A study of Stressors Amongst Helicopter Maintenance Personnel in East Coast of Malaysia: A Case Study

Abstract

Human beings are susceptible to some form of stress in life either physically, psychologically or physiologically. The stress level can directly affect human performance either towards positive or negative impact based on its intensity. In a highly regulated environment such as aviation maintenance, the ground crews are exposed with uncomfortable working conditions such as adverse temperature, limited space and awkward postures, just to name a few, that can add on to the existing stress. Hence, a study was carried out in identifying the maintenance personnel’s stress level and the common stressors that contributed towards their stress experience at workplace. There were 70 respondents involved, which represented more than half of the total technical staff in a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) organisation; a service provider that maintains helicopter for oil and gas company. Results obtained from the questionnaires showed that 59% of the respondents were experiencing very high/ high level of stress at the workplace. Respondents claimed that the physical, psychological and physiological stressors were due to work space, over-worried about job performance and working in an unhealthy condition. Hence, there is a need for practical countermeasures by the top management of the organisation before the current situation deteriorates and detriment its workforce.