Some Effects of 8- vs 10-Hour Work Schedules on the Test Performance/Alertness of Air Traffic Control Specialists

Details

• Creators:
  Schroeder, David J. ; Rosa, Roger R. ; Witt, L. Alan
• Corporate Creators:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; Civil Aeromedical Institute ; Barnett Banks
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Air traffic controllers
  • Shifts
  • Alertness
  • Fatigue (Physiological condition)
  • Sleep
  • Performance tests
  • Human subject testing
  • Air traffic controllers
  • Hours of labor
  • Attention
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AM-95/32
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Abstract:
  A 10-hour, 4-day rotating shift schedule worked by some Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCSs) was compared to the more traditional 8-hour, 2-2-1 rapidly rotating schedule. Measures of performance and alertness were obtained from a group of 52 ATCSs at an en route ATC center on tasks in the NIOSH fatigue test battery. Additional information on sleep patterns, mood, and somatic complaints was also gathered. Results confirm that tests comprising the NIOSH test battery are sensitive to fatigue and diurnal variations associated with a rotating shift schedule. ; Test performance of ATCSs on the 10-hour shift did not differ from those on the 8-hour schedule for any of the NIOSH parameters, when comparing the initial 4 days of the work week. Test performance was notably poorer on the mid-shift (night) that occurred on the final (fifth) day of the 2-2-1 8-hour schedule. For both schedules, there was evidence of changes in alertness on some of the NIOSH performance measures within work days and across days of the week. Changes in test performance and mood ratings corresponded to the decline in self-reported sleep time across the work week.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21474/dot_21474_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.42 MB]
• Collection(s):
  FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ddbd07541b2bad2743ac195ac0107ce0f3211db6722a2f45018ead03a5b68a59d63ed8c4672ac589762a969426b143bc293a4bfa0f3d637fa965382d4b292267