P125 Identification of potential fatigue risks associated with Marine Pilot Transfer operations

Abstract Introduction Helicopter-based Marine Pilot Transfer operations involve transporting marine pilots to offshore vessels. These operations occur around the clock from remote locations. Helicopter crew work a ‘fly-in-fly-out’ schedule from their homebase usually located in a different time zone. This study monitored helicopter crew across ~21-day tours to identify potential fatigue risks. Methods Sleep was monitored with actigraphy and diaries. At the end of each shift, crew completed ratings of fatigue, sleepiness, and workload and a 5-minute PVT. Shifts were grouped by end times in 4x6-hourly bins. Linear mixed models investigated sleep and operational factors associated with fatigue, sleepiness, and performance at end of shifts. Results Data was collected from 15 helicopter crew across 21-day tours. Shifts ranged from 1.6-11 hours (n=220) with 1-14 sectors flown per shift. At the end of a shift, higher fatigue and sleepiness ratings were associated with less prior sleep (p<.05), longer shifts (p <.05), higher workload (p <.05), and end shift timing (p<.05). Fatigue and sleepiness were greater when shifts ended between 0001-0600, and for sleepiness also between 0601-1200. Higher workload was associated with slower response speed and slowest 10% of responses (p<.05). End of shift PVT performance was slower in the first week of the tour compared to later weeks. Discussion The key fatigue risks in this operation are associated with high workload and/or long periods of work at a less than ideal circadian phase. A multi-faceted approach, including on-going education, management of possible jetlag at the beginning of their tour, and monitoring of high-risk shifts is recommended.