Recommendations for the Work Hours of UK Aircraft Maintenance Personnel

1
Recommendationsfor the Work Hours ofUK Aircraft
Maintenance Personnel

• Simon Folkard D.Sc.
• Chair ICOH Shiftwork Committee
• President Working Time Society
• Director Body Rhythms and Shiftwork Centre
• University of Wales Swansea

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Remit from CAA

• Assess the work hours of
• Aircraft Maintenance Personnel
• and produce recommendations
• for good practice

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4 Phases

• Survey Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers.
• Survey Employers Contractors (mainly as check)
• Review Literature on Safety and Fatigue.
• Produce Recommendations for Good Practice.

4
Survey of A.M. Engineers.

• Posted to all UK Licensed Engineers.
• 2210 returns (from c. 8000, i.e. 27.6, 2093
  analysed).
• Questions included
• All aspects of Work Hours (Scheduled, Normal,
  Minimum Maximum).
• Sleep lengths
• Risk (sleepiness, mistakes, confidence)
• Physical health
• Interference/Advantages

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Shift Systems in Operation

• gt100 different shift systems.
• 5 main categories
• Rotating shifts involving nights (32.5)
• Rotating shifts without nights (30.2)
• Permanent nights (9.1)
• Permanent afternoons (1.4)
• Permanent mornings/days (26.7)

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Hours Per Week
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Hours Per Week
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Length of Night Shift
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Hours before a Break
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No. Successive Work Days
11
Sleep Duration on Different Shifts
12
Sleep Before Morning Shifts
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Review of Safety Literature

• Injuries and Accidents
• Can be pin-pointed in time.
• Can be related to specific features of shift
  systems.
• But
• Need large numbers, and
• Often the a priori risk is not constant!

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Studies Across Three Shifts
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Risk Across Three Shifts
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Studies Over the Night Shift
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Risk Over the Night Shift
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Studies Over Successive Nights
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Risk Over Successive Nights
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Studies Over Hours on Duty
Based on several published studies
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Risk over hours on duty
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How Can We MinimiseSafety Problems?

• Select and/or counsel individuals
• Educate individuals regarding problems and coping
  strategies
• Reset the clock (light/melatonin)
• Improve shift systems

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Recommendations forGood Practice

• Need to
• Minimise the build up of fatigue over periods of
  work.
• Maximise the dissipation of fatigue over periods
  of rest.
• Minimise sleep problems and circadian disruption

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Daily Limits

• No scheduled shift should exceed 12 hours.
• No shift should be extended beyond a total of 13
  hours by overtime.
• A minimum rest period of 11 hours should be
  allowed between the end of shift and the
  beginning of the next, and this should not be
  compromised by overtime.

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Rest Breaks

• A maximum of fours hours work before a break.
• A minimum break period of ten minutes plus five
  minutes for each hour worked since the start of
  the work period or the last break.
• N.B. there is some evidence to suggest that
  frequent short breaks are more beneficial than
  less frequent longer ones

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Weekly Limits

• Scheduled work hours should not exceed 48 hours
  in any period of seven successive days.
• Total work , including overtime, should not
  exceed 60 hours or seven successive work days
  before a period of rest days.
• A period of rest days should include a minimum of
  two successive rest days continuous with the 11
  hours off between shifts (i.e. a minimum of 59
  hours off). This limit should not be compromised
  by overtime.

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Annual Limits

• Wherever possible, a total of 28 days annual
  leave should be aimed for and this should not be
  reduced to less than 21 days leave by overtime.

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Limits on Night Shifts

• A span of successive night shifts involving 12 or
  more hours of work should be limited to 6 for
  shifts of up to 8 hours long, 4 for shifts of 8.1
  to 10 hours long, and 2 for shifts of 10.1 hours
  or longer. These limits should not be exceeded
  by overtime.
• A span of night shifts should be immediately
  followed by a minimum of two successive rest days
  continuous with the 11 hours off between shifts
  (i.e. a minimum of 59 hours off) and this should
  be increased to three successive rest days (i.e.
  83 hours off) if the preceding span of night
  shifts exceeds three or 36 hours of work. These
  limits should not be compromised by overtime.
• The finish time of the night shift should not be
  later than 0800.

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Limits on Morning/Day Shifts

• A morning or day shift should not be scheduled to
  start before 0600, and wherever possible should
  be delayed to start between 0700 and 0800.
• A span of successive morning or day shifts that
  start before 0700 should be limited to four,
  immediately following which there should be a
  minimum of two successive rest days continuous
  with the 11 hours off between shifts (i.e. a
  minimum of 59 hours off). This limit should not
  be compromised by overtime.

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Days notice of Schedule

• Wherever possible aircraft maintenance engineers
  should be given at least 28 days notice of their
  work schedule.

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Further Recommendations forGood Practice
(abbreviated)

• Employers of aircraft maintenance personnel
  should consider developing risk management
  systems.
• Educational programmes should be developed to
  draw attention to the objective trends in risk.
• Aircraft maintenance personnel should be required
  to report for duty adequately rested.
• Aircraft maintenance personnel should be
  discouraged or prevented from working for other
  organisations on their rest days.

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Conclusions

• Shiftwork can result in reduced safety (and
  increased fatigue).
• Shift systems should
• Minimise the build up of fatigue
• Maximise the dissipation of fatigue
• Minimise sleep circadian disruption
• Employers should develop Risk Management
  Programmes.