ATCA Journal | Q1 2015 Preview

Spring 2015 | VOLUME 57, NO. 1

World ATM Congress Madrid, Spain Plus

• Aviation Performance Measurement Systems • Thinking Beyond NextGen • MH370: A Year Later

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Spring 2015 | Vol. 57, No. 1

Contents Articles

Published for: Air Traffic Control Association 1101 King Street, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703-299-2430 Fax: 703-299-2437 info@atca.org www.atca.org Published by:

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Aviation Performance Measurement Systems

By David R. Shleicher and Norm Fujisaki

18

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140 Broadway, 46th Floor New York, NY 10005 Toll-free phone: 866-953-2189 Toll-free fax: 877-565-8557 www.lesterpublications.com President, Jeff Lester Vice-President & Publisher, Sean Davis EDITORIAL Editorial Director, Jill Harris Managing Editor, Kristy Rydz Editorial Assistant, Andrew Harris

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The Interagency Planning Office is Thinking Ahead

By Edward L. Bolton Jr.

MH370 – A Year Later

The Search for Answers Continues to Challenge the Boundaries of Tracking and Search Technologies

Tomorrow’s Air Traffic Control Systems

By Ashley Nunes

Less Safe and More Costly for Customers?

32

Integrated Traffic Flow Management

By James G. Hayes

Enabling FAA NextGen with Optimized Efficiency

40

SESAR

By Florian Guillermet

46

Towards High Performing Aviation in Europe

Cognitive Assessment in Strategic Human Resources Management Enhancing Air Traffic Controller Performance

By Shabu B. Raj

52

A New Contract for the Adminstration of the FAA’s Air Traffic Selection and Training Test

The AT-SAT is a Significant Component in the FAA’s Mission of Aviation Safety, as is its Proper Administration to Hopeful Controller Candidates

By Tom Waters

56

Best Practices of Aviation Major Systems Programs

64

CPDLC Now Functioning in All High Level Canadian Airspace

By John Dobriansky

Expanded Use and Space

By Pedro Vicente

Jennifer Holmes | 866-953-2189

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the authors of the editorial articles contained in this publication are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the ATCA.

Beyond NextGen

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DISTRIBUTION

© 2015 Air Traffic Control Association, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the ATCA.

Vital to Improving Service Delivery

By Steve Winter

DESIGN & LAYOUT Art Director, Myles O’Reilly Senior Graphic Designer, John Lyttle Graphic Designer, Crystal Carrette Graphic Designer, Jessica Landry Graphic Designer, Gayl Punzalan

ATCA members and subscribers have access to the online edition of The Journal of Air Traffic Control. Visit lesterfiles.com/ pubs/ATCA. Password: ATCAPubs (case sensitive).

Departments 3 5

From the President From the Editor’s Desk

7

Member Benefits & Application

66

Directory of Member Organizations

Cover image: Jarno Gonzalez Zarraonandia

The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

By Peter F. Dumont, President & CEO, ATCA

What Do Falling Fuel Costs Mean for Aviation?

O

n the way to work this morning I stopped to fill my car with gas. I filled my tank for just over $30. Was I in a time warp? We have not seen gas prices this low for about a decade – except for the short-lived gas price dip in 2008. And some experts are saying this is not a short-lived phenomenon.

What does a significant drop in gas prices mean to the transportation industry, and specifically to the aviation industry?

Over the past few years, fuel costs have been around 28 percent of an airline’s operating costs. At the end of 2014, as falling fuel prices continued, investment chatter rallied around buying airline stocks. But as the fear that significantly lower gas prices could be linked to a slowing of the economy, along with lower than expected passenger levels for some airlines in December, the market has yet to decide what significantly lower fuel prices mean for the commercial aviation environment.

For general aviation, lower fuel prices seem like a relief to a population feeling choked off by the rising fuel costs.

So what does the surprising shift in fuel prices mean for aviation modernization?

One of the drivers to implement NextGen is based on fuel savings. When fuel prices plummet, what happens to our cost benefit

analysis for NextGen investments? Clearly, reducing emissions will still be a driver, as well as a need to reduce costs, and increase capacity - but do falling gas prices release the pressure to implement NextGen? Not necessarily. In fact, I would say that a reduction in fuel prices should push us to invest in NextGen even more aggressively.

