THE HUMAN ERROR
take up to 30 minutes before your brain is fully back in gear.
11. Always tired – consult a doctor
Read about sleep apnea in last month’s (Oct/Nov 2016) issue of D.O.M. magazine.
12. Discuss shift work with your family You need your sleep just as they do and should not be expected to take someone to a hockey game or the like after only a few hours of sleep.
SAFETY NETS AT WORK Here the goal is to stay awake and alert.
1. Awareness I hope that you now have a greater awareness of the importance of obtaining your usual sleep, no matter what shift you are on.
2. Exercise If you are beginning to feel sleepy, run around and get your heart rate up. It works for a short while.
3. Get some fresh air and breathe deep
4. Watch what you eat Avoid the carbs — remember the last article!
5. Drinks lots of fl uids
6. Use coff ee, tea or a caff einated drinks However, they say that more than four or fi ve cups will cause you to become hyper, so limit the intake.
7. Use bright lights Try to simulate daylight
8. Engage in conversation Talking helps stimulate the brain
9. Watch the circadian rhythm low Reread part one of last month’s article
10. Cold water Water splashed and drank can help keep you alert for a short time
11. Take a power nap When I worked the midnight shift, I’d drink my coff ee at my breaks and take a 15-minute power nap. Coff ee takes 30 minutes to take eff ect and 15 minutes kept me from the sleep inertia.
12. Decide if it is worth what it does to your life After six years, at the age of 38, I reluctantly left the airlines as I just couldn’t see myself working two weeks of midnight shifts every six weeks. For some it is not a problem while for others it is hell. You decide.
SAFETY NETS FOR THE DRIVE HOME
1. Remember the power nap before the head snap.
2. Stop, get out and run around (but not on the highway)
3. Talk to someone
4. Eat an apple This helps and many swear by it. I guess the brain decides to stay awake as long as food is coming its way.
5. Others
Sing along with some upbeat music. Open the window and stick your head out, etc. All are short-term, so don’t bet your life on them.
FATIGUE IS A FACT OF LIFE AND WE MUST DEAL WITH IT BY
REALIZING OUR LIMITATIONS Now the quiz that I hope we now know the answers to: 1. I’m Safe working when I’m a little sleepy because I can still function OK. False
2. We can tell when we are about to fall asleep. False
3. Coff ee will overcome the eff ects of exhaustion. False
4. We can get by with four or fi ve hours of sleep in the day for a week. False
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5. Three or four alcoholic drinks help us to sleep better. False
6. It gets easier to sleep as we get older. False
7. We can usually train ourselves to wake up at a given time. True
8. We will wake up refreshed after an hour of sleep. False
9. A 20 minute nap is a waste of time. False
10. Being awake in excess of 18 hours is the equivalent of working with a blood/alcohol level of .08 (legally drunk) True The New Year’s article will be one
we often face and are required to make what can be a tough judgment call. May you all have a very Merry
Christmas and a happy, healthy and Safe 2017.
Gordon Dupont worked as a special programs coordinator for Transport Canada from March 1993 to August 1999. Prior to working
for Transport, Dupont worked for seven years as a technical investigator for the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (later to become the Canadian Transportation Safety Board). He saw fi rsthand the tragic results of maintenance and human error. Dupont has been an aircraft maintenance engineer and commercial pilot in Canada, the United States and Australia. He is the past president and founding member of the Pacifi c Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association. He is a founding member and a board member of the Maintenance and Ramp Safety Society (MARSS). Dupont, who is often called “The Father of the Dirty Dozen,” has provided human factors training around the world. He retired from Transport Canada in 1999 and is now a private consultant. He is interested in any work that will serve to make our industry safer. Visit
www.system-safety.com for more information.
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