T8 B17 FAA Trips 1 of 3 Fdr- Briefing Slides- Investigating Air Traffic Control Communication and Coordination

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MIT1C AT

Investigating Air Traffic ControlCommunication & Coordination:

Results of field studies

Hayley J. Davison & R. John Hansman

Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInternational Center for Air Transportation



MITI CAT Motivation

Much of the current ATC communication research focuses onthe high-level strategic communication such as COM

As the air traffic increases, we must strengthen the lower levelsof strategic communication between facilities (e.g., TMUs)sothat the system will be more flexible to handle disturbances

Need for delay program Traffic overload High traffic flow

m•T

AT/ O/*ATCSCC êlay program

1 *Facility

TMU1

1

Implement delay^nmftrstm

• • • • • j fT._ ._ A :~.~ .iTactical

Controllers

l

•••

iran c

Flow

Strategic flow changes to

alleviate workload within facility

• There appears to beopportunities to improve informationsharing at the inter-facility level



Approach

• Perform series of focused interviews and field observations at

single and multi-terminal ATCfacilities

Q Boston

Q New York

• Identify current communication/coordination structure to

investigate who, when and why they coordinate with others and

how this coordination/communication can be improved

• Determine controllers' coordination and information needs&

how it relates to bottlenecks in the ATCsystem

• Determine functional requirements for an integrated

coordination system



Facility Level Communication

Structure- Example: ARTCCTraffic Management Specialist

ARTCC A ITraffic Management Officer

TMU

Desk

Controller

Traffic Management UnitSupervisor

Military Coordinator

Oceanic Planner

WeatherCoordinator

MeteringController

Re-routeCoordinator

Departure

SpacingPlanner

B an

SectorBSupervisor if SectorCSupervisor

m m m w . m o M u m m m m w u m m ^ m t m m ^ m m t m •••, uiilLiMiiumii»iiiiul.liuijmi»it«iAii»"iii»»«i"-""-- • • • "

7g/7-/eve/

strategic

Mid-levelstrategic

Low-levelstrategic

Tact ica l

Sector AControllers)C Sector AControllers)(Sector A Controllers



with Low to High

Level Strategic Controllers

ATCSCC

I East orWest Supervisor I

trafficManagement Specialist

NY ARTCC > Boston ARTCC

Traff. Mgmt.Officer Boston

TRACONNY

TRACONewark

Towe

TowerSupervisor

TowerSupervisor

Manchester

Facility Traff/Mgmt.

Coordinator^ '.Mgmt'Coord;

Airspacewithin Boston ARTCCirspacewithin NYARTCC

v interviews completed, dark gray boxes contain interviews completed since last JUP



A Comparisonof Example

Case Studies

Boston TRACON Traffic Management Coordinator

New York TRACON Traffic Management Coordinator



M IT ^ Traffic Management

ICAT Coordinator Position

• Responsible for monitoring workload of floor controllers

• Responsible for determining restrictions needed to reducehigh traffic flows into the facility

• Responsible for the timely communicationof new

restrictions from other facilities to the floor controllers

• Responsible for communicatingand negotiating trafficinitiatives withother facilities



MITICAT

Coordination Structure-

Boston TRACONTMC Example

Boston TRACON TMU >

Traffic Manager

ISupervisor

3 /day

5-10/day TBACONt' *--**•» . , tl*, -' ,L

- - ; ; > TMc ^ - ;

Within TRACON»••••••••••••••••<Other facilities

Boston ARTCC

Sector A

Supervisor

2/day

(forecastsonly updated

that often)

NationalWeather Servicein Taunton

Massport

C" Computer communication PPhone Communication FFace to Face Communication



M/r ^ Information Tools Usedby

ICAT Boston TRACON TMC

Traffic Situation Display (TSD)

G Boston area traffic demand

Flight Data Information System/General Information Messages

(FDIO/GI messages)

Q Electronically communicating restrictions from ARTCC to TRACON and

other regional facilities

National Weather Service (NWS) briefings

Q 1/day by fax

Information Display System 4 (IDS-4)

