Abstract
The increased number of aviation accidents has triggered concerns as to the underlying causes of such accidents. Shiftwork has been discovered to be a primary contributor to many of the accidents that have occurred over the past few years. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of fatigue on shiftworkers' cognitive and visual/perceptual performance on the first day shift, first night shift, and last night shift in the five-day workweek. The primary instrument used in this study was the Automated Performance Testing System (APTS), which contained eight various cognitive and temporal factors tests. The results indicated that performance at the end of the first night shift was significantly lower than at the end of the first day shift in the workweek, but not significantly lower than performance at the end of the last night shift in the workweek. The implications for this study could serve in better scheduling of a variety of cognitive and visual/perceptual tasks in the workplace.
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