Date of Award

9-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Systems Engineering

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Michael E. Miller, PhD

Abstract

Aircrew fatigue in flight operations is a known hazard that has driven the creation of fatigue-reducing regulation and fatigue risk management systems industry wide. In addition, biomathematical models have been created and tested to forecast the effectiveness of aircrew under conditions of time-zone shifts and long duty days. However, limited operational studies exist to validate these models or to help understand how individual factors can affect them. Operational studies have a variety of limitations that make gathering typical data regarding fatigue or sleep difficult. This research takes systems requirement analysis approach to design a study that measures effects of circadian disruption on USAF C-17 Aircrew effectiveness. This study could then aid in understanding the effectiveness of fatigue-related regulation and fatigue risk management systems used in Air Force Mobility operations. The current research develops requirements of such a study through analysis of existing research as well as through a small-scale study to identify limiting factors for conducting such a study in an operational mobility squadron. The research further suggests additional research to explore the inclusion of fatigue monitoring into the Air Force Safety System, particularly for Air Force Mobility Operations.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENV-MS-21-S-076

DTIC Accession Number

AD1157017

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