Fatigue Risk Management in Aviation Maintenance Term Paper

Fatigue Risk Management in Aviation Maintenance - Term Paper Example Maintenance personnel, have to endure significant fatigue risks. However, there are several characteristics of aircraft maintenance that provide chances of reducing the hazards created by fatigue. In the first place, maintenance work should be internally rather than externally paced. Maintenance should not be performed under pressure. The maintainer conscious should be able to stop a task and consider aiming for accuracy rather than speed. Where possible, methods of performance of a maintenance task should be modified. For example, tasks cards can be modify and secondary inspections and operational functional checks introduced to serve as errors capturing barriers. Where maintenance organization has the flexibility to choose when certain maintenance tasks can be performed, it is necessary to schedule the most risk susceptible tasks at a time when employees are less likely to be fatigued. Finally, maintainers should rarely be required to travel across different time zones performing their duties. This assists in preventing aircraft lag and circadian rhythm disruptions, which are key considerations or flight, crew FRMS. Effective fatigue management requires partnerships with shared responsibility between the employers and the employees. Fatigue does not only originate from the workplace but also from the personal life of the employee. Personal factors that can lead to fatigue include social and family commitments, medical conditions and second jobs. Therefore, it is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that they have enough rest fit for duty before assuming for work. The employer has an obligation to ensure that working hours are reasonable, availability of rest break periods and adequate staffing. However, the International Federation of Airworthiness asserts that the responsibility to control working hours is not solely the mandate of the employer. Employees have a responsibility to take advantage of opportunities & facilities for rest sessions provided. Further, it is also an employee’s responsibility to plan and use the rest periods appropriately in order to reduce incurring fatigue.