av8r374 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:42 am
FL007 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:09 am
Exactly, and since there aren't any rules in terms of giving night/morning shifts I've definitely had a week of early mornings ending at 4-5pm and a flight the immediate next day ending at 3am.
The only way to make it work after a long day is to force myself to stay up until 3am that night after I had been working since 5am and hope I wake up late enough in the morning to be rested for my late flight.
It's inhumane, no shift workers are allowed to get switched like that, but we are, and I'm not even a medevac driver.
Your claim that "no shift workers are allowed to get switched like that" is terribly naive and full of self-pity. You don't even have to look very far as it is common place in the aviation industry. Talk to dispatchers, maintenance personnel, crew schedulers etc. They all do it.
It is perfectly normal and very common to work until anywhere between 4-7pm one day and then report for a 12-hour shift 24 hours later. In fact what's even worse is that the opposite is allowed (working a string of 12 hour night shifts and reporting for an early morning shift 24 hours later).
I am not in any way implying this is okay or humane. I 100% agree with you on that part, especially considering the safety critical nature of the industry.
If you have trouble sleeping in I recommend two things.
1. Try some melatonin when you need to do that (1mg is plenty).
2. Stay off avcanada on those nights when you're forcing yourself to stay up until 3am. It can't possibly do any wonders for a good sleep
It isn't self pity or naive, labor laws exist for everyone besides industry that is federally regulated, ie: pilots. Nurses doing nights/days usually have a period to re adjust.
You can't pool Dispatch, crew schedulers, and maintenance with pilots in this, everyone gets a lunch break, mandated breaks, can use an actual washroom, etc, except pilots.
Cause of additional fatigue? Vibration, loud noise, heat/cold.
I have no problem sleeping, but as science shows, humans are based on the rhythm, these current rules are abysmal and shouldn't exist as they are.
10+ leg 14hr days in a 705 machine is for the dogs.