Shift Work and Scheduling in Aviation Industry
Shift work and Fatigue in the Aviation Industry
There is a circadian rhythm in every human being (refer to Figure 1). It basically acts like the body's biological alarm clock and it tells your body the time it needs to rest, to eat or even when to get active. The circadian rhythm can be interrupted by modifications in daily schedule. Disturbance in the circadian rhythm can have strong consequences like the onset of exhaustion. Typically grownups need good 8 hours of sleep in a 24-hour phase (WSH Council, 2010). A recurrent sleep of less than that vital will sustain a sleep deprivation that cannot be improved within one day. Improvement typically requires a few days of sufficient sleep (WSH Council, 2010).
Fatigue or tiredness is basically when a person feels low and weak both mentally and physically, there are many different types of fatigue and they are as follows:
The very first type includes physical fatigue and it is normally the inability to perform manual work.
The second type is the mental fatigue which includes the reduced level of attention and alertness.
There are a number of reasons due to which fatigue can be caused and they include the following:
Prolonged shift work schedules
Intense and unrelenting bodily effort
Intense and unrelenting mental effort;
Continue functioning throughout some or all of the normal time for sleep (as a consequence of long shift work hours).
Lack of enough relaxation and sleep (WSH Council, 2010).
Background
Problem defined:
A problem known as pilot fatigue is basically a very important problem in the modern aviation mainly due to the prolonged and erratic shift work schedules. Long task periods, circadian disturbances, and inadequate sleep are routine in both civilian and military flight operations. The complete impact of fatigue is frequently underappreciated, but several of its harmful effects have been known for quite a while now (Caldwell et al., 2010).
Fatigue in the aviation industry is one of the most dangerous issues for work-related security, performance efficiency, and individual comfort. The numerous flight legs, long shift work duty hours, inadequate time off, early report timings, less-than-necessary sleeping circumstances, revolving and substandard work shifts (Stepanski and Wyatt, 2003), and jet lag facade are important challenges for the fundamental biological potential of pilots and crews.
Human beings are merely not prepared (or did not evolve) to function successfully on the pressured 24/7 agendas that frequently described today's flight operations, whether they are short-haul profitable flights, long-range transoceanic operations, or extensive military assignments. Because of this, perfect coordinated and planned, science-based, fatigue managing techniques are vital for management of sleep loss/sleep deprivation, continued periods of sleeplessness, and circadian factors that are most important contributors to fatigue-related flight accidents (Stewart et al., 2006).
In this paper, we propose that these techniques ought to begin with authoritarian considerations, but ought to consist of in-flight countermeasures as well as both pre- and post-flight involvements. The jeopardy and reimbursement of each method should be watchfully considered and balanced.
Literature Review
Fatigue and Aviation Accidents
The major reason of many flight accidents are considered to be mostly due to the human fatigue. It is almost as high as 20-30% of the transport accidents that occur. Whereas, on the other hand, in the commercial flights the estimated accidents of about 70% take place due to human error so it indicates that the fatigue factor of the crew have a contribution of about 15-20% in the accidents rate. Some of the examples are as follow:
1993 Kalitta International, DC-8-61F at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
1997 Korean Air, 747-300 at Guam
1999 American Airlines, MD-82 at Little Rock, AR
2004 MK Airlines, 747-200F at Halifax, Nova Scotia
2004 Corporate Airlines, BAE Jetstream31 at Kirksville, USA
2004 Med Air, Learjet35A at San Bernadino, CA
2005 Loganair, B-N Islander at Machrihanish, UK
2006, 27th Aug, Comair, CRJ100 at Lexington, KY
2007, 25th June, Cathay Pacific 747F at Stockholm, Sweden
2007, 28th Oct, JetX, 737-800TF-JXF Keflavik airport, Iceland (FAA, 2008).
Fatigue Management and Countermeasures
Organization of fatigue needs an incorporated plan that addresses the necessities of all concerned in an operational situation. Organization assurance, education and preparation, and program completion/management make up some of the mechanisms of a victorious fatigue management program. As with any protection management program, the proposal to tackle fatigue must have untiring and perceptible assistance from the top management. Adequate supply allocation must be committed to make certain the accomplishment of a program. Senior executives must be involved with the structure and administration of their company's fatigue management...
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