Q weather reports for airports

a ILS usedQ runway configuration currently being used

Q approach chartsQ a/c recognition pictures



M IT _ Communication &•••••••pK, -J&S

ICAT Coordination Problems ( B o s t o n )

Telephone problems coordinating with ARTCC & ATCSCC

Q Phones not answered lead to delays for some aircraft up to 40 minutes

Q Could be remedied by automating certain re-routesQ If controllers knew which aircraft were going to be on-time, early, late or going into

holding, then they could plan better for flows

TMC's must manually type in restrictions to several tools

Q FDIO/GI message system

Q IDS-4Q ATC logs

The TMC position is often treated reactively instead of proactively

Q Routes blocked by restrictions from ARTCC or Tower

Q TMC should seek out reason for restriction and try to suggest alternatives insteadof just cutting off traffic flow

Q This proactive behavior often exhibited by TMC's who have worked at more than

just the TRACON facility (TRACON & Tower, TRACON & ARTCC)



Boston TRACON TMC

Information quality is important to the TRACON TMC

Q Weather forecasts (integrated from NWS, Center meteorologists and possibly

Massport contractor if the first two contradict each other)Q Demand forecasts (found fairly accurately from the TSD)Q Individual work styles of area controllers

Ability to negotiate with TMCs from other facilities is critical

Q Knowledge of structure and capacity of other facility

Q Knowledge of needs and wants of other facilitiesQ Personal acquaintance with TMC makes it more likely to negotiate smoothly

This position is highly dependent on the individual TRACON TMC's

ability to approach the limits of capacity without sacrificing safety

Communication/Coordination Improvements

Q Integrate information-sharing tools: FDIO/GI Messages, TSD, Information Display

System (IDS)Q Increase pro-active traffic flow management by educating TMCs about the

structure and procedures in adjacent facilities



AWT

1C AT


New York TRACONTMC Example

NY TRACON

Traffic Management Officer

Other TRACON

TMCsSector A Supervisor

Sector BSupervisor

Sector CSupervisor

Meteorologists

at NY ARTCC

constantly

Tower

TMCs

CComputer communication PPhone Communication FFace toFace Communication



Information Tools Used by

New York TRACON TMCTraffic Situation Display (TSD)

Information DisplaySystem 4 (IDS-4)

NY ARTCC Weather BriefingsQ 2/day by phone

Traffic Count Automation Program (TCAP)

Q Hourly counts of traffic at each airport

Integrated Terminal WeatherSystem (ITWS)

Q Provides current weather information for New York areaQ Provides forecasted conditions 30 minutes into the future

Departure Spacing Planner (DSP)

Q Information sharing tool between Towers, TRACON, & ARTCC in NY

Q Provides current departure sequence to reduce (and eventually eliminate) telephone calls for

APREQ's

White board

Q Used to communicate airport restrictions to TMU & floor controllers

Hotline (during severe weather traffic management)

Q Used by Tower, TRACON, ARTCC, & ATCSCC to reroute individual aircraft



M J T ^ Communication &

ICAT Coordination Problems ( N e w Y o r k )

• Age of telephones and communications equipment

Q TMC's would like hands-free telephones & mobile phones to allow multi-

tasking

• APREQ procedures

Q Tower telephones the TRACON every time that an aircraft tagged as an

APREQ aircraft plans to depart

Q Remedy is DSP, which is in its testing phase

• Method by which restrictions are passed to floor controllers

Q Typed into ATCSCC computer log

Q Written on white board

Q Verbally to Liberty sector

Q Verbally to other TMC's

Q Faxed to all Towers

Q Phone 4 major towers to make sure the restrictions are received



New York TRACON TMC

Information quality is important to the TRACONTMC

Q Determining demand for each of the major airports

Q Determining workload from the floor controllers, especially that of the Liberty sector

Q Especially important to get information disseminated timely to floor controllers, other TMCs,and Tower facilities

Q State-of-the-art weather information available from ITWS


Q Much of the bottlenecks found in New York were found to begin from extreme restrictionimposed on the facilities on aircraft going to ORD from the Cleveland ARTCC