Our industry will still try to cut costs, and the fact is, one of the NextGen benefits is the reduction in fuel burn and therefore, lower costs. We are happy that this issue features an article on the subject by the FAA Assistant Administrator for NextGen himself, Ed Bolton.

Fully understanding the impact of fuel prices on our industry clearly requires a worldview, and I am anxious to meet with our international experts at World ATM Congress in Madrid to discuss their views. The event marks our third year of a partnership between ATCA and CANSO to bring the world an ATM event for the industry, by the industry.

In March, we will be gathering in Spain to discuss not only fuel prices and their effect on aviation but also the developments in delivering world air traffic management (ATM). ATCA prides itself in providing a platform for the most relevant ATC/ATM issues of the day – World ATM Congress allows us to once again bring our vision to

the world stage. No topic is off the table - aviation experts from North America, Europe, and Asia will join representatives from more than 130 countries to discuss everything from building sustainable ATM networks to the possibility of a disruptive future in aviation. Experts will also discuss how to harness, analyze, and use the extraordinary amount of data in the air traffic system to improve safety and operations.

Year after year the award-winning World ATM Congress has grown – solidifying itself as the largest ATM event in the world. Last year, we attracted a record-breaking 6,265 participants, 191 exhibitors, and 68 air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to discuss aviation and air traffic challenges facing the world. We are expecting even higher numbers this year.

I hope you can join ATCA in Madrid to discuss all of the aviation changes and concerns that will shape the future of ATM. We look forward to seeing you and continuing to bring you benefits of membership throughout 2014.

Peter F. Dumont, President & CEO Air Traffic Control Association

The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

By Steve Carver Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Air Traffic Control

Spring 2015 | Vol. 57, No.1 Air Traffic Control Association 1101 King Street, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703-299-2430 Fax: 703-299-2437 info@atca.org www.atca.org Formed in 1956 as a non-profit, professional membership association, ATCA represents the interests of all professionals in the air traffic control industry. Dedicated to the advancement of professionalism and technology of air traffic control, ATCA has grown to represent several thousand individuals and organizations managing and providing ATC services and equipment around the world.

Editor-in-Chief: Steve Carver Publisher: Lester Publications, LLC

Officers and Board of Directors Chairman, Neil Planzer Chairman-Elect, Charles Keegan President & CEO, Peter F. Dumont Treasurer, Director at Large, Rachel Jackson East Area Director, Susan Chodakewitz Pacific Area, Asia, Australia Director, Peter Fiegehen South Central Area Director, William Cotton Northeast Area Director, Mike Ball Southeast Area Director, Jack McAuley North Central Area Director, Bill Ellis West Area Director, Chip Meserole Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico Area Director, Rudy Kellar Europe, Africa, Middle East Area Director, Jonathan Astill Director at Large, Rick Day Director at Large and Secretary, Sandra Samuel

Exploring Challenges & Solutions

“A

viation is proof that, given the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible,” Medal of Honor winner and American World War I fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker once said. The FAA has many challenges ahead – commercial space, increased capacity, and cyber security, just to name a few. There is no lack of talent in the FAA; many embody Rickenbacker’s famous words, ready and willing to do what’s needed to right the wrongs of aviation and air traffic control.

However, capacity – and, really, everything in the industry – is influenced by budget. No one wants to place people in harm’s way. Budget, safety, and cyber risk are practices implemented each year to assure that the public remains safe while in flight.

Increasing capability requires the implementation of new systems; however, those new systems require Congress to pass an annual

Staff Marion Brophy, Director, Communications Ken Carlisle, Director, Meetings and Expositions Ashley Haskins, Office Manager Mary Johnson, Communications Consultant Kristen Knott, Writer and Editor Christine Oster, Chief Financial Officer Paul Planzer, Manager, ATC Programs Claire Rusk, Vice President of Operations Rugger Smith, International Accounts Mindy Soranno, Office Manager Sandra Strickland, Events and Exhibits Coordinator Ashley Swearingen, Press and Marketing Manager Tim Wagner, Membership Manager

budget. Commercial space is moving ahead, but with limited money. The budget always gets in the way when it comes to achieving new initiatives. Even cyber security is impacted by the budget. What are potential solutions to these long-standing issues?

