Unit Specific Crew Rest Strategies: Phase 1 Evaluation of the 1/212th AviationBattalion during Shiftwork Transitions

摘要

Army aviation commanders are deeply concerned with the implementation of crewrest strategies which are both practical and effective. Maintaining peak performance of individuals rotating from one work shift to another is of paramount concern. General guidelines often provide appropriate information, but do not provide strategies or specific schedules of crew rest tailored to the-unit's specific mission demands, environmental conditions, and strength. A complement to general recommendations and guidelines is the use of unit-specific crew rest strategies. This concept involves a two-phase process. In phase one, the unit's existing response to a characteristic mission or training exercise is evaluated by determining the amount of rest obtained by a representative sample of crew members. The results of phase I evaluations provide descriptive quantitative information of daily rest periods, and the impact of mission driven work schedules and environmental conditions on crew rest quality. Phase II provides rhythms, sleep/wake cycles, shiftwork schedules, and methods for regulating the body's biological clock to prevent sleep loss during characteristic mission. This report contains a summation of the results of a phase I evaluation of shiftwork schedules used by the 1/212th Army Aviation Training Battalion at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Shiftwork schedules used by 1/212th aviators and aircrew included shifts from daytime to early morning, to nighttime, and to afternoon duty hours.