Personal and Work Factors That Predict Fatigue-Related Errors in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to identify factors associated with an increased likelihood of aircraft maintenance personnel reporting a fatigue-related error.METHODS: There were 966 maintenance engineering personnel (mean age = 42 yr, 98% male) who completed a survey with items on personal factors, work factors and a question asking whether during the last month they had made an error in their work due to tiredness. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors independently associated with making an error at work due to tiredness.RESULTS: Respondents obtained on average 7.0 h sleep and nearly half (45%) reported that they had felt close to falling asleep while driving home from work in the past 12 mo. Most respondents (70%) had received no education on strategies for coping with shift work. Among respondents, 22% agreed/strongly agreed with the statement "During the last month, I have made an error in my work due to tiredness." Unexpected roster changes independently predicted the likelihood of reporting an error in work due to tiredness and for certain groups of aircraft maintenance personnel, < 6.5 h sleep increased the odds of an error in work due to tiredness fivefold, whereas > 7.5 h sleep almost halved the odds of reporting such an error.DISCUSSION: These findings indicate the importance of stable and predictable work patterns to minimize the risk of fatigue-related errors in this safety critical environment, and also the need for education on coping with shift work to ensure the workforce are best placed to manage their sleep away from work.Signal TL, van den Berg MJ, Mulrine HM.