Could it be possible that privatization of the FAA will help aviation once again achieve the impossible with the full implementation of near and far-term FAA initiatives? ATCA will further explore this possible solution with its Summer 2015 issue, which will be dedicated to the subject of privatization.

However, our members don’t have to wait until summer for interesting papers.

Our current issue gives you a wide variety of informative and timely topics. Don’t forget to check out the update on missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 by Steve Winter (page 20), an interview of the executive director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking (page 40), and many other pieces from Continued on next page

The Journal of Air Traffic Control (ISSN 0021-8650) is published quarterly by the Air Traffic Control Association, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Alexandria, VA and additional entries.

EDITORIAL, SUBSCRIPTION & ADVERTISING OFFICES at ATCA Headquarters: 1101 King Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Telephone: (703) 299-2430, Fax: (703) 299-2437, Email: info@atca.org, Website: www.atca.org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Journal of Air Traffic Control, 1101 King Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. © Air Traffic Control Association, Inc., 2015 Membership in the Air Traffic Control Association including subscriptions to the Journal and ATCA Bulletin: Professional, $130 a year; Professional Military Senior Enlisted (E6–E9) Officer, $130 a year; Professional Military Junior Enlisted (E1–E5), $26 a year; Retired fee $60 a year applies to those who are ATCA Members at the time of retirement; Corporate Member, $500–5,000 a year, depending on category. Journal subscription rates to non-members: U.S., its territories, and possessions—$78 a year; other countries, including Canada and Mexico—$88 a year (via air mail). Back issue single copy $10, other countries, including Canada and Mexico, $15 (via air mail).

Contributors express their personal points of view and opinions that are not necessarily those of their employers or the Air Traffic Control Association. Therefore The Journal of Air Traffic Control does not assume responsibility for statements made and opinions expressed. It does accept responsibility for giving contributors an opportunity to express such views and opinions. Articles may be edited as necessary without changing their meaning.

The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Knott (kristen.knott@atca.org), Marion Brophy (marion.brophy@atca.org), or myself at scarver@avmgt.com. The deadline for submitting articles for the Summer Journal is March 13. Get yourself published today!

Steve Carver, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Air Traffic Control

Byjeng / Shutterstock

industry experts – all inside this issue.

Our spring issue always marks a busy and exciting time for ATCA – World ATM Congress. In collaboration with CANSO, this is the third annual conference and promises to be the best one yet. Aviation is a worldwide business that makes this event important to your company. Plan to attend; you will not be disappointed.

Also, please don’t forget that the ATCA Publications Committee continues to work to make the reading of The Journal of Air Traffic Control time well spent. If you have an idea for a paper, please contact Kristen

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Spring 2015

Letter from the editor

The Names & Faces of Air Traffic Gather at The Names & Faces of Air Traffic Gather at

The Names & Faces of Air Traffic

ATCA Members are part of the global air traffic dialogue. Your access to ATCA committees, publications, and meetings will increase your awareness of the current aviation landscape ATCA Members areATC part of the global airAirtraffic and current work towards improving safety, Trafficdialogue.

Control Association access toand ATCA committees, publications, and meetings will increase your awareness efficiency, capacity.

ATCA Members are part of the global air traffic dialogue.

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Your ofYour the access currenttoaviation landscape and current work improving ATC safety, efficiency ATCA committees, publications, andtowards meetings will increase your awareness and capacity. of the current aviation landscape and current work towards improving ATC safety, efficiency

What you get and as capacity. an ATCA Member?

What you get as an ATCA Member What you get as an ATCA Member

• partnerships. ATCA collaborates with • ConneCtions. Meet with other industry Connections. Meet with other industry professionals at networking events throughout the year. the U.S. Department of Defense, Federal professionals at networking events Expert Opinions.

Members have exclusive access to ATCA Publications including: Connections.

