Pilot Fatigue Measurement Research Project.

Descriptions

The CAA has a requirement for a Contractor (experienced in fatigue work) to undertake the following study:Pilot fatigue is a major safety concern and has been extensively investigated over many years. As a result a number of procedures are in place in the UK (and elsewhere) to manage the associated risks. However, these procedures are based on generalised management techniques, such as controlling hours of work (through rostering systems) rather than measuring the fatigue levels of individual pilots. Fatigue risk assessments generally assume that safety-critical staff arrive for their work without fatigue accumulated from previous activities. The fatigue situation of individual pilots is managed by self-declaration, However, this is not without problems as individuals may feel under pressure to undertake duties that actually should be declined. Being able to objectively measure the fatigue of individuals could potentially offer a significant safety benefit, However, there is no accepted, practical way to do this in an operational context.This study will address key questions towards a goal of developing methodologies to better manage pilot fatigue through physiological, psychometric or performance measures, or a combination of these. The technology to do this may only now be becoming practicable in an aviation environment and it is therefore timely to investigate the likely effectiveness of such techniques and if practical, consider how they might be used in an operational environment.Commercially available systems that attempt physiological measurement of fatigue tend to either measure some aspect of vision system performance (blink rate, saccadic velocity, etc.) as an indicator of neurological status (fatigue), or more directly though electroencephalography with scalp electrodes. However, the proposed research is to investigate fundamental techniques, not the effectiveness of commercial equipment which may have proprietary processes not suitable for examination, e.g. software. Thus, basic measurement techniques are to be employed in the study, not commercial equipment. CAA research does not seek to endorse any commercial product, indeed any intellectual property derived from the work may be subject to exploitation agreement for separate commercial development, although it should be stressed that the primary purpose of the proposed study is safety.It should be noted that only non-invasive (ideally self-administered) techniques that do not require a skilled operator are to be considered in the study. The time taken for the test must be sufficiently short to be operationally practicable. The equipment used should be potentially practical in a working environment i.e. not laboratory-grade equipment. It would be envisaged that the test might be carried out to a defined schedule, allowing for when fatigue might be an issue. It is noted that some of the commercially available technology could potentially be used in-flight but the CAA is predominantly interested in ground-based testing.Essentially the study is to consider basic measurement techniques – e.g. perhaps a range of eye parameters – (rather than commercially available technology that might embody such techniques) and to relate the results to changes in flying safety performance.