Effects of Working Extended Hours In Maintenance Hangers - Coursework Example

Effects of working extended hours in maintenance hangers which can result in faulty maintenance ment of the issue Aviation maintenance staffs, experience fatigue due to irregular and long working shifts without proper rest. The necessity of meeting deadlines, earning extra overtime wages and fulfilling delivery promises has a great impact on the quality of work the staffs perform in the aviation industries. In the year 2000, a Federal Aviation Administration statistical study confirmed that the average sleep time for mechanics was about five hours. The evidence was obtained after collecting 50,000 hours of act-graph data. In the year 2010, it was decided that the workers of the aviation industry should not be given over workloads because it could lead to faulty maintenance of aircrafts. In the recent years, some strategies related to complete fatigue risk management have been applied in the road transport and aviation industries. Despite the implementations workers still suffer from fatigue and stress related issues due to long working hours. This report presents some methods with particular emphasis on the maintenance of fatigue risk management in the airline industry and the experiences of industry personnel. Significance of the issue The procedures used in the commercial jet transport manufacture and design over the previous years have resulted in the failure of damage-tolerant and safety measures in aviation industries due to high pressure in the work environment. According to the credible safety record the advancements in technology force engineers and mechanics to get updated with theoretical knowledge provided by the airline companies. The workers have to complete their assigned work in accurate time-period and learn about new technologies for better service and design of aircrafts. Most of the airline companies pay extra wages to their employees against the extra time they stretch for completion of their work. This factor increases the fatigue level in employees because they get less amount of sleep after extended work schedule. High levels of fatigue among the employees have resulted in low quality aircraft maintenance in the hangars. Fatigue is one of the most important concerns in the transportation industry. Fatigue can lead to disastrous accidents and loss of life and property. Fatigue can be a symptom of medical problem in people however normally it arises in human due to lack of sleep and rest. Most of the crashes have occurred due to fatigue related issues among pilots or maintenance staffs of aircrafts. Therefore it is a major problem, which must be taken care by the airline companies and the federal associations. It has also been observed that most of the accidents occurred on the roads in the past few years was due to fatigue among drivers. The graph provided below explains the effect of fatigue in transportation sector. Review of Relevant Research Human factors contribute on a large scale towards accidents and mishaps that occurs in the aviation industry. It has observed that about half of the aircraft accidents that occurred in the last decade were due to human factors related to fatigue. The NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System has collected evidences from 35000 reports, which prove that the human factors had great influence over that the incidents that occurred between 1976 and 1983. Moreover, the defaults in the aircraft and negligence of staffs towards their work during emergency situations were due to issues related to stress and fatigue. As discussed earlier fatigue and stress are internal problem of human that arises majorly due to lack of sleep and rest or boredom work. There are some incidents that have occurred due to low quality parts in the aircraft and weather factors (Johnson, 2013). There are evidences that prove that the absence of proper communication between aircraft pilots and air-traffic controllers have resulted in disastrous accidents causing loss of many lives. After analysis of some important reports it has been observed that both system and human factors contributed highly towards human errors leading to accidents. The pilots in the cockpit might be affected from fatigue related problems due to long journeys or lack of sleep. The safety groups authorized for connecting communication with aircrafts are also responsible for the incidents that occurred in the last decade. In order to prevent the accidents it is very important to determine the outcome due to which the incidents occurred (Hobbs, Avers & Hiles, 2011). The aircraft maintenance department is a very important unit of the aviation industry. All the aircrafts are thoroughly checked before and after a journey. Most of the airline companies are private owners and they have a tendency to hire lower number of employees in order to obtain maximum profit. This factor increases the work load on the employees and they are forced to work for long shifts. The employees, who work at night, are also asked by their seniors to extend their shift during incoming of a flight or during non-scheduled take-off of air planes. During this phase employees loose the motive to work efficiently and they can also get tired due to excessive work continuously. Moreover, the ground staff support team and the airport safety unit can also suffer from fatigue and work stress if they are forced to work continuously without proper breaks. These factors can lead to disastrous accidents provided the circumstances created by the senior officials of aviation industries. It is essential for the airline companies to reduce the workloads on their employees and increase the safety of people. The aircraft maintenance teams on the hangars should be given proper comfort because they are normally asked to extend their shifts due to high requirement of manpower. It is also important to note that the Airport authority can-not be held responsible for any kind of faults in an aircrafts. The aircraft maintenance teams of the airline companies are solely responsible for any kind of faults associated with the aircrafts. Human errors occur in aviation industries due to lack of system failure or human problems, such as negligence (Avers, Johnson, Banks, Nei & Hensley, 2011). The human errors can be controlled by providing required amount of breaks and implementing proper shift regulations for technical and non-technical workers of the airline companies. The Federation Aviation administration and the National