The Impact of Task Interruptions on the Unsafe Behavior of Coal Mine Tunneling Machine Operators: The Moderating Role of Fatigue

Task interruptions and fatigue in high-risk environments such as coal mining significantly affect the safety behavior of coal mine tunneling machine operators. Understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying unsafe behaviors is crucial for improving workplace safety. This study, based on the executive control and resource allocation theory in the ACT-R cognitive architecture, investigates the impact of task interruptions under fatigue on unsafe behavior and cognitive neural mechanisms in these operators. A dual-perspective analysis of behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) was employed. The behavioral analysis revealed that fatigue exacerbates the negative effects of task interruptions. Under non-fatigued conditions, individuals compensated for interruptions with longer reaction times, maintaining accuracy without significant decline. However, under fatigue, task interruptions notably reduced accuracy, especially during recovery trials. ERP analysis showed that fatigue impaired cognitive and neural mechanisms that are critical for task performance. Following interruptions, an increase in P200 amplitude and prolonged latency indicated reduced task switching efficiency. Under fatigue, a decline in frontal P300 amplitude over time reflected weakened executive control, while an increase in central P300 amplitude suggested compensatory control mechanisms’ efforts. However, these compensatory control mechanisms were insufficient to counteract the negative impact of fatigue. In conclusion, fatigue-induced impairments in attention shifting, response inhibition, and the imbalance between facilitation and inhibition further exacerbated performance declines after task interruptions. Although compensatory control mechanisms attempted to mitigate these effects through resource reallocation, they were unable to fully counteract fatigue’s negative impact. This study underscores the moderating role of fatigue in the relationship between task interruptions and unsafe behaviors, and highlights the limitations of brain compensatory control mechanisms. These findings offer valuable theoretical insights and practical guidance for optimizing workflow and task design for tunneling machine operators in coal mining operations.