Managing Fatigue

10 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart I
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

10 C.F.R. § 26.201 Applicability.

The requirements in this subpart apply to the licensees and other entities identified in § 26.3(a), and, if applicable, (c) and (d). The requirements in §§ 26.203 and 26.211 apply to the individuals identified in § 26.4 (a) through (c). In addition, the requirements in § 26.205 through § 26.209 apply to the individuals identified in § 26.4(a).

10 C.F.R. § 26.203 General provisions.

(a) Policy. Licensees shall establish a policy for the management of fatigue for all individuals who are subject to the licensee's FFD program and incorporate it into the written policy required in § 26.27(b). (b) Procedures. In addition to the procedures required in § 26.27(c), licensees shall develop, implement, and maintain procedures that— (1) Describe the process to be followed when any individual identified in § 26.4(a) through (c) makes a self-declaration that he or she is not fit to safely and competently perform his or her duties for any part of a working tour as a result of fatigue. The procedure must— (i) Describe the individual's and licensee's rights and responsibilities related to self-declaration; (ii) Describe requirements for establishing controls and conditions under which an individual may be permitted or required to perform work after that individual declares that he or she is not fit due to fatigue; and (iii) Describe the process to be followed if the individual disagrees with the results of a fatigue assessment that is required under § 26.211(a)(2); (2) Describe the process for implementing the controls required under § 26.205 for the individuals who are performing the duties listed in § 26.4(a); (3) Describe the process to be followed in conducting fatigue assessments under § 26.211; and (4) Describe the disciplinary actions that the licensee may impose on an individual following a fatigue assessment, and the conditions and considerations for taking those disciplinary actions. (c) Training and examinations. Licensees shall add the following KAs to the content of the training that is required in § 26.29(a) and the comprehensive examination required in § 26.29(b): (1) Knowledge of the contributors to worker fatigue, circadian variations in alertness and performance, indications and risk factors for common sleep disorders, shiftwork strategies for obtaining adequate rest, and the effective use of fatigue countermeasures; and (2) Ability to identify symptoms of worker fatigue and contributors to decreased alertness in the workplace. (d) Recordkeeping. Licensees shall retain the following records for at least 3 years or until the completion of all related legal proceedings, whichever is later: (1) Records of work hours for individuals who are subject to the work hour controls in § 26.205; (2) For licensees implementing the requirements of § 26.205(d)(3), records of shift schedules and shift cycles, or, for licensees implementing the requirements of § 26.205(d)(7), records of shift schedules and records showing the beginning and end times and dates of all averaging periods, of individuals who are subject to the work hour controls in § 26.205; (3) The documentation of waivers that is required in § 26.207(a)(4), including the bases for granting the waivers; (4) The documentation of work hour reviews that is required in § 26.205(e)(3) and (e)(4); and (5) The documentation of fatigue assessments that is required in § 26.211(g). (e) Reporting. Licensees shall include the following information in a standard format in the annual FFD program performance report required under § 26.717: (1) A summary for each nuclear power plant site of all instances during the previous calendar year when the licensee waived one or more of the work hour controls specified in § 26.205(d)(1) through (d)(5)(i) and (d)(7) for individuals described in § 26.4(a). The summary must include only those waivers under which work was performed. If it was necessary to waive more than one work hour control during any single extended work period, the summary of instances must include each of the work hour controls that were waived during the period. For each category of individuals specified in § 26.4(a), the licensee shall report: (i) The number of instances when each applicable work hour control specified in § 26.205(d)(1)(i) through (d)(1)(iii), (d)(2)(i) and (d)(2)(ii), (d)(3)(i) through (d)(3)(v), and (d)(7) was waived for individuals not working on outage activities; (ii) The number of instances when each applicable work hour control specified in § 26.205(d)(1)(i) through (d)(1)(iii), (d)(2)(i) and (d)(2)(ii), (d)(3)(i) through (d)(3)(v), (d)(4) and (d)(5)(i), and (d)(7) was waived for individuals working on outage activities; and (iii) A summary that shows the distribution of waiver use among the individuals within each category of individuals identified in § 26.4(a) (e.g., a table that shows the number of individuals who received only one waiver during the reporting period, the number of individuals who received a total of two waivers during the reporting period). (2) A summary of corrective actions, if any, resulting from the analyses of these data, including fatigue assessments. (f) Audits. Licensees shall audit the management of worker fatigue as required by § 26.41.