Meet at networking eventsICAO, throughout Administration, CANSO, the year. throughout thewith year.other industry professionalsAviation Valuable Content.

Daily Headline News, the ATCA Bulletin, & The Journal of Air Traffic Control Expert Opinions. Members have exclusive access to ATCA Publications academic institutions, and manyincluding: other • expert opinions.

Members havewith the U.S. Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Partnerships.

Valuable Content.ATCA Dailycollaborates Headline News, the ATCA Bulletin, & The Journal of Air Traffic Control global organizations. exclusive access to ATCA Publications.

Administration, ICAO, CANSO, academic institutions, and many global organizations.

Partnerships. ATCA collaborates with the U.S. Department of other Defense, Federal Aviation • reduCed rates.

Members get Reduced Rates.

Members get significant discounts to all ATCA events and conferences.

• Valuable Content.

Daily Headline Administration, ICAO, CANSO, academic institutions, and many other global organizations. significant discounts to all ATCA events News, the ATCAMembers Bulletin, &get The significant Journal Reduced Rates. discounts to all ATCA events and conferences. and conferences. of Air Traffic Control.

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Aviation Performance Measurement Systems Vital to Improving Service Delivery

By David R. Schleicher, SkyView Product Manager, ATAC Corporation and Norm Fujisaki, Strategy Consultant, Norman T. Fujisaki, LLC

T

o improve the ultimate delivery of air traffic management (ATM) services, leaders throughout the global ATM community have worked for decades to develop and institutionalize sound performance measurement practices. Today, institutional pressures are mounting to require the use of performance-based methods and measurement systems to improve the quality of delivered services. Fortunately, technology advances enable faster, affordable solutions to meet performance measurement needs. Advances have been made in many specialized areas of performance management with ever-increasing numbers of publications on the details of these advances. In this article, a holistic view of the performance measurement landscape is sketched out by revisiting underlying motivations to measure performance, examples of successes, and emerging technology developments, then a way forward is charted based on several converging trends.

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Spring 2015

Performance Measurement: Why Should We Care?

Performance measurement provides an indispensable vehicle for determining the quality of delivered ATM services. Management expert Peter Drucker has often been quoted as saying, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” The ATM system is complex, with many moving parts. Performance measurement can improve our understanding of that complexity by helping us to focus on the right things, and then to more clearly understand the underlying cause-and-effect relationships that drive performance. Quality improvement guru W. Edwards Deming has emphasized the importance of using data to gain an understanding of that complexity. Improved data and understanding enable intelligent conversations between service providers and their customers to produce richer descriptions of problems that deserve attention.

After gaining an improved understanding of service delivery processes and problems,

established methods can be used to evaluate alternative solutions, assess their efficacy, and measure actual performance after selected solutions have been implemented.

At the heart of the matter, service providers should continuously improve services in ways that are most valued by the consumers of those services. There are several important aspects of service quality that matter most to service providers and their constituents: safety, operational efficiency, environmental impact, and business effectiveness. These four aspects of performance have been pursued by the European Commission and EUROCONTROL since the late 1990s. The Performance Review Unit (PRU) of EUROCONTROL did pioneering work to develop specific measures and periodic reports, which have set a high bar for performance reporting. Of perhaps greater significance, the PRU’s performance measurement program and reports have created the foundation for important governance

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

changes based on objective evaluation of past performance, comparative benchmarking among peer service providers, identification of areas in need of future improvement, and specific performance targets for future performance. The U.S. worked with the PRU, which later became the Performance Review Commission (PRC), for many years.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked with the PRC to compare the performance of the FAA with European air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to mutually stimulate performance improvements on both sides of the Atlantic. These comparisons have proven to be valuable and resulted in a formalized agreement between the European Union and the U.S. to institutionalize future cooperation. It inspired other service providers to conduct benchmarking comparisons, too.

In addition to continuous improvements in service delivery, performance measurement enables benchmarking, which in

itself can provide the impetus for faster action to improve performance. Over time, increased attention to one’s neighbors can elevate the stature of the entire community.

