Transportation Research Board Special Report 301
Subscriber Category
Aviation
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Copyright 2010 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This report was sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Typesetting by Circle Graphics.
Cover photo courtesy of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for a Review of the En Route Air Traffic Control Complexity and Workload Model.
Air traffic controller staffing in the en route domain : a review of the Federal Aviation Administration’s task load model / Committee for a Review of the En Route Air Traffic Control Complexity and Workload Model, Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council of the National Academies.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Air traffic capacity—United States—Mathematical models. 2. United States. Federal Aviation Administration.—Officials and employees—Workload—Mathematical models. 3. Manpower planning—United States—Statistical methods. I. Title.
TL725.3.T7N3685 2010
387.7′404260683—dc22
2010042255
ISBN 978-0-309-16069-8
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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Committee for a Review of the En Route Air Traffic Control Complexity and Workload Model
R. John Hansman, Jr.,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Chair
Monica S. Alcabin,
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Seattle, Washington
Michael O. Ball,
University of Maryland, College Park
Mary L. Cummings,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
William J. Dunlay,
Jacobs Consultancy, Burlingame, California
Antonio L. Elias,
Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia
John J. Fearnsides,
MJF Strategies, McLean, Virginia
J. Victor Lebacqz,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired), Aptos, California
Michael J. Powderly,
Airspace Solutions, Marietta, Georgia
Philip J. Smith,
Ohio State University, Columbus
Antonio A. Trani,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
Roger Wall,
Federal Express Corporation (retired), Kent, Washington
Greg L. Zacharias,
Charles River Analytics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
National Research Council Staff
Thomas R. Menzies, Jr., Study Director,
Transportation Research Board
Susan Van Hemel, Senior Program Officer (retired),
Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Preface
For the past decade, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sponsored the development of modeling capabilities for the analysis of en route sector complexity, controller workload, and sector capacity. These capabilities have been developed by the agency’s federally funded research and development center, MITRE Corporation’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). Upon FAA’s request, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), in conjunction with the Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE), agreed to provide an expert review of the model for use in informing the agency’s workforce planning. The details of the request are provided in the study statement of task contained in Box 1-2 (page 14).
To conduct the independent review, TRB and DBASSE assembled a committee of experts in human factors, modeling, and air traffic control research, planning, operations, and management. R. John Hansman, Jr., Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, chaired the committee, whose 13 members served in the public interest without compensation. Over the course of seven months, the committee met three times. During its first meeting in December 2009, the committee received overview briefings from FAA and CAASD about the model and its current and potential uses. During the second meeting, in March 2010, the committee visited the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Leesburg, Virginia, and received more detailed briefings from FAA and CAASD on the model and its use to inform workforce planning. The committee’s final meeting, in June 2010, consisted mainly of committee deliberations to produce this report.
The committee thanks all of the individuals from FAA and MITRE who made presentations during the meetings and otherwise assisted the
committee during the course of the study, especially Dan Williams, FAA and Diane E. Boone, MITRE Corporation. The committee also wishes to thank Larry Bogner and Bill Holtzman from the Washington ARTCC for assisting in making the arrangements for and hosting the committee’s February visit. Thomas R. Menzies, Jr., managed the study and assisted the committee in drafting the final report under the supervision of Stephen R. Godwin, Director of Studies and Special Programs, TRB and Barbara Wanchisen, Interim Director, Committee on Human–Systems Integration, DBASSE.
Suzanne Schneider, Associate Executive Director of TRB, managed the report review process. The report was edited by Naomi Kassabian; Jennifer J. Weeks prepared the manuscript for web posting; and Juanita L. Green managed the design and production, under the supervision of Javy Awan, Director of Publications, TRB. Special appreciation is expressed to Amelia Mathis for assistance with meeting arrangements and communications with the committee.
The report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
Thanks go to the following individuals for their review of the report: John B. Hayhurst, Boeing Company, Kirkland, Washington; Brian Hilburn, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Atlantic City, New Jersey; William C. Howell, Arizona State University, Mesa, and Rice University, Houston, Texas; Bill F. Jeffers, Newnan, Georgia; Waldemar Karwowski, University of Central Florida, Orlando; Amy R. Pritchett, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; Christopher D. Wickens, University of Illinois (Emeritus), Urbana–Champaign, and Alion Science and Technology, Boulder, Colorado.
Although these seven reviewers provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the committee’s findings
or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review was overseen by Adib K. Kanafani, University of California, Berkeley, and C. Michael Walton, University of Texas, Austin. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and institution.