5.4-
Research: Shift Work Schedule
Joseph
Younts
Embry
Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide
ASCI
638: Shawn Wynn
April
2017
Shift Work Schedule
Fatigue
and stress are concepts that are a part of everyone’s lives. Fatigue and stress
cannot completely be avoided, especially during aviation related activities.
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators are susceptible to fatigue and stress
due to long work shifts, boredom, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. After many
hours of continued wakefulness, basic cognitive and physical functions can
deteriorate. This is hazardous for UAV flight and is a danger for people on the
ground. The United States military will continue to utilize UAVs for
surveillance, intelligence gathering, and to carry payloads to use on enemy
troops. According to Caldwell (2012), “as fatigue increases, accuracy and
timing degrade, lower standards of performance are accepted, the ability to
integrate information from individual flight instruments into a meaningful and
overall pattern declines, and attention narrows” (Caldwell, 2012, para. 6). In
one study conducted on F-117 pilots, when the pilots were deprived one night of
sleep and tested on precision instruments, errors based on understanding of the
instruments doubled and pilots reported feelings of depression and confusion
(Caldwell, 2012). If manned aircraft pilots have these feelings after a single
night of sleep loss, what happens to UAV operators when fatigue builds up due
to shift work schedules?
The
schedule already provided in this assignment will inevitably lead to fatigue
buildup over a short period of time. The teams of operators on the schedule
work 6 days on and are off for two days. Each work shift is eight and a half
hours. While many professions have work days this long, UAV operators have
multiple responsibilities within the ground control station (GCS) that can
cause fatigue and stress. In order to reduce the amount of fatigue and stress,
the military must first consider the consequences of overworking UAV operators.
6 day work shifts will have a negative impact on the circadian rhythms of the
operators. In a study conducted by Thompson, Lopez, Hickey, DaLuz, Caldwell,
& Tvaryanas (2006), degradation of reaction times and vigilance performance
for UAV operators was greatest over a shift interval for night shifts relative
to day and evening shifts. Adverse effects of shift work were most pronounced
on day and night shifts relative to evening shifts (Thompson et al., 2006).
Part of this issue may be centered around circadian rhythms and the body’s
reaction to sleeping during the day and working all throughout the night.
This
author has designed a new schedule that should reduce the amount of stress and
fatigue experienced by UAV operators. While a large reduction in stress and fatigue
will take time, if the operators are aware of the sources of stress and
fatigue, appropriate steps can be taken to mitigate the sources. There is a
benefit to the current schedule; having 4 teams helps to keep one team off duty
frequently. The new schedule that has been developed is designed to prevent
operators from working continuous day, swing, and night shifts. The reasoning
behind this schedule change is to give operators plenty of time to recover
after a long day. The operators should have time to relax, get adequate amounts
of sleep, and spend time with family and friends. Day shifts are from 7:30 A.M.
to 4 P.M., swing shifts are from 3:30 P.M. to 12:00 A.M., and night shifts are
from 11:30 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. With teams working day shift one day, swing shift
the next day, and the night shift the following day, operators have ample
amounts of time to recover. With these changes, one team always has a day off
while the other 3 teams work day, swing, and night shifts.
The
previous schedule only allowed each team to work 6 days on the same shift. This
allows for disruptions in the circadian rhythms of each operator. With this new
schedule, each team has a shift 3 days in a row with 1 day off in between the
next shift date. Unlike other potential schedules that could have scattered
work shifts, each team will work all 3 shifts with a guaranteed full day off.
The sequence for this author’s schedule also allows for each team to work 3
shifts, take a day off, and then start the next set of work shifts during the
day. By creating this schedule, operators should not have to worry about odd
shift work that jumps from day to day. For example, each team will not have to
worry about working a night shift, day shift, then a swing shift that could
potentially interrupt circadian rhythms. By using this schedule, operators
working a day shift will have a sufficient amount of time to relax, spend time
with family, and get at least 8 hours of sleep. The same can be said for swing
and night shift operators. The disadvantage of this schedule compared to the
original schedule is that the shifts do change around every three days. Where
the original schedule had consecutive work days, this author’s schedule rotates
every day. Some operators may prefer to work 6 days on a specific shift and may
feel that their personal fatigue levels are not high with a 6 on 2 off
schedule. Another potential issue with both schedules is the shift work itself.
Research conducted in 2003 found that in a 32 month study of fatigue and shift
work schedules, rotating shift workers fatigue levels were 24 to 29 percent
when compared to 18 percent for day shift workers and 19 percent for irregular
shift workers (Jansen, Van Amelsvoort, Kristensen, Van den Brandt, & Kant,
2003).
Overall,
this author believes that the original shift work schedule did not allow for
operators to have a sufficient amount of time to relax, eat, and achieve
recommended amounts of sleep. Operators may also want to exercise and the new
shift schedule will give operators that chance. With each team working a day,
swing, and night shift in consecutive order, the days off will be spread out
and each team can optimize rest time while reducing fatigue through rest and
relaxation. While shift work has been identified to have mixed results in
regards to fatigue, this shift work schedule should relieve each team of some
stress and fatigue throughout the month.
Below is an example of the schedule I have developed for this research paper.
References
Caldwell, J. A. (2012, April 24).
Crew Schedules, Sleep Deprivation, and Aviation Performance. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/crew-schedules-sleep-deprivation-and-aviation-performance.html#.WPfnGvnyvIU
Jansen, N. W. H., Van Amelsvoort,
L. G. P. M., Kristensen, T. S., Van den Brandt, P. A., & Kant, I. J. (2003). Work schedules and
fatigue: A prospective cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(Suppl 1), i47-i53.
Thompson, W. T., Lopez, N., Hickey,
P., DaLuz, C., Caldwell, J. L., & Tvaryanas, A. P. (2006). Effects of Shift Work and Sustained
Operations: Operator Performance in Remotely Piloted
Aircraft (OP-REPAIR). 1-53. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA443145
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