Systemic principals of research of functional states of the gas-man operator while working in the desert

This work describes functional state of the gas-man operator while working in the desert. Under the functional state, one understands the state of the operator that is changing during the work shifts. The most important characteristics of the operator's functional state are work capacity and fatigue. These are two sides of the same coin. The more the fatigue is, the less is the work capacity. In spite of the broad interest to these phenomena, ther is still not a precise and reliable way to measure them. The present article focuses on some aspects of this important issue from the activity theory point of view.