Fatigue in the Aviation Sector - Research Paper Example

Aviation Fatigue Introduction Transport industry, especially the aviation sector faces constant challenges posed by fatigue. As the aviation sectorplunged into a recession in 2007-2008, the pressure on aviation companies increased, resulting in more unpredictable work hours of longer duration, lack of sleep and higher work pressure for the airline crew. Fatigue in the aviation sector can be defined as the state of intense tiredness which is the result of continuous long work hours and sleep deprivation which causes a metabolic imbalance and disruption of the circadian rhythm (Caldwell and Caldwell, 2003). This study takes a look at aviation fatigue in detail by outlining the major impacts of fatigue in the aviation sector. It also highlights the importance of fatigue risk management and the various ways in which it can be implemented. Fatigue in the Aviation Sector The aviation sector had recognized the issue of airline fatigue even back in the 1920s-1930s and attributed it largely to the rapid time zone transition that pilots have to undertake (Lindberg, 2007). To overcome these issues, a number of steps were taken such as determining appropriate layover timings, providing sleep recommendations to the crew and so on. However, the unfortunate aspect is that these suggestions are followed even today, and have not evolved along with the changes that have taken place in the sector (Lindberg, 2007). Science has evolved to understand the concepts of fatigue, circadian disruption and shift-based work, the practices in the aviation industry has not incorporated the new theories regarding these concepts (Beanlands, 2003). Another misconception in the aviation sector is that only the pilots and the crew who undertake long hauls suffer from fatigue (Waterhouse et al, 2007). While it is true that the long haul aviation crew does undergo fatigue because of time zone transitions and longer duration flights, the short-haul pilots also undergo fatigue because of high workload and frequent schedules. However, most of the aviation operators focus on managing fatigue related to only the long haul pilots, thus ignoring the fatigue of the short haul pilots (Waterhouse et al, 2007). These issues bring forth the fact that it is necessary to take a deeper look at how fatigue is managed and adapt it with changing times. Impact of Fatigue on Airline Operations The ways in which fatigue can have a major impact in the aviation sector is under-appreciated even today (Dismukes et al, 2007). However, it is a given fact that acute fatigue, which is short-lived and chronic fatigue, and fatigue which develops slowly can affect that alertness and negatively impact the performance. Many researchers and scholars have conducted studies to understand the way in which fatigue affects the performance. According to the Center for Sleep Research, if an individual is awake for 24 hours continuously, the result is same as having a 0.1% of blood alcohol level, which is twice the limit set for drivers (Australian Online College, n.d). The most alarming impact of fatigue is seen in the form of aviation accidents. In the Colhagen 3407 accident which took place in Feb 2009 in New York, killing close to 50 people, crew fatigue was also slated to be a cause. Airline fatigue was also slated to be the cause of other major accidents such as the 1999 crash of Korea Air Flight 801, and American Airlines crash in 1993 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Dismukes et al, 2007). According to Keith Moore, of the total number of aviation accidents which are caused because of human errors, 25-20% can be attributed to pilot fatigue (Moore, 2012). Moore also adds that the study conducted by British Airline Pilots association on 500 of the pilots found out that 43% of them had fallen asleep due to fatigue at one point or the other during a flight. Such studies have increased the importance to proper fatigue management in the aviation sectors (Moore, 2012). Walton (2003) adds that there is a strong relationship between pilot fatigue and the probability of causing an error while flying. This is because the cognitive ability to process multiple tasks or pieces of data reduces and results factors such as in impaired judgment, slow decision making ability, low visual perception and slow motor skills (Walton, 2003). Such a condition poses a huge risk to the safety of the passengers and hence, the impact that fatigue can have on airline operations in very high. Apart from all the other risks associated, it can also result in micro sleep, where certain areas of the brain shut down for a small fraction of time (couple of seconds) to give it the much needed rest (Walton, 2003). These periods of micro sleep go unnoticed because they are of a very small duration, but pose an increased risk. According to the study conducted by Wright and McGown and Wright (2001), the numbers of instances of micro sleep have increased rapidly among the pilots. Rosekind et al (2000) found in their survey that among their total respondents, 87% of them have experienced at least one incident of micro sleep which lasted for more than 5 seconds. Hence, it can be said that fatigue poses a very high safety risk in the aviation sector. Importance of Fatigue Risk Management Earlier, the aviation sector only used to look at different ways to ensure that the airlines crew worked only as per the prescriptive limits and thought that fatigue could be effectively managed with that. However, now it is clear that fatigue in the aviation sector is no longer a one dimensional concept, but it involves a number of factors operating together - right from physiological reasons to sleep routines and the bodys internal mechanism; and hence, it needs to be addressed with careful consideration (Signal et al, 2003). Hence, the concept of fatigue risk management has emerged which facilitate the management of a number of aspects such as practices at workplaces, appropriate education on the risks of fatigue, managing the work rosters and enabling the pilots to identify early indicators of fatigue (Signal et al, 2003). It is a given fact that aviation sector is a complex one that involves factors such as moving across various time zones, disruption in the circadian rhythm of the body, inability to follow one routine for a long period and extension of work hours. In addition, the environment inside an airplane changes with changes in altitude, cabin pressure and increases the risk of aviation fatigue (Keightley, 2004). Therefore, the combination of all these factors requires that an effective fatigue risk management