Predictive and proactive fatigue risk management approaches in commercial aviation

ABSTRACT

In commercial aviation, sharing best practices of fatigue risk management (FRM) is important for the industry, its employees, and the community. Chronobiologists and sleep scientists have elucidated the impact of the biological clock and sleep/wake schedules on fatigue and captured their contributions in biomathematical models. The application of these models and other aspects of FRM requires expertise to which not all operators have access. We, therefore, describe some predictive and proactive approaches to FRM, including a collaborative process for evaluating and revising duty schedules to reduce fatigue risk and an innovative wake-up call program to better utilize planned napping opportunities.

KEYWORDS:

• 24/7 operations
• transportation
• alertness
• circadian rhythm
• sleep homeostasis
• model-based fatigue risk management
• planned napping
• wake-up call program

Disclosure statement

S.R., R.B., Z.A.K., P.H., E.S. and Y.Z. are paid employees of Federal Express Corporation. S.R.H. received compensation from the Air Line Pilot Association at Federal Express Corporation for scientific advice. S.M.R. and H.P.A.V.D. were funded by Federal Express Corporation for scientific advice and research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Federal Express Corporation.