Transportation Safety Board along with the Congress have identified human fatigue as a target to reduce risks and increase safety. After detailed analysis it was recorded that fatigue management and stress management programs would play important role in reducing the risks involved with maintenance of aircrafts. The performance of employees can be enhanced by understanding the problems experienced by employees during their working hours. Fatigue among employees not only occurs in workplaces but also in their personal life. Personal problems and family issues can also reduce the efficiency of employees in their work. Workplace factors such as availability of break periods, proper staffing and maintaining proper shift time can reduce fatigue risks among employees (Goranson, 1997). In order to manage the fatigue risks employers are required to focus on the comfort level of employees and look after their daily routine. The personal and family problems of employees can-not be controlled directly by employers hence they should implement training programs and stress management programs for employees in order to help them overcome their personal problems during their work time. Medical condition of employees can also reduce the efficiency of their work along with lack of sleep. Hence proper medical arrangements would help airline industries to overcome the problems associated with human error. Training programs implemented by companies can aim at educating employees towards time management strategies. Staffing should be appropriate because it would help in reducing the working hour of different shifts. In order to reduce the fatigue in aviation industries, the companies need to understand the reasons due to which the fatigue level among employees exists. Fatigue risk management strategies should study thoroughly the problems due to which employees experience fatigue during their working hours. Workplaces should not be stressful by any means and technicians and experts should be provided proper equipments during their work. Providing appropriate amount of break periods would help employees focus during complex work activities (Proquest, 2014). Personal and family problems of employees should be taken seriously by team managers in order to reduce the amount of mental pressure employees possess. The second class of intervention would be to reduce the captured fatigue within the employees. In order to reduce the risks involved with fatigue or human error, employers should have complete focus on employees who have gained fatigue. This process can filter the amount of risk associated with fault or errors during progression of work. The third intervention is to minimize the harm that is caused by errors. The employers of aircraft industries can have strong policies that can allow a mechanic to perform only one task instead of performing multiple tasks. This method can reduce the chances of multiple errors on the aircrafts and this can reduce the probability of accidents. Summary Fatigue among the workers of aviation industry is an emerging problem that can increase the risk of errors during aircraft maintenance. Fatigue can also have a negative impact on engineers and technicians of airline companies as well as respondents of Air Traffic Controllers. The FAA and NTSB of the United States of America have completed detailed analysis on the problems associated with fatigue on employees. It has been observed that reduction of stress and fatigue among employees can prevent disastrous accidents of aircrafts. In the last few decades some dangerous accidents have occurred due to faulty maintenance of aircrafts in the hangar. In order to reduce the amount of risk associated with the aircrafts the employers can take some precautions towards their employees. There are countless documented accidents and errors recognized with fatigue and tiredness in maintenance workplaces. Fatigue can affect decision making ability, judgment ability and recognizing ability of people. This factor can lead to faulty maintenance of aircrafts and also lead to disastrous accidents. According to the interventions declared by the federal agencies of America, the aviation companies can take special care of their employees. The employers should try to figure out the problems due to which employees suffer from fatigue. Recommendations There are three possible ways through which the risks associated with human errors can be reduced. First of all, employers are required to know about the reasons due to which employees suffer from tiredness and fatigue in their workplaces. Proper actions can be taken after knowing the reasons for fatigue. Secondly, employees can be differentiated in different groups and team managers should be allowed to take decisions for their teams. The team managers can authorize complex work to efficient workers and the workers who suffer from fatigue can be given easy and non-technical jobs in order to reduce the chances of errors. The third most important step is that employers should hire required number of employees and works can be divided into many people in order to assure low chances or faults. Another possible way is to double check each and activity of workers in the maintenance process. Employees should also be enrolled in stress management programs and training modules to overcome their personal stress. Employers can also reduce long working shifts and allow employees to take rest and work appropriately. These factors can enhance the maintenance of aircrafts and reduce the probability of faulty maintenance in hangars. References Avers, K., Johnson, W., Banks, J., Nei, D., & Hensley, E. (2011). Fatigue Solutions for Maintenance: From Science to Workplace Reality. Retrieved from: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/faa-aviation-medicine-reports/AM11-19.pdf. Goranson, Ull. (1997). “Fatigue issues in aircraft maintenance and repairs”. International Journal of Fatigue, 93(19), 3-21. Hobbs, A., Avers, K., & Hiles, J. (2011). Fatigue Risk Management in Aviation Maintenance: Current Best Practices and Potential Future Countermeasures. Retrieved from: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/faa-aviation-medicine-reports/AM11-10.pdf. Johnson, B. (2013). What if There was a Maintenance Fatigue Rule? Retrieved from: < http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1433405827?pq-origsite=summon>. Proquest. (2014). Maintenance and Fatigue: A Way of Life. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1524704449?pq-origsite=summon. Read More