment of the science available at this time, and there is not necessarily a one-to-one causal relationship between these factors and the occurrence of accidents or injuries. As can be seen in Figure1, which is adapted from the Australian Fatigue Experts Group report on driver fatigue, there are a number of factors that contribute to the occurrence of driver fatigue that are also applicable to persons in the rail industry. Based on these findings we can identify a number of different types of activities and countermeasures that can be used to develop an effective plan to mitigate the effects of fatigue. The main way to address the problem of fatigue is to develop FMPs that prevent the causes and/or mitigate the effects of fatigue. The main countermeasures that can be used in developing FMPs are grouped according to the list below. These countermeasures, which are fully detailed in Annex 1 (the revised FMP Assessment Worksheet), should be applied in combination to minimize the risks associated with fatigue: (a) Education and Training; (b) Scheduling Practices; (c) Dealing with Emergencies; (d) Alertness Strategies; (e) Rest Environments; (f) Implementation Policies; and (g) Evaluation of FMPs and Crew Management (CM) Effectiveness