Q Critical to be able to maximize departures by negotiating with NY ARTCC & to other ARTCC'sthrough the ATCSCC

Q Critical to maximize arrivals into all airports, especially Newark by communicating efficiently

with the Tower TMC's

Coordination/Communication Improvements

Q So many restrictions imposed on TRACON, much of TMC's job consists of communicating the

restrictions to the floor controllers & Tower TMC's- minimize "restrictions logging", and othertasks

Q TMC's could be encouraged to work more proactively towards traffic management solutions,but facility is so busy just reacting to new restrictions, especially during SWAP, that proactivesolutions are nearly impossible

Q More information sharing tools similar to DSP should be implemented to reduce amount ofcommunications that occur between facilities and to maximize efficiency of communications

that do exist



IT v ^ Differences between TMCjB&«iiisiiE~

wmmfmi: -i"B"*

ICAT positions at Boston and New YorkNumber of major airports controlledQ Boston: 1, New York: 3 (probably 4)

SizeofTRACONTMU

Q Boston: 1 person, NewYork: 5-7 peopleQ Group communications increased at NY to ensure proper restriction updating that

may affect traffic management decisions

Amount of restrictions imposed on TRACONs

Q Boston receives much fewer restrictions than NYQ Boston more able to proactively get involved in re-routing flows without many

"snowballing" problems resulting (more flexible TFM)Q New York TMU is working more reactively to restrictions imposed and they do not

have time to take more proactive measures that would not significantly disruptstandard operating procedures (less flexible TFM)

Type of communications occurringQ Boston spends communications asking why certain restrictions put on them from

ARTCCQ NY spends most communications receiving calls from Towers to clarify restrictions

and receiving APREQ's, or convincing ARTCC or ATCSCC why restrictions are

needed



Emerging ThemesAreas of Protection

Q Each area (e.g., sector, facility, region) operates to its maximum risk threshold to maximize

the efficiency without sacrificing safetyQ Different risk thresholds for different facilities- (Providence Tower v. Boston Tower, Cleveland

ARTCC v. NY ARTCC)

Ambiguous ATC Organizational Structure

Q ATC is currently functioning under a centralized structure with ATCSCC at the topQ Since little power given to ATCSCC, many ARTCCs function as a decentralized system with

each ARTCC in charge of its own airspace with the ATCSCC as mediatorQ TMCs are confused about the function of the ATCSCC facility

Lack of "system" concern

Q As long as the area is functioning at capacity, the controllers are not concerned with otherareas

Personal Negotiations

Q Personal communication & negotiation is used to battle the "Lack of system concern"mentality

Q Visiting other facilities on a regular basis helps• Develop personal acquaintances at other facilities

o Easier to negotiate with an acquaintance or friendo Understand state of other person better (able to distinguish a critical situation from

a non-critical situation, able to predict the saturation point of other individual)• Bigger picture of system impact

o Can see what effect implementing a delay initiative has on other facilitieso Can take a proactive position during a negotiation with other facility



Opportunities to Enhance ATC

Traffic Management

Integrated information sharing tools

Q DSPwill eventually significantly reduce excess communications between Towers

and TRACON at New YorkQ Other tools like the IDS-4 and the FDIO/GI message system should be integrated

to reduce inputting the same data into several sources and minimize time tocommunicate restrictions from TMU to floor controllers

Encouraging pro-active traffic management

Q By reducing excess communications between facilities, TMC's could have moretime to be monitoring TSD demand and arranging proactive traffic management

routes to address restrictions imposed on their facility

Investigating further the significance of personal communicationsamong individuals

Q When do personal negotiations change the traffic management strategy used

Q What aspects of personal negotiation give the TMCs leverage in negotiations

• previous facilities worked• personal acquaintances

• empathy for controllers atother facility

• tit-for-tat



MIT1C AT

Information Requirements for

Inter-Facility ATCCoordination

Hayley J. Davison & R.John Hansman

Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInternational Center for Air Transportation