10 C.F.R. § 26.205 Work hours.

(a) Individuals subject to work hour controls. Any individual who performs duties identified in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5) shall be subject to the requirements of this section. (b) Calculating work hours. For the purposes of this section, a licensee shall calculate the work hours of individuals who are subject to this section as the amount of time the individuals perform duties for the licensee. Except as permitted by paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5) of this section, the calculated work hours must include all time performing duties for the licensee, including all within-shift break times and rest periods during which there are no reasonable opportunities or accommodations appropriate for restorative sleep. (1) Shift turnover. Licensees may exclude shift turnover from the calculation of an individual's work hours. Shift turnover includes only those activities that are necessary to safely transfer information and responsibilities between two or more individuals between shifts. Shift turnover activities may include, but are not limited to, discussions of the status of plant equipment, and the status of ongoing activities, such as extended tests of safety systems and components. Licensees may not exclude work hours worked during turnovers between individuals within a shift period due to rotations or relief within a shift. Activities that licensees may not exclude from work hours calculations also include, but are not limited to, shift holdovers to cover for late arrivals of incoming shift members; early arrivals of individuals for meetings, training, or pre-shift briefings for special evolutions; and holdovers for interviews needed for event investigations. (2) Within-shift break and rest periods. Licensees may exclude from the calculation of an individual's work hours only that portion of a break or rest period during which there is a reasonable opportunity and accommodations for restorative sleep (e.g., a nap). (3) Beginning or resuming duties subject to work hour controls. If an individual begins or resumes performing for the licensee any of the duties listed in § 26.4(a) during the calculation period, the licensee shall include in the calculation of the individual's work hours all work hours worked for the licensee, including hours worked performing duties that are not listed in § 26.4(a), and control the individual's work hours under the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section. (4) Unannounced emergency preparedness exercises and drills. Licensees may exclude from the calculation of an individual's work hours the time the individual works unscheduled work hours for the purpose of participating in the actual conduct of an unannounced emergency preparedness exercise or drill. (5) Incidental duties performed off site. Licensees may exclude from the calculation of an individual's work hours unscheduled work performed off site (e.g., technical assistance provided by telephone from an individual's home), provided the total duration of the work does not exceed a nominal 30 minutes during any single break period. For the purposes of compliance with the minimum break requirements of § 26.205(d)(2), and the minimum days off requirements of § 26.205(d)(3) through (d)(5) or the maximum average work hours requirements of § 26.205(d)(7), such duties do not constitute work periods, work shifts, or hours worked. (c) Work hours scheduling. Licensees shall schedule the work hours of individuals who are subject to this section consistent with the objective of preventing impairment from fatigue due to the duration, frequency, or sequencing of successive shifts. (d) Work hour controls. Licensees shall control the work hours of individuals who are subject to this section. (1) Except as permitted in § 26.207, licensees shall ensure that any individual's work hours do not exceed the following limits: (i) 16 work hours in any 24-hour period; (ii) 26 work hours in any 48-hour period; and (iii) 72 work hours in any 7-day period. (2) Licensees shall ensure that individuals have, at a minimum, the rest breaks specified in this paragraph. For the purposes of this subpart, a break is defined as an interval of time that falls between successive work periods, during which the individual does not perform any duties for the licensee other than one period of shift turnover at either the beginning or end of a shift but not both. Except as permitted in § 26.207, licensees shall ensure that individuals have, at a minimum— (i) A 10-hour break between successive work periods or an 8-hour break between successive work periods when a break of less than 10 hours is necessary to accommodate a crew's scheduled transition between work schedules or shifts; and (ii) A 34-hour break in any 9-day period. (3) Licensees shall either ensure that individuals have, at a minimum, the number of days off specified in this paragraph, or comply with the requirements for maximum average workhours in § 26.205(d)(7). For the purposes of this section, a day off is defined as a calendar day during which an individual does not start a work shift. For the purposes of calculating the average number of days off required in this paragraph, the duration of the shift cycle may not exceed 6 weeks. (i) Individuals who are working 8-hour shift schedules shall have at least 1 day off per week, averaged