National Academies Press: OpenBook

Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data (2020)

Chapter: Chapter 5 - The Path Forward

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Page 75
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - The Path Forward." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25969.
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Page 75
Page 76
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - The Path Forward." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25969.
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Page 76

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75 The Path Forward There are clear benefits to collecting airport operations and safety data. At the highest level, collecting operations data provides the means for process improvement, resulting in reduced operations costs and reduced maintenance costs. Likewise, collecting safety data provides the means to proactively address emerging safety issues, possibly reducing insurance and liability costs. By leveraging cloud­based storage and visualization tools, the costs of data collection are orders of magnitude lower than the savings generated by productivity enhancements and improved safety. This is evident by the fact that several airports have begun to prepare dashboards to provide an innovative way of evaluating and presenting information on airport performance. This enables cooperative efforts between airports to share data and leads to improved airport information collection, evaluation, and sharing. Finding methods to visualize and analyze the data collected can lead to actions by all relevant stakeholders. The ability to visually depict data can assist airport section managers in meetings with airport leadership. Dashboards would filter data from the previous day, week, month, or year with the data coming directly from the airport’s data warehouse where it is modeled and made available to end users using software tools. Other visualizations could include a dashboard providing information related to the efficiency (or inefficiency) of deicing operations on deicing pads at an airport or FOD at a particular airport location. To enable better analysis and sharing of data, an important consideration for data collection is a need for publicly available operations and safety databases accessible to the aviation industry. Airports may be reluctant to capture information, particularly safety information, if the data collected is discoverable and could possibly open the airport up to litigation or to negative press. Airports with a mature SMS in place, primarily airports outside the United States, such as in Canada and Europe, have found that SMS processes have led to the desire to collect more safety information even though their laws are more intrusive than those in the United States. Some airports that have implemented SMS have seen a reduction in their insurance rates over time because the number of claims has dropped, and the airports are doing a better job with accident and incident investigations. This has led to a decrease in accidents, fewer claims against the airport, and lower insurance premiums and deductibles. The willingness to share safety information, however, may take time to become the norm, because currently there is no require­ ment for an airport to implement an SMS. For airports that have adopted SMS, their insurance companies have shared these opinions and observations. This has long been a topic at industry conferences and workshops. As the industry becomes more and more SMS compliant; this trend will be quantifiable and acknowledged. Without the availability of an industry organization that is able to serve as a repository and host for an airport operations and safety information sharing system, a potential path ahead may be to start with an existing data sharing platform and allow the processes to evolve as a result C H A P T E R 5

76 Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data of use and innovation. Airbus has developed a platform as part of their Air Transport Safety Destination 10X Together initiative called D10X. D10X is an application for electronic devices, particularly mobile devices, that allows the user to share information on the air transportation system that could be valuable to enhance safety for fellow users. Currently, the primary users of the D10X platform are airlines whose pilots report information on airports from which they operate in an effort to share information on the facilities that can enhance the safety of future flights. The information shared is vetted by safety committees within the airline before it is made available to other D10X application users. Airbus is looking for other airport partners to explore future practical uses of the information captured within the D10X system. Note: D10X is not a common platform for airports and is being provided as context. Such an approach might provide a means by which airports can initially mine information about their facilities, in essence use the D10X application (or similar system) to identify or confirm the existence of hazards. In the near term, the platform provides a means for airports to communicate future changes designed to minimize risks. The uses of an information plat­ form could be developed through use, analysis, and follow­on innovation. This approach also provides a means for airports to share data through a private third party and thus allow for restricted access to safety information, similar to the ASIAS process. The first step along the path forward may be through an existing platform that can be modified and expanded for airport use, bringing professional industry organizations onboard as the data sharing processes advance. Funding the administration and support of a standalone database would be at a nominal cost, yet apart from obtaining grants or sponsorships, or perhaps paid advertising, there are limited to no opportunities to generate adequate revenue to cover the cost of this database. If the FAA or other federal agency were willing to sponsor a standalone database, funding the expenses of the operations and safety database would require some form of continuous grant or a line­ item budget expenditure. An alternative would be to seek an opportunity for the database to be assimilated into an existing data collection program similarly aligned with aviation safety. Moving toward a data­driven culture will require software tools and dashboards to continue evolving. Airports will move toward developing the tools to collect, assess, and act on the data to enhance the safety of their operations and facilities. Airports will most likely be willing participants in sharing operations and safety data with other airports as a communal activity for the collective good of all airports. The process for developing a shared data platform may come as a result of federal mandates, whereby the industry would be compelled to develop one. Attempts to expand the scope of what data is to be collected and reported will be met with some resistance given perceived risks, but these can be overcome by a logical and persuasive argument that the data will serve purposes that will benefit all airports and the traveling public. While there may be opportunities to add airport data to existing databases (such as ASIAS and other opportunities through NASA’s ASRS), the establishment of an operations and safety database for airports will require many champions. Data collection and information sharing should be widely promoted to gain supporters and garner funding for its creation and mainte­ nance. The need to collect and share airport operations and safety data exists and is necessary for identifying and mitigating risks and hazards. With continued research, planning, and imple­ mentation, together, we can create and look forward to a platform in which we can embrace operations and safety data sharing.

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The collection and sharing of data are essential in an airport’s risk management process. The data can allow the airport to benchmark against the industry, monitor performance, and proactively understand trends.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 222: Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data identifies data sources, best practices, and the challenges associated with collecting and sharing information with other stakeholders. It provides a potential roadmap to a future safety and operations national database.

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