system is implemented, which addresses multiple components. An effective fatigue risk management system is one which measures, mitigates and manages the fatigue risks in a non-prescriptive manner based on evidences (Keightley, 2004). This system uses a combination of various factors such as implementation of a policy, education and awareness training programs, creating feedback mechanism whereby people can report instances of fatigue, evaluation of fatigue levels and appropriate interventions when necessary. These are the basic guidelines based on which airline operators can customize and build their operator specific policies based on their particular needs and operation policies. Fatigue Countermeasures in Aviation Sectors As Fatigue risk management systems should include some key aspects and customize it as per the requirements. There are certain imperative fatigue countermeasures which can help in ensuring that the instances of fatigue reduce rapidly and provide options in the event of fatigue. This section takes a look at such fatigue countermeasures. First and foremost, any aviation company should have a policy in place about fatigue management which ensures that that the organization is committed to managing the risks (Caldwell et al, 2009). The policy should acknowledge the issue of aviation fatigue and set certain regulations and guidelines to avoid it and to tackle with it in the event that it happens. Having an organization level policy helps in managing the issue in a better and more effective manner. The second step is to ensure that a proper education system or employee training system gets implemented. Often, it is noticed that the pilots and crew ignore certain symptoms of fatigue because they are not aware of it. A proper training based approach that empowers them to identify the symptoms at an early stage can help them in managing it in a much easier manner (Rosekind et al, 2001). In addition, the flight crew should also be trained to spot symptoms of the others members to make sure that risk associated with flight fatigue gets minimized. The education/training program should be well-structured, mandatory and given considerable importance so that it is taken seriously by the participants (Rosekind et al, 2001). It should also be updated based on new researches and policies to avoid the risk of being outdated. Also, the airline crew should be given tips, suggestions and exercise on how to reduce the negative impact that they suffer from because of frequent flying (Rosekind et al, 2001). Suggestions related to exercises, yoga and meditation have been found to be useful in this regard. Furthermore, fatigue detection tests also should be conducted often as an extra precaution. In most cases, instances of acute fatigue are caused because of inefficient rooster systems which lead to unnecessary pressure on certain pilots. Rooster system should be one which is able to account for proper resting periods and recuperating times for the crew, instead of overloading them with work pressure (Rabinowitz, 2009). While it is a given fact that some level of tiredness can be expected, the roster system should be one that does not exceed these levels and push a pilot towards unacceptable levels. Careful layover planning and selection of the crew for a particular flight are certain aspects that the roster system should work out. Many technology corporations have now come up with software that provides airline crew roster systems to facilitate the implementation of a roster that does not lead to fatigue (Rabinowitz, 2009). Most of the airline operators do have guidelines around fatigue but what they often fail at is to implement a mechanism whereby they can report fatigue or provide feedback (Caldwell et al, 2009). With the policy, they should also implement a method where by employees can easily communicate without any fear. For example, appointing certain points-of-contact in case of fatigue will encourage them to report such instances. Furthermore, a forum held at periodic instances should be held where the crew can provide feedback based on the instances and experiences related to fatigue that they had during the flights. From a management perspective, airline operates also should provide adequate importance to fatigue by ensuring that there is a system in place which records, captures and analyzes the events that happen because of fatigue, right from cases of micro sleep to any other health issues that the pilots may be facing (Revell et al, 2005). Once they get this data, they should undertake a review of such instances and make changes to their operational procedures so that such events of fatigue do not occur in the future. Periodic review can also educate the management/leadership about any patterns that they see or any recurrent issues which occur and based on that, they can come up with necessary steps (Revell et al, 2005). Apart from effective roster to provide the necessary break to recuperate, the airline operators also should come up with certain in-flight countermeasures (Caldwell et al, 2009). For instance, activity breaks can help in breaking the monotony of the environment in the cockpit. Similarly, making changes to the cockpit lighting can help in the human circadian rhythms and arranging for bunk sleep in the flight are some other steps that can be taken to help in reducing fatigue during a flight (Caldwell et al, 2009). In addition, a system that helps in in-flight roster should also be arranged so that there can be flexibility during a flight to mitigate the risks posed by fatigue (Gu and Ji, 2004). Conclusion This research has looked at the concept of fatigue in the aviation sector and has highlighted the importance of fatigue risk management. As the sector evolves, various operations involved also undergo a change and because of this, the fatigue management techniques and strategies should also be modified as per the requirements. With effective scheduling systems, appropriate policies, feedback mechanism and support from the operators; it is possible to overcome fatigue in the aviation sector so that the safety is not compromised. References Australian Online College. (n.d). What is fatigue risk management? australianonlinecollege.com.au. Retreived 25 Feb 2012 from : http://australianonlinecollege.com.au/what-fatigue-risk-management.html Beanlands, P. (2003). 190117 sleep, fatigue and fatigue management lecture notes. Albany: Author. Caldwell, J.A., & Caldwell, J.L. (2003). Fatigue in aviation: A guide to staying awake at the stick. England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 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