Andrew, a presenter from Circadian, told attendees at a December 2025 Colorado 9‑1‑1 Program lunch‑and‑learn that fatigue is a form of impairment that can slow reaction times, degrade judgment and increase the risk of mistakes in safety‑sensitive 9‑1‑1 operations.

At the session, Andrew said fatigue “is a state of physical, cognitive and mental function impairment,” and laid out a five‑defense model for managing fatigue risk: ensuring appropriate staffing, tuning shift schedules, training staff on sleep and shift‑work lifestyle, improving workplace design, and monitoring on‑the‑job alertness.

Why it matters: Fatigue affects core 9‑1‑1 tasks — from information processing to consistent adherence to procedures. Andrew cited research and operational data to quantify risks: he said about 20% of the industrialized workforce are shift workers (roughly 24,000,000 people) and described fatigue scoring tools that historically place typical 24/7 operations in the low 40s on a 1–100 scale; according to his presentation, scores above about 56 show rapidly increasing risk.

Key details and recommendations: Andrew recommended that centers start by collecting schedule and call‑volume data and running fatigue‑risk models to identify individuals or shifts at elevated risk. He described practical steps used in other 24/7 operations: proportionally aligning staffing to workload (rather than equal headcounts across every hour), surveying staff anonymously to design schedule options, and using fatigue scorecards that track occurrences such as weeks exceeding 65 work hours or short turnarounds between shifts.

On short‑term mitigation, Andrew advised optimizing sleep opportunities before night shifts and using planned naps, better sleep hygiene and diet, and ergonomic adjustments in control rooms (lighting, temperature and rest stations). He described fitness‑for‑duty checks — brief tablet tests to detect degraded alertness — as conversation starters for managers and part of a formal fatigue plan rather than a basis for immediate disciplinary action.

Data and outcomes from practice: Andrew cited examples and aggregated findings from projects Circadian has supported: participants in shift‑work lifestyle training reported an average increase in sleep and many made changes to their sleep environment; he also described a case in which collaborative schedule redesign produced a 40% reduction in turnover over three years and lower overtime costs.

Audience exchange: During Q&A, Jackie asked about immediate steps when staff have accumulated sleep debt from short‑staffing. Andrew replied that extended nocturnal sleep periods, improvements to the sleep environment and pragmatic use of caffeine and hydration are useful short‑term measures but that chronic sleep debt requires schedule and staffing changes to resolve.

What did not change here: The session was educational; no formal motions, votes or policy adoptions were recorded. Andrew offered contact information for follow‑up with Circadian for centers interested in implementing the practices discussed.

The session closed after a short question period and a reminder that the Public Utilities Commission is the official record holder for the meeting and that the presentation recording will be posted to the program's YouTube channel.