With continuous improvement and benchmarking in mind, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) and its ANSP members developed a set of perfor-

Figure 1. Major components of performance measurement framework

mance measures for adoption by its nearly 90 members that control over 85 percent of the world’s air traffic. CANSO’s performance measures are aimed at safety, operational efficiency, the environment, and business effectiveness. Its metrics should better support consistent, continuous performance improvements, as well as provide a common global framework for benchmarking.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has promoted a performance-based approach since 2008. More recently it embraced the four aspects of performance measurement and added seven more for a total of 11 key performance areas (access & equity, capacity, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, environment, flexibility, global interoperability, participation of the ATM community, predictability, safety, and security). An important element of ICAO’s performance measurement program is tied to the global implementation of Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) and the tracking of The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT performance improvements that result from ASBU investments and upgrades.

Performance measurement has been promoted over the years by the leaders of the foregoing organizations. These efforts have been increasingly coordinated and are converging for the common purposes of: • Continuously improving performance in the quality of service delivery • Benchmarking performance among service providers to stimulate faster improvements • Improving service provider engagement and collaboration with stakeholders and customers to increase effectiveness and strengthen governance • Allocating limited resources in a more responsive and effective way • Improving planning and decisions for major infrastructure investments, including ICAO ASBUs, and ensuring that performance improvements are delivered as envisioned History and Successes In the U.S., the FAA developed numerous data collection and analysis capabilities over the past 30 years. In the early years, these data collection and analysis mechanisms were implemented as a few lines of software code added to real-time, mission-critical ATM systems. As time went on, the data collection and analysis functions as well as

mission-critical functions expanded. As mission-critical processors approached capacity limits, non-mission-critical functions were removed from mission-critical processors and relocated to offline processors under a program known as the National Offload Program (NOP). In ATM performance measurement circles, those legacy operational data are known as NOP data, perhaps an odd name without knowing its origin. Around the year 2000, under research sponsored by the FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the ATAC Corporation developed a high-fidelity data collection and analysis system known as the Performance Data Analysis and Reporting System (PDARS). Over the past decade, in order to go beyond raw data sources like NOP to provide “analysis-ready” information for analysts and meet the FAA’s increasingly demanding needs for performance measurement and reporting, the agency adopted PDARS and continued its development.

Today, PDARS is used throughout the FAA to analyze and improve day-to-day performance in operational facilities, as well as in major airspace and procedure design projects, infrastructure investment planning, and safety monitoring.

In the mid-1990s, Germany’s ANSP, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, developed the Statistics and Analysis (STANLY)

system. STANLY initially was used to support airspace planning, assess inefficiencies and constraints, and analyze procedures.

Everyone who saw STANLY immediately recognized its potential to enable improved operational analysis and planning. The functionality of STANLY has expanded and the system is used throughout Europe. It provided an informed basis for constructive discussions with the PRC as performance measurements were used to set performance targets.

In recent years, these foundational works in performance measurement have led to noteworthy improvements in service delivery. Overall performance has steadily improved in Europe. Performance measurement systems are used to power increasingly robust billing systems for service delivery, future carbon taxation mechanisms, as well as to incentivize performance systems in the United Kingdom. These are processes that require accounting-like precision.

As the Safety Management System (SMS) has been implemented by service providers, performance measurement systems can complement SMS and help to identify hidden patterns in mountains of operational data to assess current and emerging risks and track the effectiveness of risk management actions.

They are supporting improvements in airspace and procedures design, as well as the implementation of entirely new concepts like

The need for performance measurement will only continue to increase.

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Spring 2015

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT tation framework that resembles MapReduce, was developed for real-time, streamed data.

Newer frameworks like Storm and Spark speed up the process by eliminating the need for intermediate data transformations as a separate step. Using big data architectures, performance measurement systems can better meet the needs of a wide spectrum of users ranging from batch trend analyses; real-time, stream-based system analytics; operational systems; data mining; and system modeling and simulation.

Despite the promise of big data, it’s important to separate hype from reality.

Gartner Research suggests that it will be another two to five years or longer before big data technology reaches a productive stage of maturity. Gartner says 60 percent of big data projects fail and are abandoned, and less than eight percent of 720 surveyed respondents actually have deployed big data technology.