M JT

1C AT MotivationAs the air traffic increases, we must strengthen thecommunication between facilities (e.g., TMUs) so that the

system will be more flexible to handle disturbances

Weed for delay program Traffic overload High traffic flow

m

•T

A ffO>^

ATCSCC êlay program^

1f

FacilityTMU

1

1

Implement delaynrnnrstm

ZLJL_T*»**±!*%*»l 8Tactical 1

Controllers j

A

1

•••

r w * + * vv • ^ %iranic~* Flow

Strategic flow changes to

alleviate workload within facil i ty

Coordination is improving (COM, TMA, CRDA), but not on everylevel

There appears to be opportunities to improve informationsharing at the inter-facility level



A uApproach

Identify current communication/coordination structure based on

single and multi-terminal environment examples (Boston & New

York)Q Perform interviews with strategic traffic flow managers, supervisors, and

coordinators to investigate who, when and why they coordinate with

others and how this coordination/communication can be improved

Determine controllers' coordination and information needs &how it relates to bottlenecks in the ATC system

Determine functional requirements for an integrated

coordination system



MJT

ICAT

Facility Level Communication

Structure- Example: ARTCCI Traffic Management Specialist

ARTCC ATraffic Management Officer

TMU

Desk

Controller

Traffic Management Unit

Supervisor

Military Coordinator

Oceanic Planner

Weather

Coordinator

Metering

Controller

Re-route

Coordinator

Departure

Spacing

Planner

Sector A Supervisor 11 Sector B Supervisor Sector C Supervisor

' igh-level

strategic

Mid-level

strategic

Low-levelstrategic

Tactical



HWT

1C AT

Interviews with Low to High

Level Strategic Controllers

ATCSCC

Newark

Towei

TowerSupervisor

Tower Traff.Mgmt.

Coordinator

NY

TRACON

I East orWest Supervisor I

,.> - - -

Y Traffic Management Specialist- f , 'it,'(.•*?.-»>» /&.<!t £r'-.'-Ai'~, fff

TrafficManager

TrafficMgmt.

Coord.

NY ARTCC

Traff. Mgmt.

Officer

Traff. Mgmt.

Supervisor

Airspace within NYARTCC

Boston ARTCC

Boston

TRACON\Boston

x

Mgmt. Officer

TowerSupervisor

ManchesterTower

Traffipi

MgmtU

Coord.4 CoordinatorowerSupervisor

Airspace within Boston ARTCC

v Interviews completed



Preliminary Results

Case Studies

• Boston TRACON Traffic Management Coordinator

• Boston ARTCC Traffic Management Officer

• ATCSCC Traffic Management Specialist

• Boston ARTCC Oceanic Planner



MIT1C AT

Example 1: Boston TRACONTMC

Preliminary Results



MJT

1C AT


TRACON TMC Example

Boston TRACON TMU

Traffic Manager

J.Supervisor 3-4/day

5-10/day TRAC0ISI' ". T 4 - .-' *>*,,,;•

Within TRACON'••••••••••••••••IOther facilities

Boston ARTCC

Sector ASupervisor

P10/day• ••••••••••••••••••••••••

2/day

(forecasts

only updatedthat often)

Tower

National

Weather Service

in Taunton

Massport

CComputer communication PPhone Communication FFace toFace Communication



M J T ^ Information Flow-

ICAT Aircraft Emergency on Runway example

Aircraft TowerTMC

^P

»;TRAQON, ARTCCTMU

ATCSCC AirlineRep.

Airline

AirportAuthority

Gl messages

Tug

Information (e.g., which runway is closed, how long the tower expectsit to be closed) is passed through the strategic ranks of the ATC

system both through face-to-face, phone and computer m odalities



TRACON TMC

Information quality is important to the TRACONTMC

Q Weather forecasts (integrated from NWS, Center meteorologists and possibly

Massport contractor if the first two contradict each other)

Q Demand forecasts (found fairly accurately from the TSD)Q Individual work styles of area controllers


Q Knowledge of structure and capacity of other facilityQ Knowledge of needs and wants of other facilities

