A Comparison Between the Navy Standard Workweek and Actual Work and Rest Patterns of U.S. Navy Sailors

The demands placed upon the United States Navy are greater now than ever before. As ships become more versatile, Sailors must become proficient in many warfare areas while maintaining operational readiness. The primary manning tool used by the United States Navy to determine manpower requirements is the Navy Standard Workweek. This research seeks to determine if the Navy Standard Workweek accurately reflects the activities of deployed Sailors and determine their work and rest patterns. Each Sailor completed surveys detailing tasks in which they were engaged. Survey data were compared to the Navy Standard Workweek. Individual Sailors aboard USS CHUNG-HOON (DDG-93) wore Wrist Activity Monitors to collect actigraphy data. Actigraphy data were analyzed using the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool (FAST), which uses the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) Model, to predict the waking effectiveness level of each Sailor. The results showed that the Navy Standard Workweek does not accurately reflect the daily activities of Sailors. More importantly, based on FAST results, most Sailors had predicted effectiveness levels lower than the predicted effectiveness level of the Navy Standard Workweek Model. It is recommended that the Navy Standard Workweek be revised to more accurately reflect requirements of Sailors in different departments.