A Review of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Implications and Importance of System Architecture (2015) / Chapter Skim
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4 Minimize Cultural and Organizational Barriers
4 Minimize Cultural and Organizational Barriers
Pages 64-80
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From page 64... ...
report Human-System Integration in the System Development Process: A New Look (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.) explores iterative development processes suitable for systems that have intensive human interaction and with humans having functional roles within the system (e.g., pilots, controllers, and so on.)
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From page 65... ...
For the FAA, this is both an organizational challenge -- it may not have sufficient human factors personnel to integrate contractors' work with system design -- as well as a technical and engineering challenge -- to determine how requirements and constraints flow to early-stage technical requirements so that human factors perspectives can contribute to early design work. When human factors are not included at the outset, products and services need to be modified subsequently to meet the human factors requirements, which then delays the release of products and services and significantly increases cost.
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From page 66... ...
And given the traditionally late integration of human factors expertise, this is understandable. But NextGen poses a major human factors system design problem -- namely, developing confidence through participation in design and simulation, especially for off-nominal scenarios that enable controllers and pilots to understand the capabilities and limits of NextGen capabilities and be able to perform without undue workload, delay, or error.
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From page 67... ...
However, an FAA human factors group could represent the FAA workforce; provide continuity across time and contractor (so that, for instance, two contractors do not work at cross-purposes) ; represent training and concept-of-operations (CONOPS)
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From page 68... ...
The timing of the implementation of the various elements complicates the human factors challenges. Within actual flight operations, there has been little opportunity as yet to observe interactions between the many new systems and procedures, since few airlines are equipped with required avionics beyond what exists a priori within the flight management systems.
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From page 69... ...
. • New automation for anticipating and resolving aircraft conflicts, which is supposed to relieve controllers of having to stare at screens to vector aircraft moment to moment, enabling them to take on more planning functions, and enable flow controllers to anticipate traffic flow congestion around airports well upstream.
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From page 70... ...
In addition, the FAA should ensure that a human factors specialist, separate from the research and certi 8 Joint Planning and Development Office, Concept of Operations for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, Version 3.2, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a535795.pdf. 9 NRC, Human-System Integration in the System Development Process: A New Look, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2007.
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From page 71... ...
The FAA lays out a business case for NextGen in The Business Case for the Next Generation Air Transportation System: FY 2013.10 The committee held several discussions with FAA staff as well to understand the analysis used to develop the costs and benefits of implementing NextGen. In summary, the FAA suggests that NextGen midterm improvements will generate $182 billion in benefits through 2020 and cost approximately $39 billion.
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From page 72... ...
Moreover, the required spending is in real dollars, while nearly two-thirds of the economic social benefit is quantified in the form of reduced delays to passengers, as is standard for Department of Transportation analyses of this sort.12 The FAA does incorporate some savings in aircraft operations in its benefits total, but most of the anticipated benefits stem from estimated costs of passenger time and environmental and safety benefits;13 the passenger delay reduction accounts for $107 billion of the expected benefits. The FAA does not fully control NextGen; many of the participants have to actively choose to acquire elements and participate.
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From page 73... ...
In order to demonstrate progress some years ago, many existing procedures using ground-based navigational aids were simply converted using identical trajectories that simply overlay GPS waypoints. New procedures are required that truly utilize the precision of a modern flight management 15 FAA, "Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Operations," Advisory Circular, October 28, 2014, http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/ AC_90-114A_FAA_Web_%282%29.pdf.
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From page 74... ...
Although modernization efforts are important and can bring significant benefits, it is a challenge to incentivize uptake for equipage, training, or changes in procedures absent clear benefits. Recommendation: Preceding any further equipage mandate, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
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From page 75... ...
Each has proceeded in its own way to separate the (mostly industrial) function of air traffic control from the essential governmental oversight function and responsibility that is demanded of sovereign nations under the Chicago Convention Treaty of 1944.18 The managerial and technical expertise required to constantly upgrade modern telecommunications systems is challenging for any government agency to attract and maintain.
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From page 76... ...
Digital communications will take on increasing importance as the NAS is modernized, so the FAA will need additional technical expertise in designing modern digital networks and protocols. Historically, air traffic control has relied heavily on analog voice communications, but with programs like Data Comm, digital communication will increasingly become primary.
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From page 77... ...
Developing and retaining this expertise will be a challenge. However, proceeding with inexperienced or less than the best personnel in key leadership positions is a significant risk.21 The FAA will likely need to tap into its "government-side" network of partners in federally funded research and development centers, systems engineering and technical assistance contractors, and similar organizations in order to gain access to sufficient expertise.
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From page 78... ...
Congress then approved the formation of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) , allowed for the new position of chief operating officer to be recruited from industry, and reorganized the FAA air traffic control organization, based on an airline industrial model.
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From page 79... ...
A financially stable, long term business model is required to both organize and attract the necessary technical talent/ expertise with a dependable income stream to provide project stability and predictability to design and deploy such a complex system. 23 Lessons from the private sector suggest that there are many other equally significant opporunities for support of such systems, such as continuity and timeliness of funding, t color of money, directed funding, addressing the lack of discretionary funds, and more readily moving funds where needed the most.
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From page 80... ...
80 A REVIEW OF THE NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Finding: As a large-scale, software-intensive system, NextGen and the NAS will benefit if ongoing maintenance of the NAS and its hardware and software systems are supported -- in addition to pro grammatic investments; such an approach will make the most of past and ongoing investments.
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