Q Personal acquaintance with TMC makes it more likely to negotiate smoothly

This position is highly dependent on the individual TRACON TMC'sability to approach the limits of capacity without sacrificing safety

Communication/Coordination Improvements

Q Integrate information-sharing tools: FDIO/GI Messages, TSD, Information DisplaySystem (IDS)

Q Increase pro-active traffic flow management by educating TMCs about the

structure and procedures in adjacent facilities



MIT1C AT

Example 2: Boston ARTCC Traffic

Management Officer

Preliminary Results



A W T

1 C ATCoordination structure- ZBW

Traffic Management Officer

Boston ARTCC

Director of

Tactical Ops

TMU Supervisor

Man,agen?;entÔfficer

2-3 TRACON

Traffic Mgrs.ispatchers

& Pilots5-6 ARTCC

Meteorology

Quality Assurance

East & Northeast

Regions

ATC

Coordinators Traffic

Management

Specialist



MJT Information Flow- Teleconference:

ICAT Plan for Runway Closure at Small Airport

Tower

TMO

New plan orcontingencies tosuggested plan

Suggestedplan

ATCSCC IMS

NY TRACONSupervisor

NY ARTCC

TMO

ZBW Director

of Tactical

Ops.

Controllers'(capacity limits

r+

Traffic Management'Officer ]

ZBW TMU

Supervisor



ZBW Traffic

Management Officer

The Traffic Management Officer position depends greatly on

negotiating with other facilities to remedy traffic situations both

dynamically and strategically.

Decisions made are based on shared information

Q Demand estimates

Q Controller capacity limits

Q WeatherQ Staffing

TMO finds that the ability to communicate directly with

individuals is critical to the ability to negotiate solutions

Communication/Coordination improvements

Q Increase the availability of shared information (updated demand

estimates, weather forecasts)



MTT

ICAT

Example3: ATCSCC Traffic

Management Specialist

Preliminary Results



M J T ^ Communication Structure-

ICAT ATCSCC Traffic Management Specialist

AVN50 NOTAMS

ATCSCC- East Division

ATA Representatives.--upervi

Other East Traffics"Mgmt. Specialists

AssignedARTCC(s) Tower & ApproachControl TMCs

Severe WeatherStrategic Planning

West Division

West Supervisor

11Other West Traffic

Mgmt. Specialists

Airline ATCCoordinators



MIT

1C AT

Information Flow- GDP

Implementation ExampleTraffic increases, TRACON

"spinning" aircraft TV««::~ cri^..,no long* eff icient TrafflcFow

Traffic increases, ARTCC

"spinning" aircraft-*- „. ,-,

no longer eff/c/enfTrafflcF°W

TRACON

Controllers

MIT restrictions TT

Controllers

overloaded

ARTCC

Controllers

TRACON

TMC

Tower puts MIT* %restrictions on

T R A C O N

Restrictionshanded down to

controllers

Controllers

overloaded

M IT restrictions puton A R T C C

ARTCC

TMU

Request for

GDP may be

m a d e

Tower

Traffic FlowI

Tower

Controllers

Tower

TMC

Coordinat ion with TRACON

about traffic relief options

Too many arr ivals Controllers

overloaded anoL

jfi

TrafficC

!„(> j~ ( ') ,1 ,> 7Tt*4 • "

Management

If current MIT and other restrictions

providing no relief, m a y request G DP

taxiways full



A W T

1 C ATFlow- GDP

Implementation ExampleAirline Reps.

7SD

TMS |

experience1

1

1

1

t<

H

_

Other Traffic

ManagementSpecialists

Supervisor

Tower TMC

Demand expectedfo r airport

Determine .need for GDP

Êvaluate _

alternatives4

Requestfo r GDP

Traffic IManagement!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ j _ Specialist

ARTCC TMC

Airports

Towers

ARTCCsAirlines

FDIO/GI

messages



M IT ^ ATCSCC Traffic—BK -fHHk

ICAT Management SpecialistTraffic Management Specialists rely on the low level strategiccontrollers to suggest implementation of system-level flowmanagement initiatives