over the shift cycle; (ii) Individuals who are working 10-hour shift schedules shall have at least 2 days off per week, averaged over the shift cycle; (iii) Individuals who are working 12-hour shift schedules while performing the duties described in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(3) shall have at least 2.5 days off per week, averaged over the shift cycle; (iv) Individuals who are working 12-hour shift schedules while performing the duties described in § 26.4(a)(4) shall have at least 2 days off per week, averaged over the shift cycle; and (v) Individuals who are working 12-hour shift schedules while performing the duties described in § 26.4(a)(5) shall have at least 3 days off per week, averaged over the shift cycle. (4) During the first 60 days of a unit outage, licensees need not meet the requirements of § 26.205(d)(3) or (d)(7) for individuals specified in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4), while those individuals are working on outage activities. However, the licensee shall ensure that the individuals specified in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(3) have at least 3 days off in each successive (i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period and that the individuals specified in § 26.4(a)(4) have at least 1 day off in any 7-day period; (5) During the first 60 days of a unit outage, security system outage, or increased threat condition, licensees shall control the hours worked by individuals specified in § 26.4(a)(5) as follows: (i) During the first 60 days of a unit outage or a planned security system outage, licensees need not meet the requirements of § 26.205(d)(3) or (d)(7). However, licensees shall ensure that these individuals have at least 4 days off in each successive (i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period; and (ii) During the first 60 days of an unplanned security system outage or increased threat condition, licensees need not meet the requirements of § 26.205(d)(3), (d)(5)(i), or (d)(7). (6) The 60-day periods in paragraphs (d)(4) and (d)(5) of this section may be extended for each individual in 7-day increments for each non-overlapping 7-day period the individual has worked not more than 48 hours during the unit or security system outage or increased threat condition, as applicable. (7) Licensees may, as an alternative to complying with the minimum days off requirements in § 26.205(d)(3), comply with the requirements for maximum average work hours in this paragraph. (i) Individuals may not work more than a weekly average of 54 hours, calculated using an averaging period of up to six (6) weeks, which advances by 7 consecutive calendar days at the finish of every averaging period. (ii) For purposes of this section, when an individual's work shift starts at the end of a calendar day and concludes during the next calendar day, the licensee shall either consider the hours worked during that entire shift as if they were all worked on the day the shift started, or attribute the hours to the calendar days on which the hours were actually worked. (iii) Each licensee shall state, in its FFD policy and procedures required by § 26.27 and § 26.203(a) and (b), the work hour counting system in § 26.205(d)(7)(ii) the licensee is using. (8) Each licensee shall state, in its FFD policy and procedures required by § 26.27 and § 26.203(a) and (b), the requirements with which the licensee is complying: the minimum days off requirements in § 26.205(d)(3) or maximum average work hours requirements in § 26.205(d)(7). (e) Reviews. Licensees shall evaluate the effectiveness of their control of work hours of individuals who are subject to this section. Licensees shall conduct the reviews once per calendar year. If any plant or security system outages or increased threat conditions occurred since the licensee completed the most recent review, the licensee shall include in the review an evaluation of the control of work hours during the outages or increased threat conditions. Licensees shall complete the review within 30 days of the end of the review period. Licensees shall— (1) Review the actual work hours and performance of individuals who are subject to this section for consistency with the requirements of § 26.205(c). At a minimum, this review must address— (i) Individuals whose actual hours worked during the review period exceeded an average of 54 hours per week in any shift cycle while the individuals' work hours are subject to the requirements of § 26.205(d)(3) or in any averaging period of up to 6 weeks, using the same averaging period durations that the licensee uses to control the individuals' work hours, while the individuals' work hours are subject to the requirements of § 26.205(d)(7); (ii) Individuals who were granted more than one waiver during the review period; and (iii) Individuals who were assessed for fatigue under § 26.211 during the review period. (2) Review individuals' hours worked and the waivers under which work was performed to evaluate staffing adequacy for all jobs subject to the work hour controls of this section; (3) Document the methods used to conduct the review and the results of the review; and (4) Record, trend, and correct, under the licensee's corrective action program, any problems identified in maintaining control of work hours consistent with the specific requirements and performance objectives of this part.

