Research Summaries

Back Crew Endurance Training Program for the U.S. Navy

Fiscal Year 2018
Division Graduate School of Operational & Information Sciences
Department Operations Research
Investigator(s) Shattuck, Nita L.
Sponsor Naval Medical Research Center (Navy)
Summary Non-circadian watch schedules, typically termed the 5/10 or 5 and Dime, 5/15 and 6/12, are proven to cause fatigue and performance decrements from an individual Sailor as well as a crew perspective. Based on the results of research provided by NPS and others to the Navy, a fleet-wide directive has been posted giving Surface Navy Ships orders to fully implement circadian-based watchbills onboard all surface ships (COMNAVSURFOR, P200042Z SEP 17). The implementation allows each ship to implement a circadian-based watch schedule that corresponds to their operational prerequisites, crew size and type of ship. Currently, many – but not all -- ships are operating on a circadian-based watchbill. However, there are different versions of circadian-based rotations being utilized depending on crew size and type of operations. In order to support and effectively implement the fleet-wide transition, the Navy will need assess state-of-the-art knowledge and training to help design training to implement circadian-based watch schedules.
The training program will be delivered as a complete training package consisting of teaching materials and online self-study modules to SURFOR and AMD. Also, the result of the Training Needs Analysis will be reported as a scientific peer-reviewed publication to highlight the transition to and adoption of a fleet-wide circadian-based watch routine. Results of the program assessment will also be reported as scientific publications. Further, an updated crew endurance handbook will be developed with special focus on sleep management and sleep-influencing factors such as exposure to high energy visible (HEV) light, caffeine consumption and food intake.
Keywords Circadian watchbills Fatigue Human Performance Sleep Deprivation
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal