Fatigue Risk Management & Human Performance in ATC Training Course

The Fatigue Risk Management & Human Performance in ATC Training Course equips air traffic control supervisors, safety and human factors specialists, roster and operations managers, and air navigation service provider leaders with the knowledge and practical tools needed to understand and manage fatigue and human performance in air traffic control. Air traffic controllers perform demanding, safety-critical work that requires sustained vigilance, rapid decision making, and high accuracy, often around the clock. Fatigue degrades attention, memory, and judgement, and has been identified as a contributing factor in operational errors and incidents. Alongside fatigue, factors such as workload, stress, shift patterns, and the working environment shape human performance, so managing them systematically is essential to safety, wellbeing, and sustainable operations. The course covers fatigue and human performance from the science to practical management in the air traffic control context. Participants learn the importance of human performance in air traffic control and the regulatory and safety management context, the fundamentals of sleep, circadian rhythms, and the science of fatigue, and how fatigue affects controller performance and safety. The program then addresses the causes and signs of fatigue, workload and stress in air traffic control, shift and roster design and the trade-offs between operational needs and fatigue, and the principles of fatigue risk management systems, including fatigue policy, risk assessment, reporting, and data-driven management. Participants also examine fatigue mitigation strategies, including rostering practices, breaks and rest, controlled rest and napping where applicable, workload management, and the working and control room environment, individual strategies such as sleep, nutrition, and alertness management, the handling of fatigue reports and just culture, the relationship of fatigue with human factors, error, and wellbeing, and the monitoring, measurement, and continuous improvement of fatigue and human performance management. The course is delivered through case studies, fatigue and workload assessment exercises, roster analysis, fatigue risk scenario workshops, and self-assessment. Participants leave with a fatigue risk assessment template, a roster and shift evaluation checklist, a fatigue reporting and management process outline, a human performance and alertness guide, and a fatigue risk management improvement plan template. This course addresses the management of fatigue and human performance and complements, rather than replaces, medical, rostering, and regulatory requirements specific to each organization.