Before the end of last year, my AMT colleague Ronald Donner posted a blog about FAA's new regulations designed to prevent airline pilots flying while fatigued.
The new rules increase pilots' rest periods and set limits on flying time.
Ronald asked a great question in his original post: "What about aircraft mechanic duty time? We get fatigued just as pilots do." Ronald also emphasized that FAA admits that mechanic fatigue is a well-known contributing factor to human errors in aircraft maintenance.
The same objection Ronald raised applies just as much to ground support crews. I've spent some time on the ramp and my first impression was just how close the quarters are among parked aircraft and the various GSE zooming around the ramp, which, of course, also needs to be positioned very close to expensive aircraft. Anyone can get tired on the ramp; physical labor, hot sun in the summer and wind chill in the winter and differing work shifts can only add to the toll exhaustion takes on the body.
So what about ground support crew duty time? We get fatigued just as pilots do.
If you're looking for advice on this issue, we've published some excellent articles from human factors expert Dr. Bill Johnson from FAA on this subject. His agency also revamped its mxfatigue web site to include more information on an easier to navigate home page. Check it out at here
