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Related Experiment Videos

Evaluation of workload in air traffic controllers

G Costa1

  • 1Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Verona, Policlinic Hospital, Italy.

Ergonomics
|September 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

Air traffic controllers experienced increased fatigue and decreased mood across all shifts, especially night shifts, despite stable physiological measures like heart rate and VMA excretion. Personal traits influenced psychophysiological responses.

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Area of Science:

  • Occupational Health
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Chronobiology

Background:

  • Air traffic control involves demanding work shifts.
  • Understanding controller workload and well-being is crucial for safety.
  • Shift work can impact physiological and psychological states.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the impact of different work shifts on air traffic controllers.
  • To investigate objective and subjective measures of workload and fatigue.
  • To explore the influence of personal characteristics on shift work adaptation.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 20 air traffic controllers over three successive shifts (afternoon, morning, night).
  • Measured workload (aircraft per hour), subjective ratings (mood, fatigue), and objective data (heart rate, VMA, reaction time, oral temperature).
  • Assessed personality traits and behavioral characteristics via questionnaires.

Main Results:

  • Workload varied significantly, but heart rate and vanillyl mandelic acid (VMA) excretion remained stable across shifts.
  • Subjective mood and physical fitness declined, while fatigue increased, particularly during night shifts.
  • Circadian rhythm of oral temperature showed slight modification but maintained normal phase due to fast shift rotation.

Conclusions:

  • Physiological responses were largely unaffected by workload variations across shifts.
  • Subjective well-being is significantly impacted by shift work, especially night shifts.
  • Individual characteristics like morningness and ability to overcome drowsiness modulate psychophysiological responses to shift work.

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