Air Traffic Controllers
- Thread starter moreluck
- Start date
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Have you ever worked a graveyard shift? I'm guessing not. Fatigue is a real issue for a lot of jobs. Truck drivers, airline pilots, and also air traffic controllers. They made a smart move.
Jackburton
Gone Fish'n
They plan on bumping the "rest period" fron a required 8 hours between shifts to 9. Just think how tired you'd feel if UPS could leave us out there till say midnight and you report at 830 the next day.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Spoken like a true heartless Republican.
cachsux
Wah
Big difference between getting Aunt Bee`s phone connected to the wrong number and having a 747 crash into her house.
klein
Für Meno :)
I done it for over 25 years. Your body will never adapt to rotating shift work !
By rotating shiftwork, I mean 1 week days, 1 week evenings and 1 week nights (that's if the schedule is perfect, which it never is) - since people go on vacation or have sick days.
Then you end up doing doubles, or even triple shifts (yup, been there - 26 hrs straight).
Been told so many times not to use the time clock and just write in my hrs , too. Since it's illegal to only get 6 or less hrs between shifts.
I will not work rotating shifts anymore - got too old for that.
By rotating shiftwork, I mean 1 week days, 1 week evenings and 1 week nights (that's if the schedule is perfect, which it never is) - since people go on vacation or have sick days.
Then you end up doing doubles, or even triple shifts (yup, been there - 26 hrs straight).
Been told so many times not to use the time clock and just write in my hrs , too. Since it's illegal to only get 6 or less hrs between shifts.
I will not work rotating shifts anymore - got too old for that.
Babagounj
Strength through joy
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
You're not an air traffic controller. There's a difference between tossing boxes and directing aircraft, or hadn't you noticed?
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Funny you should mention Aunt Bea. They want the real world to be just like Mayberry.
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TechGrrl
Space Cadet
For all you "tough guys" out there making fun of shift work:
It is a FACT that you can force your body to work 24-48 hours straight. It is also a FACT that your BRAIN doesn't react the same way. It shuts down higher brain functions after it becomes fatigued, and it takes a certain amount of time to recover, and there is NOTHING (short of illegal drugs) that will change that. Forcing air traffic controllers to work rotating shifts that don't allow their body clocks time to adjust is plain stupid. Their jobs involve high level brain activity to juggle the planes.
There has been a ton of research into the effect of sleep patterns on brain activity and intellectual effectiveness. To ignore this is folly. Even assuming the ATC/pilot/truck driver doesn't fall asleep, their intellect and judgement is adversely affected.
It is a FACT that you can force your body to work 24-48 hours straight. It is also a FACT that your BRAIN doesn't react the same way. It shuts down higher brain functions after it becomes fatigued, and it takes a certain amount of time to recover, and there is NOTHING (short of illegal drugs) that will change that. Forcing air traffic controllers to work rotating shifts that don't allow their body clocks time to adjust is plain stupid. Their jobs involve high level brain activity to juggle the planes.
There has been a ton of research into the effect of sleep patterns on brain activity and intellectual effectiveness. To ignore this is folly. Even assuming the ATC/pilot/truck driver doesn't fall asleep, their intellect and judgement is adversely affected.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Do any of you think that this is something that has only been happening recently or has it been going on for some time but has only recently been brought to our attention?
klein
Für Meno :)
That's part of the problem. The press is all over it, now.
Like this Maimi incident. Who really cares if someone dozes off for a few minutes in a work group of 12 people ?
So, they gave him a quick wake up shake, and normally that would have been it !
I don't know about you guys, but if I would have been the one, giving him/hre the wake-up shake, I would have kept it secret, and nobody would have ever known.
I don't rat on my co-workers !
And leaking it out to the press, is even worse !
(where are those flying porn monkees when you need them - to keep someone awake) ?
moreluck
golden ticket member
My solution for the controller sleeping problem:
No more night flights.
No more graveyard differential pay (O.T.)
No flights past 11PM. or before 6AM.
Planes will be full, no more "almost empties".....efficient use of diesel fuel.
It will be daytime, so no falling asleep at the consoles.
John Wayne, Orange County cuts off flights at 10 or 11 PM because of noise abatement for the residents of Newport.
The price of flights should remain relatively the same with the efficient use of jet fuel and the no overtime for controllers.
No more night flights.
No more graveyard differential pay (O.T.)
No flights past 11PM. or before 6AM.
Planes will be full, no more "almost empties".....efficient use of diesel fuel.
It will be daytime, so no falling asleep at the consoles.
John Wayne, Orange County cuts off flights at 10 or 11 PM because of noise abatement for the residents of Newport.
The price of flights should remain relatively the same with the efficient use of jet fuel and the no overtime for controllers.
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MrFedEx
Engorged Member
A long-term problem that's finally getting some overdue attention. Pilots, truckers, and railroad employees also have severe fatigue issues. Let's say you're a railroad engineer. You start at 12pm and work your 12 hours maximum until 12am. At 0600, they can call you back to work, and you must report within 2 hours of being called. This goes on 24/7/365.
A lot of pilots have to fly the back of the clock, and commuter pilots really get abused. They are supposed to get 8 hrs off, but after post-flight paperwork, the trip to the hotel, they're lucky to get 4 to 5 hrs of sleep. Try sleeping in a hotel room with all of the noise surrounding an airport, or try sleeping days after being up all night can really destroy your ability to fly and adversely affect decision-making.
Truckers are often forced to fake logbook entries and drive well over their 10 hours to make tight schedules or deal with bad weather. We've all heard of drivers who take uppers so they can drive for 2 or 3 days straight without sleep. I drove nights for many years between 2 FedEx hubs, and there were many times where I'd just have to pull over for a few minutes a take a catnap or get out of the cab for some coffee. Most UPS Feeder Drivers work brutal overnight hours too. Ever try sleeping on a Saturday morning after getting home at 7am? Kids, lawnmowers, and everyday noise make it very hard to get proper rest. Nobody understands until they've done it themselves.
The decision to grant ATC employees a rest break is a good solution to a real problem.
Because we think that someone who fails to perform their job should be fired? Oh sure, we're heartless bastards.
Dumb liberals
packageguy
Well-Known Member
Good point, I think it's been going on for a long time.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Your solution means:
No more UPS or FedEx overnight services. Far fewer internationlal PAX flights.
No shift differentials..real smart.
Planes don't use diesel fuel. They use Jet-A.
John Wayne (SNA) already has noise-abatement procedures.
Airlines routinely cancel flights that aren't full enough unless the aircraft is required somewhere for repositioning.
If you ran SWA, they'd be bankrupt by now.
It's obvious you don't know what you're talking about, which is typical.
