Pulsar Informatics - SM4 Safety Articles & Resources

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businessman with jet lag

The Two Effects of Jet Lag

Everyone who has travelled in an airplane is familiar with jet lag. True, the effect only applies when travelling east or west. But jet lag is so pervasive and annoying—not to mention a safety risk for pilots—that it merits serious discussion.

Posted on August 5, 2022
aviation operations

Understanding Human Factors in Safety Assurance: The Bowtie Method

Human factors may be the final frontier in aviation risk management. While those factors can’t be handled in the same way as, for example, issues with mechanical systems, there is new thinking in risk management that can help. It includes viewing a high-risk situation as an event and then using a so-called “bowtie diagram” as a tool for defining and addressing it.

Posted on March 1, 2022
runner on track

Managing Fatigue with Quantitative Data

It may be November, but the clouds are clearing for air operators. People are flying again. Business meetings are being scheduled live. And the busy holiday season is coming up soon. Is your flight department ready?

Posted on November 2, 2021
caffeine power

Caffeine Will Enable Me To Power Through My Day. Right?

Worrying about the current public health crisis and how it affects our jobs, our lives and our health is something that all of us have experienced to some degree over the past year. Unsurprisingly, an increasing number of people have been reporting sleep disturbances since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Posted on June 7, 2021
Running with time

How to Combat Revenge Procrastination

We all know that sleep is important. When we don’t get the 7‐9 hours of daily sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation and endorsed by a consensus of top scientists, we feel groggy and irritable. It can affect our relationships. Our performance at work suffers.

Posted on March 1, 2021
Pilot wearing face mask completing preflight checklist

How Many Hours Are You Really Working?

While commercial airlines continue to struggle amid a dearth of passenger volume, many business aviation and charter air operators have experienced a strong recovery since the initial COVID-19 slowdown this past spring—and indeed, some are busier than ever.

Posted on December 1, 2020
Woman and man pilots standing on runway

Managing Workplace Fatigue During COVID-19

It has been barely six months since the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first identified, four months since the first U.S. cases were mentioned in the news and some 10 weeks since lockdowns were imposed to help stem the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Posted on June 26, 2020
Exhausted rubbing his eyes

How to Fly Reliably Alert

Clearly, you don’t want to be in a safety‐sensitive situation when a lapse of attention occurs. For your own safety and that of your passengers and fellow crew, it is imperative that you be reliably alert throughout your duty period. But how do you go about ensuring alertness?

Posted on February 3, 2020
Woman hitting snooze on her alarm clock

Researchers Identify 2 New Chronotypes

Are you a night owl or an early bird? If this question has you struggling to answer for certain, rest assured: you probably belong to one of two new groups…

Posted on August 1, 2019