Fatigue Management Practices in Business Aviation Kevin Gregory

1. Fatigue Management Practicesin Business AviationKevin Gregory

2. The Flight Plan • Fatigue is a safety issue • Fatigue in business aviation • Managing fatigue • Fatigue management: case study • Fatigue management practices

3. Got Fatigue? Fatigue is “an unsafe condition that can occur relative to the timing and duration of work and sleep opportunities” (Institute of Medicine, 2009)

4. The Fatigue Issue Operational Factors Time zones Length of duty periods Early report times Backside-of-the-clock Changing demands Workload Reduced rest Layover hotels • Physiological Factors • Acute sleep loss • Sleep debt • Circadian disruption • Hours awake

5. Fatigue: A Performance Issue ALERT Judgment/ decision-making Memory Reaction time Vigilance Mood Communication ASLEEP

6. Fatigue in Business Aviation • NASA Fatigue Countermeasures Program • Survey of almost 1500 biz av pilots • 61% common occurrence • 85% moderate to serious safety issue • 71% “nodded off” during flight • 13% unable to fly scheduled trip due to fatigue • 79% received no formal company training that addressed fatigue issues Rosekind, MR, Co, EL, Gregory, KB & Miller, DL. Crew Factors in Flight Operations XIII: A Survey of Fatigue Factors in Corporate/Executive Aviation Operations, NASA/TM–2000-209610

7. Fatigue in Business Aviation • Owatonna, MN: Hawker Beechcraft, 2008 • Factors: sleep loss, early start, insomnia • Birmingham, UK: Challenger, 2002 • Factors: sleep loss, circadian disruption • Hawaii: Rockwell Sabreliner, 2000 • Factors: long duty, multiple time zones, night ops

8. Fatigue Management Shared Responsibilities Reporting & Monitoring Tactical Fatigue Tools Mitigation Strategies Education/training Science-based Policies/Practices(duty/rest)

9. FRMS: Fatigue Risk Management • Proposed as alternative means of managing fatigue in operations • Science-based • Data-driven • Integrated into existing organizational safety and health processes • Continuously improves: feedback, evaluation and modification

10. Fatigue Management: Case Study • NY-based biz av operations • Rotor, business jet • Long, daytime operations (early AM reports) • Backside-of-clock operations • Some long-range ops

11. Fatigue Management: Case Study • Objectives: • Better understand fatigue risks in operations • Better manage identified fatigue risks • Science-based approach: • Data-driven • Objective/subjective data collection during ops (focus on sleep and performance) • Policies and practices review

12. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv Ops • Objective and subjective data collection • Quantify sleep and performance associated with operations • Include days on and off duty • Phase I: daytime ops/rotor wing (9 pilots) • Phase II: backside-of-clock ops/fixed-wing (7 crew members) • Identify fatigue risks; develop mitigation approaches

13. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv Ops Actiwatch Daily log PVT

14. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary • October-November 2011 • Data collected up to 23 days • Goal: 7-8 flight duty periods (FDP) per pilot (total of 28 FDP) • Overall compliance high • General information • Age ~50 yr; 27 yr flight experience • Fatigue ‘moderately’ an issue during typical duty day

15. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary • Flight Duty Periods • Average of 12.6 hr (range = 3.5 - 17.5 hr) • Average ~7.9 flight segments per FDP • Flight segments: 15 min avg (max = 1.6 hr) • Break time on ground: 1.8 hr or more

16. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary Local Time: 0600 1200 1800 0000 Sleep/nap periods Flight Duty

17. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary Sleep/Rest Duty Duty

18. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary

19. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary

20. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary • FDP: >12 hr, ~8 flight segments • Mid-day break (2/3 had rest opportunity) • Some successive duty days • Sleep: 6.2 hr for days off • Sleep: 5.1 hr when prior to FDP • early 5 AM wake time • evening ‘wake zone’

21. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase I: Rotary • Sleep debt across duty weeks • during 2 FDP week: >2 hr • during 3 FDP week: >5 hr • Performance • consistent levels overall • maintained across FDP • individual variability • Strategies used • Caffeine (mostly coffee)

23. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing • February-April 2012 • Data collected for a period of 9-15 days • Days on & off duty: pre/duty/post • Collected: 32 FDP’s • FDP info • FDP: 9 hr avg (range = 3-18 hr) • 48 flight segments • Flight segments: 84 min avg (range = 20 min to 4.2 hr) • Ground transport time associated with FDP

24. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing Time: 0600 1200 1800 0000 Sleep/nap periods Flight Duty

25. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing

26. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing • Daily sleep • Average ~5.8 hr during trip period • 7 nap periods documented: Average ~90 min • Cumulative sleep debt • Avg ~9 hr by trip end (max = 12.5 hr)

27. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing

28. Measuring Sleep/Performance in BizAv OpsPhase II: Fixed-Wing • FDP: 9 hr • 6.8 hr for post/days off • Sleep: 4.9 hr during trip • morning ‘wake zone’ • Sleep debt builds up across trips • Performance: consistency maintained • Strategies used • Caffeine and exercise

30. Policies and Practices Review • Flight ops and helicopter ops manuals • Flight, duty and rest scheduling • Education and training • Fatigue mitigation strategies • Healthy sleep • Other

31. Policies and Practices Review • Duty, flight and rest policies consistent with recommended guidelines • Break/rest provision within max/extended duty • Limitations on reduced rest periods • Recovery rest following extended trip periods • Call-in fatigue policy • Risk assessment tool with fatigue factors

32. Fatigue Management: Case Study • Daytime/rotor ops • Alternating FDP days allow for ‘recovery’ sleep opportunities • Mid-day break period • Strategies used • Backside-of-clock/fixed wing ops • Blocks of days off prior to/following trip periods • Afternoon nap opportunities • Strategies used • Duty periods <10 hr

33. Fatigue Management: Case Study • Include fatigue education and training in initial and recurrent training efforts • Compensatory rest period for maintenance following extended duty • Limits on consecutive duty days • ‘Fit-for-duty’ policy • Expansion of fatigue factors in risk assessment

34. Fatigue Management: Case StudyImplementation • Education/training implemented with subset of pilots • Baseline knowledge level = 66%; post-training = 89% • Timing of tasks to facilitate sleep opportunities • Consecutive day provisions • Raised awareness/better rest management

35. Fatigue Management in BizAv OpsOther Considerations • Cultural change • All aspects of operation(maintenance, dispatch, etc.) • Ultra-long range • Ongoing monitoring • Best practices

36. Thank you! Kevin Gregory kgregory@alertsol.com www.alertsol.com