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Abstract

Background Fatigue is a recognized contributor to impaired performance and increased occupational risk in safety-critical industries. Although various assessment tools are available, their real-world implementation and role in operational decision-making remain unclear.

Methods This scoping review mapped fatigue assessment methods in workplace settings and evaluated their application in operational contexts. A systematic search of PubMed and Google Scholar identified 693 records, of which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria for real-world occupational settings.

Results All included studies utilized combined subjective and objective fatigue assessment approaches; however, this finding should be interpreted in light of the search strategy. Administrative applications were consistently reported for observational purposes, with no included studies explicitly reporting formal screening or operational decision-making use, such as predefined thresholds or fitness-for-duty criteria.

Discussion/Conclusion Fatigue assessment in occupational settings remains primarily observational. This suggests a gap between measurement and decision-making, although such practices may exist outside published literature. Further research is needed to develop practical frameworks and validated thresholds for decision-oriented fatigue management.

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