Federal AviationAdministration

1 (All of the commercial and general aviation aircraft currently in-flight in the United States.)

MCI/KCI

DFW

OKC

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What’s The Definition of Insanity?

Julia Pounds Aerospace Human Factors Research Division FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Presented at OKJDM April 28, 2007

Federal AviationAdministration

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.--Einstein

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• When separation standards are violated due to an element of the ATC system, an operational error (OE) is recorded.

• The FAA tracks the occurrence of OEs as an important metric for understanding trends in the National Airspace System (NAS).

• Considerable organizational effort is directed toward reducing OEs (e.g., new automation & equipment, procedures, training approaches)

1st A Little Background

Operational Errors

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1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

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Operational Errors

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1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

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Example

• Airborne flights• Radar control

4 1403:32 Separation was lost. Closest proximity was 600 feet vertically and 4.25 nautical miles laterally.

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Example

• Runway• Tower control

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• An OE event triggers the FAA’s formal investigation process during which

– The controller’s failure to maintain “situation awareness” is often discussed.

– “Failure to detect” is a frequently recorded causal factor in the final report.

Background

• Recommendations can (and often do) include corrective training for operational personnel involved in the OE.

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Recent FAA OE reduction initiatives have focused on: • Enhancing communication skills (e.g., ATC phraseology) • Improving position relief briefings • Reducing distractions

Factors related to a controller’s performance– Failure to detect displayed data

– Failure to comprehend displayed data

– Failure to project future status of displayed data

Background

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“The airport runway is theMost important mainstreamIn any town.”-Norm Crabtree

Background

The FAA has a long history of

training air traffic control

specialists (ATCS) to maintain

aircraft (A/C) separation.

– Initial training

– Recurrent training

– Corrective training

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• Air traffic control performance requires cognitive resources to

accomplish. It is primarily a thinking activity.

• Air traffic control is a high consequence domain and thus

requires expert performance levels.

• Performance must be viewed as part of a complex web of

human-in-the-loop systems.

• Air traffic control can be viewed as a series of critical points that

become links in a chain of events.

Considerations

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What types of training were being assigned to controllers following an OE to– Improve thinking processes?

– Maintain expert performance?

– Aid performance in human-in-the-loop systems?

– Break links in the chain of events?

Research Question

TO PAY ATTENTION!

Historically Preferred Approach

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Materials

• FAA final reports for 752 OEs from January 2 to December 31, 2003 (CY03) were obtained.

• The text field containing training recommendations was extracted for each OE.

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Procedures

• An ATC subject matter expert identified every training item listed in each report.

• Not included were associated items commonly done after in most OEs as routine procedure, e.g., having the controller

– Complete an on-the-job training session with an instructor prior to returning to duty

– Review of the voice tapes– Watch a re-creation of the event – Discuss the event with his/her supervisor

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Controller will be administered refresher training that will focus on duty priority, operational listening and remembering, improving scanning, and maintaining situational awareness.

– Review the event playback and voice recording with the supervisor.

– Review “Breaking the Chain” - the training video on reducing OEs

– Complete refresher training on arrival and departure procedures

– Complete computer-based instruction courses (CBI) for the following:

1. Situational awareness

2. ATC communications

3. ATC OE reduction

All operational supervisors in the facility will be required to review the CDR and voice recording and be briefed on the events that led to this OE.

Example of Training Recommendations From a Final OE Report

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RESULTS

47% - CBI programs

(national or locally-developed)

43.9% - FAA Orders

(employee reviews paragraphs of an Order pertaining to important aspects of the OE)

9.1% - Other

(employee watched videos about a particular factor, such as “Breaking the Chain”, or watched traffic simulations, reviewed maps, etc.)

3714 training recommendations were identified in the 752 OE reports.

Training Assigned After OEs

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CBI FAA Orders Training - Other

Per

cent

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• The results of this study supported employees’ anecdotes of a dependency on knowledge-based training strategies for controllers.

• ATC relies on highly skilled performance.

• A skill-based training paradigm is needed to supplement existing training programs and target skills that support strong controller performance.

Discussion

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• Beginning in 2002, the FAA developed, tested, and deployed the National Air Traffic Professionalism Program (NATPRO)

– a skill-based program

– integrates both knowledge-based and skill-based components

– delivered using a Seminar-Practicum format

• Yes, a skills training paradigm for controllers is possible

Discussion

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• Series 1 (“Pay Attention!”) is currently used in all en route centers and being deployed to terminal facilities (towers and radar approach control facilities)

– Topics include attention processes, concentration, and multitasking.

• Series 2 (“Listen Up”) is currently being deployed to en route centers.

– Topics target listening skills and readback/hearback processes between controllers and pilots.

National Air Traffic Controller Professional Performance Program (NATPRO)

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For both knowledge-based & skill-based training

• Measurement: How to measure training effectiveness? • Individual behaviors: Does the training improve

controllers’ operational performance?• System level: Does the training reduce OEs?• What other kinds of training are needed?

Many Questions Remaining

Federal AviationAdministration

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Federal AviationAdministration

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What’s The Definition of Insanity?

Julia Pounds Aerospace Human Factors Research Division FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Presented at OKJDM April 28, 2007