Figure 2. Analysis of PBN operations using high fidelity trajectory data One expert describes big data as being in its adolescence. It’s a technology that needs to decision-makers are hampered by process- be leveraged and integrated as it matures over performance-based navigation (PBN).

Proactive ANSPs like Airways New ing delays. Leveraging developments in the the next few years.

Zealand have embraced performance mea- financial, E-commerce, and Internet search surement systems and used them to support industries, aviation system developers have Cloud Computing a broad range of ANSP functions beyond begun using big data architectures, storage, Cloud computing refers to large groups of performance reporting, including search and and processing methods instead of storing remote servers that are networked to centralrescue, PBN conformance monitoring, noise data in linked tables and in conventional ize computer services, resources, or data storage that are accessible online. Many aspects complaint resolution, and even training. We relational databases.

Hadoop, one of the most widely used of the foregoing big data discussion intersect can expect an ever-increasing need for faster, more powerful performance measurement big data technologies, is an open source with cloud computing concepts. Cloud comsystems to support many high-stake pro- software framework that enables distribut- puting has received much attention and supcesses and decisions related to the quality of ed storage and simultaneous processing of port because of reduced operating cost and large data sets on many servers. Hadoop is increased agility in the face of rapidly fluctuservice delivery. scalable and features a fault tolerant file sys- ating demand. Furthermore, clouds generaltem called Hadoop Distributed File System ly provide a higher degree of reliability, physEmerging Technologies Emerging technologies and solutions allow (HDFS) and a parallel programming frame- ical protection, and continuity of operations.

ANSPs to more quickly and affordably work called MapReduce. HDFS is a file sys- Cloud offerings have facilitated shifts in the achieve previously unattainable capabilities tem that chunks, replicates, and distributes technology and business marketplaces by data across a cluster of data nodes for storage, naturally supporting concepts like Software in performance measurement. while maintaining a central file directo- as a Service (SaaS) and Service-Oriented ry. MapReduce is a parallel programming Architectures (SOA), as seen in various Big Data The volume and speed at which operational framework consisting of two elements, Map implementations of the FAA’s System Wide data is accumulated, and the variability of and Reduce, which enable computations to Information Management (SWIM) concept.

Clouds can be classified as public, priinformation collected, have created chal- be accomplished in a distributed, parallel lenges in managing, using, and realizing the fashion and locally where the data are stored. vate, or hybrid and as internal or external full potential of data warehouses and anal- MapReduce enables programmers to work based on the location and control of the ysis systems. When data is collected from a through a simple application-programming cloud resources. In those cases where ANSPs multitude of sources, data must be linked, interface without the need to deal with want complete control and want to keep processed, cleaned, and reconciled before issues of parallelization, remote execution, data on their own physical premises, private, it can be used. Processing and intervention data distribution, load balancing, or fault internal clouds may be used. In other cases, through automated algorithms and opera- tolerance. The framework makes it easy to ANSPs that want to avoid owning more tional expertise developed over many years use thousands of processors to process huge physical infrastructure and related costs may takes time. In an environment where data is amounts of data. Hadoop was originally choose an external cloud. Hybrid approaches could be used where sensitive and less increasingly needed in near real-time, opera- designed for batch processing.

Storm, a relatively new distributed compu- sensitive data are each handled differently. tional systems as well as tactical planners and The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT External clouds rely on connectivity with cloud servers and storage, so the availability and reliability of network connectivity are a further consideration.

Intuitive, Synoptic Human Interfaces Performance measurement systems in the past have required a significant amount of user training. Simple queries have required knowledge of databases and data structures.

Creation of automated reports has required technical knowledge of the underlying system. Recent technology advances have led to simpler, more user-friendly interfaces that require less platform skills and training.

The interfaces are more intuitive with a far reduced need for user manuals and training.

Users with operational experience and lower levels of analytical sophistication can immediately begin using basic functionality of performance measurement systems. Outputs from performance measurement systems in the past relied heavily on numerical results, but today augment results with visualization, animations, graphical exploration tools, and distilled summaries in the form of dashboards. Dashboards like the one shown in Figure 3 can be used to continuously monitor performance or issue alarms when appropriate. Dashboards can interactively support fast and intuitive drill-down of selected results, thus supporting on-the-fly data exploration and discovery.