10 C.F.R. § 26.207 Waivers and exceptions.

(a) Waivers. Licensees may grant a waiver of one or more of the work hour controls in § 26.205(d)(1) through (d)(5)(i) and (d)(7), as follows: (1) To grant a waiver, the licensee shall meet both of the following requirements: (i) An operations shift manager determines that the waiver is necessary to mitigate or prevent a condition adverse to safety, or a security shift manager determines that the waiver is necessary to maintain site security, or a site senior-level manager with requisite signature authority makes either determination; and (ii) A supervisor assesses the individual face to face and determines that there is reasonable assurance that the individual will be able to safely and competently perform his or her duties during the additional work period for which the waiver will be granted. The supervisor performing the assessment shall be trained as required by §§ 26.29 and 26.203(c) and shall be qualified to direct the work to be performed by the individual. If there is no supervisor on site who is qualified to direct the work, the assessment may be performed by a supervisor who is qualified to provide oversight of the work to be performed by the individual. At a minimum, the assessment must address the potential for acute and cumulative fatigue considering the individual's work history for at least the past 14 days, the potential for circadian degradations in alertness and performance considering the time of day for which the waiver will be granted, the potential for fatigue-related degradations in alertness and performance to affect risk-significant functions, and whether any controls and conditions must be established under which the individual will be permitted to perform work. (2) To the extent practicable, licensees shall rely on the granting of waivers only to address circumstances that could not have been reasonably controlled; (3) Licensees shall ensure that the timing of the face-to-face supervisory assessment that is required by paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section supports a valid assessment of the potential for worker fatigue during the time the individual will be performing work under the waiver. Licensees may not perform the face-to-face assessment more than 4 hours before the individual begins performing any work under the waiver; and (4) Licensees shall document the bases for individual waivers. The documented basis for a waiver must include a description of the circumstances that necessitate the waiver, a statement of the scope of work and time period for which the waiver is approved, and the bases for the determinations required in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section. (b) Force-on-force tactical exercises. For the purposes of compliance with the minimum days off requirements of § 26.205(d)(3) or the maximum average work hours requirements of § 26.205(d)(7), licensees may exclude shifts worked by security personnel during the actual conduct of NRC-evaluated force-on-force tactical exercises when calculating the individual's number of days off or hours worked, as applicable. (c) Common defense and security. When informed in writing by the NRC that the requirements of § 26.205, or any subset thereof, are waived for security personnel to ensure the common defense and security, licensees need not meet the specified requirements of § 26.205 for the duration of the period defined by the NRC. (d) Plant emergencies. Licensees need not meet the requirements of § 26.205(c) and (d) during declared emergencies, as defined in the licensee's emergency plan.

10 C.F.R. § 26.209 Self-declarations.

(a) If an individual is performing, or being assessed for, work under a waiver of one or more of the requirements contained in § 26.205(d)(1) through (d)(5)(i) and (d)(7) and declares that, due to fatigue, he or she is unable to safely and competently perform his or her duties, the licensee shall immediately stop the individual from performing any duties listed in § 26.4(a), except if the individual is required to continue performing those duties under other requirements of this chapter. If the subject individual must continue performing the duties listed in § 26.4(a) until relieved, the licensee shall immediately take action to relieve the individual. (b) Following a self-declaration, as described in paragraph (a) of this section, the licensee— (1) May reassign the individual to duties other than those listed in § 26.4(a), but only if the results of a fatigue assessment, conducted under the requirements of § 26.211, indicate that the individual is fit to safely and competently perform those other duties; and (2) Shall permit or require the individual to take a break of at least 10 hours before the individual returns to performing any duties listed in § 26.4(a).

