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TRB Special Report 301: Traffic Controller Staffing in the En Route Domain A Review of the Federal Aviation Administration's Task Load Model (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Summary
Pages 1-8

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 1...
... FAA has been using the model's estimates of task time expenditure, or "task load," to assess the number of controllers required to work each sector's traffic. The model simulates the traffic activity experienced in each sector and then associates task times with this activity to compute task load.
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From page 2...
... FAA's current model accounts for traffic complexity by simulating the traffic flows and patterns experienced in the en route sectors and relating them to the time-varying tasks that controllers perform. The basic model structure, in which traffic activity is simulated and controller tasks and task times are associated with traffic, represents a logical approach to estimating task load.
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From page 3...
... All of the PTT conversion methods used, including the current one using fuzzy logic modeling, exhibit the same fundamental flaw -- they imply an ability to estimate total task load without ever identifying the unmodeled tasks, much less measuring the time it takes to perform them. The PTT conversions using fuzzy logic modeling rely on experts to assign complexity weightings to the unidentified and unmodeled tasks.
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From page 4...
... Analyzing staffing records is of limited value since the main purpose of PTT modeling is to find out when staffing levels can be better aligned with traffic demand. A main means by which model developers have sought to assess PTT estimates is by presenting them to groups of experts, often consisting of individuals who manage and staff the en route centers.
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From page 5...
... The deficiencies of these two modeling processes go well beyond parameter validation, as explained earlier. Yet the lack of empirical data on task performance has hindered validation throughout the modeling process, from assessing key assumptions about tasks being performed sequentially and at a fixed pace to characterizing the tasks handled by the associate controller.
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From page 6...
... Looking farther out, the durability of the task load model for PTT analysis and for other possible applications, such as to inform traffic flow planning, will depend not only on the successful gathering and use of task performance data but also on the nature and pace of change in the air traffic control enterprise. Developments anticipated for the planned Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)
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From page 7...
... Model All Controller Tasks Modeling all tasks that contribute significantly to total controller task load is fundamental for estimating PTT. FAA should use the information gained from observing, measuring, and analyzing controller task performance to quantify the task load associated with the services provided by both the lead and associate controllers.
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Key Terms

  • task performance
  • task times
  • performance data
  • controller tasks
  • fuzzy logic

  • load model
  • current model
  • controller task
  • total task
  • task coverage

  • model parameters
  • model developers
  • load output
  • logic modeling
  • estimating task

  • modeled task
  • infer task
  • model simulates
  • associate controller
  • estimating ptt

  • lead controller
  • load values
  • ptt conversion
  • troller tasks
  • controllers perform

  • using fuzzy
  • tasks performed
  • modeling process
  • unmodeled tasks
  • data availability


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