A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/389389
THE DELEGATE WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 1, 2014 7 NATCA, the FAA, and PASS are working together to promote fatigue education and awareness by providing the workforce with tools to self- educate and mitigate fatigue hazards through a new joint campaign known as "Fully Charged." Fully Charged was established in order to socialize the issue of fatigue in air traffic facilities throughout the nation, start a change in the culture of how the workforce thinks about and views fatigue, and remind aviation safety professionals to value alertness. In a 24/7 operation, no one is immune to fatigue. The campaign focuses on the personal and shared responsibilities of fatigue mitigation, and is supported as a national priority by NATCA, FAA, and PASS leadership. The campaign is the result of months of committed focus by the Fatigue Risk Management workgroup, which was created by the ATO Fatigue Safety Steering Committee in 2013. The group includes NATCA, FAA, and PASS representatives, and is supported by staff from the ATO Fatigue Risk Management team in Safety and Technical Training and Ph.D.-level fatigue scientists. Through careful analysis of workplace data, the Fatigue Risk Management workgroup determined specific shi work associated with the highest fatigue hazards. The Fatigue Safety Steering Committee made recommendations to the FAA, NATCA, and PASS to manage and mitigate fatigue. These recommendations, which have been accepted, include changes to operational policy and procedures. NATCA and the FAA are currently implementing changes, and PASS and the FAA are negotiating a memorandum of agreement that will take effect in January 2015. Additionally, the steering committee recommended that an educational campaign be developed for managers and employees. NATCA officially rolled out Fully Charged at Communicating for Safety (CFS) earlier this year, earning praise from NATCA and aviation industry leaders who were in attendance, including NATCA President Paul Rinaldi, IFATCA CEO & President Patrik Peters, FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker, and ATO COO Teri Bristol. The Fully Charged workgroup has recently launched "Fully Charged Shorts," one- minute videos of representatives from NATCA, FAA, and PASS discussing the importance of fatigue education and how they handle fatigue challenges at work. NATCA Professional Standards Co-Lead Jeff Richards, featured in one of the shorts, recalled driving home aer working mids in the 1990s. "I would drive home and not even remember the drive," he said. "And that's dangerous. Our people should understand that those dangers are there and how to recognize them." Richards continued, "Fatigue is dangerous because the more fatigued you are the harder it is for you to identify that you are fatigued. It's very important to get the education piece out there, and we're going to do that with Fully Charged." "I think Fully Charged makes us look at fatigue and say, 'You know what? There are ways we can actually mitigate those [fatigue hazards],'" said MIA FacRep Bill Kisseadoo. "I think it's a great program. I'm glad that both sides got together and formed it, and are carrying it through together." To see more of the "shorts," visit natcamembers.org/videos. FOUNDATIONS OF PROFESSIONALISM Earlier this year, NATCA and the FAA created "Foundations of Professionalism," an umbrella term encompassing the collaborative programs that enhance and further the goal of the encouraging and maintaining the highest level of professionalism among the workforce. Fully Charged