10 C.F.R. § 26.211 Fatigue assessments.

(a) Licensees shall ensure that fatigue assessments are conducted under the following conditions: (1) For cause. In addition to any other test or determination of fitness that may be required under §§ 26.31(c) and 26.77, a fatigue assessment must be conducted in response to an observed condition of impaired individual alertness creating a reasonable suspicion that an individual is not fit to safely and competently perform his or her duties, except if the condition is observed during an individual's break period. If the observed condition is impaired alertness with no other behaviors or physical conditions creating a reasonable suspicion of possible substance abuse, then the licensee need only conduct a fatigue assessment. If the licensee has reason to believe that the observed condition is not due to fatigue, the licensee need not conduct a fatigue assessment; (2) Self-declaration. A fatigue assessment must be conducted in response to an individual's self-declaration to his or her supervisor that he or she is not fit to safely and competently perform his or her duties for any part of a working tour because of fatigue, except if, following the self-declaration, the licensee permits or requires the individual to take a rest break of at least 10 hours before the individual returns to duty; (3) Post-event. A fatigue assessment must be conducted in response to events requiring post-event drug and alcohol testing as specified in § 26.31(c). Licensees may not delay necessary medical treatment in order to conduct a fatigue assessment; and (4) Followup. If a fatigue assessment was conducted for cause or in response to a self-declaration, and the licensee returns the individual to duty following a break of less than 10 hours in duration, the licensee shall reassess the individual for fatigue as well as the need to implement controls and conditions before permitting the individual to resume performing any duties. (b) Only supervisors and FFD program personnel who are trained under §§ 26.29 and 26.203(c) may conduct a fatigue assessment. The fatigue assessment must be conducted face to face with the individual whose alertness may be impaired. (1) In the case of a fatigue assessment conducted for cause, the individual who observed the condition of impaired alertness may not conduct the fatigue assessment. (2) In the case of a post-event fatigue assessment, the individual who conducts the fatigue assessment may not have— (i) Performed or directed (on site) the work activities during which the event occurred; (ii) Performed, within 24 hours before the event occurred, a fatigue assessment of the individuals who were performing or directing (on site) the work activities during which the event occurred; and (iii) Evaluated or approved a waiver of one or more of the limits specified in § 26.205(d)(1) through (d)(5)(i) and (d)(7) for any of the individuals who were performing or directing (on site) the work activities during which the event occurred, if the event occurred while such individuals were performing work under that waiver. (c) A fatigue assessment must provide the information necessary for management decisions and actions in response to the circumstance that initiated the assessment. (1) At a minimum, the fatigue assessment must address the following factors: (i) Acute fatigue; (ii) Cumulative fatigue; and (iii) Circadian variations in alertness and performance. (2) Individuals shall provide complete and accurate information that may be required by the licensee to address the factors listed in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. Licensees shall limit any inquiries to obtaining from the subject individual only the personal information that may be necessary to assess the factors listed in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. (d) The licensee may not conclude that fatigue has not or will not degrade the individual's ability to safely and competently perform his or her duties solely on the basis that the individual's work hours have not exceeded any of the limits specified in § 26.205(d)(1), the individual has had the minimum breaks required in § 26.205(d)(2) or minimum days off required in § 26.205(d)(3) through (d)(5), as applicable, or the individual's hours worked have not exceeded the maximum average number of hours worked in § 26.205(d)(7). (e) Following a fatigue assessment, the licensee shall determine and implement the controls and conditions, if any, that are necessary to permit the individual to resume performing duties for the licensee, including the need for a break. (f) Licensees shall document the results of any fatigue assessments conducted, the circumstances that necessitated the fatigue assessment, and any controls and conditions that were implemented. (g) Licensees shall also prepare an annual summary for each nuclear power plant site of instances of fatigue assessments that were conducted during the previous calendar year for any individual identified in § 26.4(a) through (c). Each summary must include— (1) The conditions under which each fatigue assessment was conducted (i.e., self-declaration, for cause, post-event, followup); (2) A statement of whether or not the individual was working on outage activities at the time of the self-declaration or condition resulting in the fatigue assessment; (3) The category of duties the individual was performing, if the individual was performing the duties described in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5) at the time of the self-declaration or condition resulting in the fatigue assessment; and (4) The management actions, if any, resulting from each fatigue assessment.

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