Maritime Platform Sleep and Performance Study: Evaluating the SAFTE Model for Maritime Workplace Application

• Main Author: Brown, Stephanie A. T.
• Other Authors: Shattuck, Nita Lewis
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/7313

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === Technological advances in ship systems have enhanced the capabilities of United States Naval vessels in recent years, however, these changes come with unintended consequences. Only in recent years have we begun to study the effects of motion on the work/rest patterns of human operators in environments. The purpose of this study was to research the performance issues related to motion in combination with the reduction of staffing onboard naval vessels. This study supports previous findings that increased motion at sea causes a decrease in sleep quality and increase in perceived fatigue. It also confirms that reaction time decreases under motion conditions. Additionally, this study addressed concerns about the analytical approach used to assess actigraphic data and self-reported work/rest patterns in operational environments. This thesis examined the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool interface, determining that its performance predictions are dependent upon the assumptions used to score and smooth the data prior to transfer into the interface. The actual performance compared to the FASTTM performance predictions that uses the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness mathematical model, indicated that the models reservoir depletion/replenishment rate did not adequately account for the effect of long-term fragmented sleep as seen in the operational maritime environment.