Hempy,
I hear the 'Fatigue Management System' at ASA is 'World's Best Practice'. Surely robust fatigue management means any fatigue related issues are 'operator error' ...if one was forming a legal defence for example
Good old Worlds Best Practice - a euphemism for barely average.
Why don't these Australian corporations strive to be the best, as they once were? And they were proud of it! Qantas and the corporate disdain of its Engineering Dept is a relevant example.
A common (deliberately encouraged by ASA Mgmt) misunderstanding among ATC's - and it would seem pilots - is that the 'Fatigue Management System' is there to protect them. WRONG!
In reality it is a game of pass the parcel, and in this game the 'parcel' is the perceived risk of letting the fatigued controller in on the play.
For example, the controller doing the previously mentioned 10th shift, may have a 'High' fatigue risk. ASA still need a bum on the seat, so they 'calculate' the risk and then the 'appropriate' manager signs you off. Good to go.
Of course this only happens once you are at work, so you won't have to worry if your that tired you have a microsleep behind the wheel on the way in.
The controllers fatigue, and resulting impaired cognitive ability is only ever really addressed by 'controls' that include such gems as 'turn the lights brighter' and 'drink more coffee' - and yes I am serious!!!
So effectively, ASA Mgmt have introduced this 'Best Practice' system so that they can 'accept the risk' and have a 'robust' system that allows them to stick tired controllers in front of a console.
The only thing preventing a controller working endlessly is the protection of the certified agreement.
And all of this has been implemented so that they no longer suffer the embarrassment of having to declare airspace TIBA due to an empty console.
And of course that is related to the 'staffing' issue that no one will admit to, which is why we have ASA changing an historically proven '2 strikes your out' training program, with the modern soft and fluffy 'keep going till you get it right because everyone gets a medal these days' system.
The pilot community must fight to maintain the protection of duty limit times. The equivalent of a flight being cancelled due to the crew being out of hours would happen numerous times a day within ATC if we had a similar system, therefore we can not have a system that effective.
Sad, but true.