Portability Mobile and wireless technology have produced a multitude of devices and new uses.

Using web-based access, users today can interact with powerful performance mea-

Figure 3. Example of performance measurement system dashboard

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Figure 4. Illustration of multiple emerging technologies integrated to produce fast, powerful metrics to enhance service delivery and performance

surement systems from their desktops as well as mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones. This kind of portability allows managers to bring performance measurement dashboards, visualizations, and analytic results into operational facilities, stakeholder locations, and planning and decision-making settings. People tend to feel a greater sense of relevance and urgency when provided with timely, pertinent, on-the-spot, data-driven results.

Integrating the Technologies Leaders in performance measurement systems have integrated emerging technologies into powerful commercial products. They have built on the many years of experience gained through the development of performance measurement systems, including data collection, data preparation and cleaning, search engines, analytic methods, geographic information systems (GIS), visualization, and automated user report and product generation. Those experiences and capabilities have been combined with advances in big data, cloud computing, human interfaces, and portability, and then integrated into affordable products that enable service providers and other users to rapidly implement powerful performance measurement capabilities. Prior difficulties in achieving satisfactory performance measurement capabilities now can be overcome through increasingly affordable, fast, turnkey solutions.

The diagram in Figure 4 illustrates ATAC Corporation’s approach to integrating new technologies in its SkyView product

line. SkyView provides fast and seamless access to historical and fresh data to support a multitude of uses aimed at overall performance improvement in service delivery.

The system takes in data from a variety of data sources and in a variety of formats, and then links, calculates, cleans, and stores the data. An internal, external, or combination of internal and external clouds may be used, depending on the desired degree of control over data and nature of available network connectivity. Several years of high fidelity data, including 4D flight trajectories, can be stored and retrieved as needed.

A wide range of search and analytic functionality is available on the SkyView server, so that users can select an area of interest in terms of space and time; they can filter it by specific flight, type of aircraft, origins and destinations, or nearly any specified criteria.

Users can examine and explore the data, identify patterns, and drill down further as needed. Analytic and search engines can be combined to find all instances when specified criteria were met, such as separations less than “x” at locations “a” and “b” over the past five years. Delay or safety events can be replayed to gain a better understanding of what happened, why it happened, and what might be done to avert problems in the future. Visualization tools like those in Figure 5 can be used to replay, zoom in, pause, and drill down as needed. Ready access to the highest fidelity trajectory and related data produces a vital understanding of operational complexities and paths to effective solutions. Analysis, discussions,

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

Figure 5. Typical airspace and airport visualizations that can improve the speed of data interpretation, understanding underlying problems, and developing solutions

In an environment where data is increasingly needed in near real-time, operational systems as well as tactical planners and decision-makers are hampered by processing delays. planning, and decisions can be supported on desktop computers or mobile devices wherever and whenever needed. For those areas of performance that require longer term tracking and management, automated reports can be designed and delivered daily or as often as needed, or results can be distilled and displayed on customized dashboards with alarms to further facilitate digestion of information and rapid response.

The Way Forward The need for performance measurement will only continue to increase. It forms the basis for understanding how well services are being delivered, how performance of service providers compare, where problems lie, and how to best improve current performance. It’s vital to continuous improvement in service delivery. It answers not only “What?” and “How much?” but also provides an understanding of the complexities of “Why?” It enhances governance. Stakeholders want it.

As a result, the FAA, EUROCONTROL, the European Commission, CANSO, and ICAO have developed performance measurement requirements and recommendations.

As these global efforts have begun to converge, service providers should strive to improve their performance measurement capabilities and processes to improve the quality of service delivery. Because the list of recommended performance measures can be daunting, a service provider may want to

start with a subset of CANSO’s recommended measures that can be more quickly implemented to begin providing early performance improvements. A starter set of measures covering the basics of safety, operational efficiency, the environment, and business effectiveness, when coupled with intelligent changes in each area, should produce measureable improvements.

