Napping during time off-duty
 

Do you have any regulations concerning what you are allowed or not allowed to do while you have your break off the scope? Recent ideas at my company tend to veer into the unknown, saying we're not allowed to sleep in the resting room. Any other ATCOs have it this way too?

No sleeping seems a bit harsh. I regularly power nap on breaks, especially during morning shifts. Our breaks are termed "responsibility free". So we shouldn't do anything work related like check emails, write ojti reports etc. Aside from that, we're pretty much allowed to do anything.

never mind ATCO's that one comes up in pilot rest rooms as well.

Its usually someone none operation 9-5 person who doesn't like it or they perceive it looks bad to visitors.

Thing is that pilots with young kids will grab 30mins when ever they can, you just make sure you wake them so they have 10 mins to get there heads together before having to do anything sensible. Same with some of the auld un's.

And ATCO's don't have the benefit of being able to bribe crewing to send you down route over night to catch up on some of the sleep debt of having a new-born in the house. One bloke I worked with slept near 24 hours when the aircraft went tech and I cancelled his early morning call as the flight was cancelled. He was quite disturbed making breakfast for once and loosing a day out of his life. His mrs wasn't to chuffed though with no contact for the day.

At least ATCO's don't have Hostie's to apply makeup while asleep and FO's who are quite happy to let the Captain wander through the terminal with pink lipstick/eye shadow on. Which is particularly fetching on bald hard looking gordie's face. His Mrs did like the photo though.

Euro control online training centre has an interesting mini course on Fatigue Risk Management.


Fatigue Risk Management [SAF-FAT] (Restricted) is title.

Have a look.

We had a guy who commuted and occasionally spent his lunch times sleeping in the TV room which was awkward for everyone else. From time to time a search party had to be sent.
Defiantly agree here.

A rest room is what it says and I've grabbed a quick nap in the rest room many times.

It's a _rest room_ ( and not in the American sense...) So, if anyone takes you to task over the way you rest, ask them to justify how you go back to work unrested.

As someone else has said, it's a jobsworth trying to fit square pegs into his vision of a round world.

Powernaps are good.

Jobsworths trying to justify their mediocre existence are BAD. Just remember, they are the ones posting all the rubbish on the Internet and intranet during the day, when you and I are recovering from a busy session but, even then, they don't realise that we are the poor b¥gg€rs earning the money in the evenings, overnight, at weekends and on bank holidays that helps keep them in their comfortable offices. Grrrrrrrr

As has been said, it's a responsibility free break. Its yours; make the most of it.

I know a few who have disappeared for a sly w@** after a busy session plugged in. Whatever keeps you levelled...

There's a notice at work with good and bad things to on your break and one of the good things is a nap.

What are the bad things then?

Checking company e-mails

Ah, stress-inducing stuff...

I was known to take a nap in front of the radar :eek:. Decided it was not a good idea and took medical retirement.

At that time our management had decided that supervisors didn't need a break (all that time behind a desk doing nothing despite usually beginning earlier than the rest of the team, giving breaks to one and all, then staying after the duty had finished to catch up on the paperwork.)
Not to forget all those meetings, my favourites were the ones at 1000 after a night shift or 1400 between the morning and night on the same day.

Me tired? I was too knackered to be tired.:ugh:

I see nothing wrong with having a hobby to do during breaks and flint knapping is as good as any.

Thanks everyone for your comments, I will check the Eurocontrol training site :)

If I remember correctly there was a "HINDSIGHT" magazine devoted to fatigue in 2011 or 2012 too.

HINDSIGHT should make good bedside reading - there is a lot of good stuff in there if you can wade through 81 pages of it.

I would have thought having a w@** in the rest room counted as bad but hey ho, whatever floats your boat.......:E

Was thinking that myself Standard but everyone has to have a hobby.

There are certain disabled toilets in certain airports which you don't go near due to said hobby either.

Mostly security I think use them, but hey nothing that we don't know. More than likely a visit everytime they confiscate someones lunch.

That would be a normal perversion.... Taking someone's chicken and mayo sandwich's off them because its "fluids" and enjoying it takes a special sort of pervert.