AN EXAMINATION OF FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, & RELATED COPING STRATEGIES FOR SHIFT WORKERS IN AVIATION MAINTENANCE
The present research project combined qualitative and quantitative research elements in an attempt to examine fatigue, sleep disturbances, and related coping strategies for shift workers in aviation maintenance. These workers constitute a class of shift workers whose performance is linked to critical flight concerns involving the safety of airplane crew and passengers. The literature reveals that circadian rhythm and related sleep disturbances and fatigue linked to shift work are associated with increased accidents, injuries and even airplane malfunctions. The research moved from a comprehensive literature review to an empirical component surveying aviation maintenance shift workers on their sleep strategies. The project includes a statistical analysis of a survey conducted by the researcher. The survey was conducted with a total of 60 aviation maintenance shift workers, divided into three groups based on shift. Results revealed the different strategies employed by workers to reduce shift-related fatigue and sleep disturbances. The survey generally tended to reinforce findings in the literature regarding the use of these strategies.
Recommendations are presented for further research, along with an identification of "best practices" than can be adopted both aviation shift workers and their employers to ensure that workers' health and well-being, and the safety of aircraft. Data are presented in appropriate tables.
Approximately 20 percent of the American workforce - some 20 million workers - work nonstandard hours (Liskowsky, 1992). Shift work may take the form of evening or night work, rotating shifts, irregular shifts, split shifts, or extended-duty hours. The U.S. Office of Technology has asserted that shift work has the potential to disrupt the body's biological rhythms or changes in various physi...