Q Need recommendation and/or experience to implement initiative

Q Need accurate demand measures from TSD and other TMS's

This position is highly dependent on coordination and communication

Q Low level strategic controllers (ARTCC TMU & Tower TMC)

• When initiative isneeded• When initiative should bestopped• What alternatives arepresent

Q Communicate with other TMS's to determine effect on the system


Q TMS's should be very familiar with the capacity and procedures of the facilities

that they controlQ Currently the TMS is reactive to the problems that the facility may have, should

become more proactive in determining when the facility will become saturated



A W T

1 C AT

Example 4: Boston ARTCC Oceanic Planner

Preliminary Results



MIT1C AT


ZBW Oceanic Planner exampleBoston ARTCC TMU

Traffic Mgmt. Officer

DepartureSpacing

Controllers

Supervisor

Military

Coordinator

Metering Controller

WeatherCoordinator

Plariiier

Within ARTCC

Meteorology

1Sector A

Supervisor

Other facilities

New York ARTCCOceanic AreaControl Center

CIComputer communication PPhone Com munication iI Face to Face Communication



MJT

ICAT

Information flow-

Oceanic Tracks example

ARTCC Meteorology Supervisor

Wind/jetstream

information for the

eveningfmmmmmmmmmmmmmm min\,

êxperience

Tracks document is

checked for errors

Oceanic Planner

OACC eveningstaffinginformation

OceanicArea ControlCenter

ETMS & worldwide

information system

•Oceanic AreaControl Center

•NationalARTCCs _ _

•Airlines

•World ATC

facilitiesOceanic AreaControl Center

NY ARTCC

Sectorervisors

Boston ARTCCTMU

i \

Over 250 phone calls



ZBW Oceanic Planner

Oceanic Planner is a secondary duty of a TMC's regular appointment(e.g., military coordinator, desk controller)

Requires high-quality information to be suppliedQ Accurate wind & Jetstream forecastsQ OACC staffing information

Little coordination needed to perform tasks

Q Uses information gathered from other facilities to determine appropriate routings

to oceanic tracks twice per dayQ Asks member of TMU to double-check the tracks once they are printed outQ Feedback from users (airlines) and other facilities only if tracks are not supplied by

a certain time

This position is not a coordination-critical position


Q Ensure high quality information is passed to the Oceanic PlannerQ Provide some early form of feedback to the Oceanic Planner so that the TMU is

not bombarded by phone calls if the Oceanic Tracks are late



M IT ^ Issues Emerging Due to

1 C AT System StructureAreas of Protection

Q Each area (e.g., sector, facility, region) operates to its maximum risk threshold to maximizethe efficiency without sacrificing safety

Q Different risk thresholds for different facilities- (Providence Tower v. Boston Tower, ClevelandARTCC v. NY ARTCC)

Lack of "system" concern

Q As long as the area is functioning at capacity, the controllers are not concerned with other

areas

Personal Negotiations

Q Personal communication & negotiation is used to battle the "Lack of system concern"

mentalityQ Visiting other facilities on a regular basis helps

• Develop personal acquaintances at other facilities

o Easier to negotiate with an acquaintance or friend

o Understand state of other person better (able to distinguish a critical situation from

a non-critical situation, able to predict the saturation point of other individual)

• Bigger picture of system impact

o Can see what effect implementing a delay initiative has on other facilitieso Can take a proactive position during a negotiation with other facility

Opportunity to enhance communications structure through:

Q Integrated information sharing toolsQ Encouraging pro-active traffic managementQ Investigating further the significance of personal communications among individuals



Future Directions

Continue interviews with ARTCC's, TRACONs, Towers,and

ATCSCC

Consolidate results into a set of case studies describing currentcommunication/coordination structure at different levels of ATC

Identify improvements in coordination/communication that need

to bemade using specific examples from case studies

Provide a set of functional requirements and potential benefits

for future integrated communication/coordination tool(s)

Documents

T8 B17 FAA Trips 1 of 3 Fdr- Briefing Slides- Investigating Air Traffic Control Communication and Coordination