Understanding the research on air traffic controller workload and its implications for safety: A science mapping-based analysis

Abstract

The study of the workload of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) is a basic pillar to ensure the safety of air transport. In this paper, the results of a detailed science mapping-based analysis on the publications that focus on this topic are presented. The query was carried out on Web of Science, using the keywords 'workload' and 'air traffic controller*' and a subsequent filtering was performed. 374 studies have been included in the analysis. It has been approached in a top-down manner, starting from the more general topics to the more detailed ones. To present the results in a visual form, graphs created using VOSviewer software have been used. The results of this analysis provided the answers to the nine research questions posed. The analysis has been divided into two parts. In the first part, the 374 previous works were analysed together. Thanks to their analysis, it has been possible to answer questions related to the relevance of these studies to improve the safety of air operations, identify the pattern of co-authorship, the geographical distribution of the authors, the main lines of research followed in the study of the workload of air traffic controllers, or the keywords most frequently used. Additionally, a second part of the paper focuses on a detailed analysis of some of the publications considered. Within this second part, the three pillars of the workload study have been considered: workload management, assessment, and prediction. The relationship between air traffic controllers' workload and capacity has also been explored in detail. Finally, the five papers with the highest number of citations and their implications for future research were analysed. This was complemented by an analysis of the emerging issues covered by the latest publications. The aim was to identify emerging topics of study. In this way, a general but also detailed analysis of the study of the workload of air traffic controllers has been carried out and its study has been related to its importance in improving the safety of air operations.