Sleeping on the Job

An air traffic controller fell asleep during the fourth night shift in a row.    The papers said he was working alone and  working from 10pm to 6am.   I know the difficulties of staying awake during those hours.  Now he is suspended for sleeping on the job.  Others will also face criticism and discipline for doing what humans are supposed to do – sleep at night.

The FAA is being criticized for having controllers working alone.   The public is outraged.  The Secretary of Transportation states that they need to be at least two controllers on duty.   Other modes of transportation, like pipelines, that have one person working night shift may get some attention.

That could be helpful, but two people working four nights in a row can fall asleep as easy as one.  A plane tried to contact him, and he slept through several attempts to call him.  When a person gets fatigued,  sleep is the only cure  and all other signals will be ignored.   He could have caused more harm in he had awoken and started giving the pilots instructions.  The effects of sleep inertia take awhile to dissipate.

Posted March 27th, 2011 in Human Factors, In the News, Managing Fatigue

National Sleep Awareness Week March 7-13

It’s National Sleep Awareness Week.  Are you aware of your need for sleep?  There’s a difference between awareness and action.  According to an article in today’s Marietta Daily Journal, more than a third of American adults sleep less than seven hours a night.  Many of them report troubles concentrating, remembering, and driving.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this information March 3 in two separate studies.

It’s interesting that pipeline companies are developing plans to provide pipeline controllers opportunities for eight hours sleep and 35% of people surveyed in 12 states said they sleep less than seven hours a night.  And most pipeline controllers have to sleep about half the time during the daylight hours.  It appears that sleep awareness week needs to become daily sleep awareness.

The second study reported that 23% had trouble concentrating; 18% had memory problems; and 11% experienced difficulties driving.  The more I learn about sleep problems,  the more important education becomes.

Posted March 7th, 2011 in Human Factors, In the News, Managing Fatigue

Errors by Air Traffic Controllers May Have Doubled

A Google Alert about human error caught my attention, since I am flying around the USA in early 2011.  It made me wonder about other control rooms and controllers, like pipeline controllers.  The number of operating errors in a twelve month period that ended September 30, 2010 was 1889 compared to 947 in the preceding twelve month period.  One controller said he thought it was because of the relaxed atmosphere, where controllers watch movies and  use their electronic devices on shift.

YIKES!   I thought an air traffic controller would be more disciplined, and that distractions like movies and personal electronic devices would not be allowed in the control room.    I don’t want air traffic controllers stressed out, but neither do I want them relaxed and paying attention to movies and apps.

I was talking to a eleventh grader at Sunday School this morning.  During the “social time” when the students talk with one another, he was playing Angry Birds. He said it was addictive, and he couldn’t stop.   He is right; many are addicted to playing games and at the wrong times.

Our company works with pipeline controllers.  The regulators issued an advisory bulletin in 2010 that advises companies to make sure that personal electronic devices do not distract employees from their important duties of safely operating pipelines.  Human beings are easily distracted and seek amusement.  Do you?  Do your employees?

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2011/February/FAA-Air-Traffic-Control-Errors-Double/

In an era of unrivaled air travel safety concerns, mistakes made by air traffic controllers appear to have doubled. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that during a year-long span ending Sept. 30, 2010 controllers made nearly 1,889 operation errors. That’s up from 947 errors for the same time period a year before. Air traffic controller Evan Seeley, who works at the Ronkonkoma, N.Y., radar facility, pointed to a relaxed atmosphere in the control room as the reason for the spike. He said controllers sometimes watch movies or play with electronic devices during their shifts. Seeley notified the U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general and the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower charges.

Posted February 20th, 2011 in 2011 Control Room Management, Human Factors, In the News