• Some of the high payoff areas include: • Improving day-to-day operations and training • Identifying where systemic improvements (airspace, procedures) are most needed • Identifying infrastructure investments that will do the most good • Using ASBUs to maximize improvements in service delivery • Engaging managers, customers, and stakeholders • Implementing a Plan-Do-Check-Act or similar process as part of a comprehensive quality improvement program A starter set of basic measures likely will identify a need for more detailed, higher fidelity measures to improve understanding of underlying causes and complexities. That understanding is vital to identification and proper characterization of the root causes of problems. When solutions are implemented, progress can be tracked and compared against expected results.

Fortunately, commercial products are available to support affordable, powerful,

and rapid implementation of performance measurement systems. Early successes can provide a more conducive environment for expansion of a performance measurement program to produce even greater performance gains down the road. Timely, data-driven aviation performance measurements can make all the difference in shaping outcomes.

It can improve engagement, understanding, and collaboration among stakeholders to produce a richer understanding of problems and ultimately higher quality, lasting solutions.

David Schleicher is the chief operating officer at the ATAC Corporation (www. atac.com) and serves as the SkyView product manager. ATAC provides world-class aviation analysis software and services to help companies and governments better understand their operation, improve their planning and decision-making, and their overall performance.

Norm Fujisaki is a management consultant who specializes in strategic positioning of programs and corporations. He previously held executive positions at the FAA and in the private sector, including several years in ANSP performance analysis.

The Journal of Air Traffic Control

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Beyond The Interagency Planning Office is Thinking Ahead

By Edward L. Bolton Jr., Assistant Administrator for NextGen, Federal Aviation Administration

T

he Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is addressing the needs of the National Airspace System (NAS) during the next several years, but we also have a responsibility to look ahead to future decades. For the NAS to be as safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally responsible mid-century as it is with NextGen’s improvements, we need a vision that will address upcoming challenges now.

Leading us in this collaborative initiative is the Interagency Planning Office (IPO), a directorate within the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) office of NextGen. The IPO is focused on our airspace as it may be from 2025 to 2050. A key quality in the IPO’s mission is that it works hand-in-hand with government partner agencies.

The cross-agency effort is developing integrated plans, leveraging existing technologies, and recommending research and development needed to ensure our air transportation system keeps pace with evolving needs and technology after we have implemented current plans for NextGen.

that the JPDO’s responsibilities move to the FAA’s NextGen office. I’m delighted to have the IPO work being done within the NextGen organization. The IPO is directed by Gisele Mohler and staffed by senior specialists from the FAA and partner agencies.

Gisele has been a NextGen leader for many years. She was director of the NextGen Performance and Outreach office.

She was instrumental in building the relationship between the FAA and the NextGen Advisory Committee, and was one of the founders of the FAA’s Metroplex team in response to Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) recommendations.

Collaboration has been critical to the success of NextGen, with airlines and other airspace users, international partners, and other aviation stakeholders.

The IPO focuses on advancing collaboration through work groups made up of representatives from the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the Department of Commerce (DOC), which handles aviation weather through the National Weather Service.

The IPO draws on its partners’ sucBackground The IPO inherited its work from the for- cesses and uses these experiences to inform mer Joint Planning and Development Office future interagency projects. These collab(JPDO). In March 2014, Congress directed orative efforts allow agencies to learn from

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Spring 2015

one another as they move forward on similar projects based on their own goals and requirements.

Further, the IPO meets with NextGen advisors to discuss key multi-agency efforts on research and development, aviation cyber security, weather, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

IPO and Cyber Security As an example of the benefits of this collaboration, the IPO facilitates tabletop exercises with experts from the DoD, DHS, and the DOC on aviation cyber security. This is an important issue for the FAA because the agencies use the airspace and supply data critical to air traffic operations. It is imperative we maintain the security of the information through strong cyber security initiatives.

With DoD support, we have become more deeply involved in cyber research. In November, through an IPO work group, we attended a program called Cyber Flag where participants observed international collaboration on cyber security.

Steve Hofmann, the DoD liaison to the IPO, has been key to this collaboration.

He told me the dialogue will shape joint research, which will set the foundation for long-term plans.

This summer, the FAA, along with many partner agencies, will participate in