Air Traffic Control Tower Research Articles

A cognitive blueprint of collaboration in context: Distributed cognition in the psychiatric emergency department

The complex cognitive processes that underlie human performance in 'messy' contexts such as critical care medicine suggest a need for a cognitive model with broad scope to support the understanding of error in such domains. The objective of this research is to characterize the cognition that underlies patient care in the domain of emergency psychiatry in order to enhance the understanding of error in this context. The theoretical framework of distributed cognition has been used to study collaborative decision-making in a number of similarly complex environments such as airline cockpits and air traffic control towers. These environments share certain characteristics with the critical care domain: the work is collaborative in nature, it is supported by artifacts that can be studied directly, and the consequences of error are dire. However, the nature of the work in this domain and the artifacts used to support it are unique. The application of the theoretical constructs of distributed cognition to this context is necessary in order to characterize the collective thinking that underlies critical care. Our research uses a combination of ethnographic and interview data to derive a distributed cognitive model of the psychiatric emergency department (PED), a high volume clinical unit dealing exclusively with the acute phases of psychiatric crises. The dynamics of workflow within the department are complex: several types of clinician collaborate by forming temporary multidisciplinary teams that attach to and manage particular patients. The component members of these teams change over time. Using the theoretical framework of distributed cognition, we interpreted the collected data to derive a cognitive model of the distribution of work and information flow in the PED. This modeling process has revealed several latent flaws in the system related to the underlying distribution of cognition across teams, time, space and artifacts. The characterization of this distribution has enhanced our understanding of the cognitive dynamics underlying error in this environment, and will serve to guide future research on error management in the ED and inform the development of context-appropriate error-management systems.

Wind-induced response control and serviceability improvement of an air traffic control tower

The results are presented of a serviceability study and vibration control techniques being employed for the air traffic control tower at Incheon International Airport (IIA) on Yongjong Island, Korea. Dynamic simulations, including wind-tunnel tests, revealed that passive damping devices such as tuned mass dampers were not sufficient to satisfy the serviceability criteria and that the use of active damping systems would be necessary. Therefore, a hybrid mass damper (HMD), which was eventually adopted for use in the tower, was proposed as a damping device in order to mitigate wind-induced responses of the tower while maintaining its original design for functional and architectural aesthetic reasons. In active control of the tower, the H ∞ control method with a bilinear transform was proposed to obtain optimum efficiency under the limitation of damper stroke. The relationship between the target damping ratio and the stroke is investigated with the optimally designed controllers by the proposed method. Numerical simulations show that the optimally designed HMD system would be expected to reduce the wind-induced vibration effectively and to satisfy serviceability criteria as well as other design constraints. After the installation of the HMD system, free vibration tests have been conducted and the results are presented.

The Impact of Workload on Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in En-Route and Tower Air Traffic Control

This paper reports three studies on the application of ambulatory monitoring in air traffic control (ATC). The aim of the first study was to explore a set of psychophysiological measures with respect to ATC workload sensitivity and feasibility at the workplace. Nearly all physiological measures showed the expected changes during work. Significant positive correlations were found between cardiovascular responses and the number of aircraft under control, especially heavy, fast, climbing, and descending aircraft. The following en-route (Study 2) and tower (Study 3) simulations identified the relative impact of air traffic features. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, self-reported concentration, and upset were significantly higher in the simulations with 12 aircraft continuously under control compared to only 6. A high versus low number of potential conflicts between aircraft in the en-route setting (Study 2) also caused significant increases of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, self-reported concentration, and upset. On the basis of these results, a new workload model for air traffic controllers was suggested and implemented.

Wind Vibration Reduction at Alicante Airport Control Tower, Spain

The control tower of the Alicante airport is 47 m high and is composed of a concrete core, which has elevators, stairs, and a steel structure containing the technical, resting and the air-traffic control rooms. This steel structure is supported by a concrete pole with a tubular section, which is connected at different levels to the concrete core by means of steel trusses. This paper presents results of an investigation on the causes and remedies for vibrations in an air-traffic control tower. It has been shown that wind induced vibrations may disturb air traffic control for acceleration values which are lower than the thresholds as defined in ISO Standards. Besides small differences between theoretical and experimental results, buffeting analysis through numerical methods has proved to be useful to investigate the behaviour of tuned mass dampers and to adjust their design when applied to structures with well defined vibration frequencies.

On the study of a sick building: the case of Athens Air Traffic Control Tower

It is well known that in many cases the responsibility for the formation of the sick-building syndrome lies with the inappropriate envelope design, the misuse of the building by the inhabitants and the combination of indoor–outdoor pollution sources. In the case of Athens Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), sick syndrome episodes were reported by the employees. In the present study, recently obtained indoor air quality measurements, during selected meteorological conditions, taken in the ATCT, are presented and discussed. These include concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which in many cases were thought responsible for the poor indoor environment. The measurements cover the indoor and outdoor environment of selected building regions, the ventilation systems and the plenum under the floor. The data indicates that there are certain places in the building where the VOCs concentrations were well above outdoor levels, while in others the concentrations were lower. Further analysis of the results showed that the central ventilation system is not sufficient for the building needs and that in some areas, either due to cleaning negligence or to the construction material used, VOCs pollution sources have developed. In order to eliminate these problems and to improve the indoor environment certain actions were taken. Following these interventions a second set of measurements were collected, inside and outside the ATCT building, which indicated a substantial improvement of the indoor air quality.

Operational Errors in Air Traffic Control Towers

It is widely recognized that runway incursions are a significant threat to aviation safety. While the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to runway incursions caused by pilot error cannot be underestimated, the factors that contribute to tower controller operational errors are also key to knowing how to prevent, and capture, runway incursions. This research examines the types and causes of controller error in the tower environment with an examination of FAA reports of operational errors and reports submitted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Controller errors fell into distinct categories involving: memory lapses, communication errors, and inadequate coordination among controllers. Discussion includes suggestions for potential remedies to these errors, changes to the method of recording operational errors, and ideas for future research.

A Comparison between a 2-D and a 3-D Simulation of Airport Tower Air Traffic Control

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a difference in performance and experienced mental workload between 2-D and 3-D simulations of airport tower air traffic control. The air traffic control task was to give aircraft take-off and landing clearances. A total of ten subjects, all university students, participated in the study. All subjects were exposed to both 2-D and 3-D simulations. The order between 2-D and 3-D was rotated to exclude order effects. Performance was judged using a rating form used by the Swedish Air Traffic Services Academy. After each simulation the subjects were required to rate their mental workload on NASA-TLX. The results show no statistically significant differences between 2-D and 3-D with respect to performance or experienced workload. When looking at the raw data tendencies can be found for the 3-D to yield better performance and less mental load. This merits further study with a larger number of subjects and scenarios.

Surface Windshear Alert System, Part 1: Prototype Development

A prototype surface windshear alert system (SURFWAS), a low-cost and portable version of the Federal Aviation Administration low-level windshear alert system, was successfully developed and tested. The SURFWAS consists of a linear array of low-profile remote anemometer stations (RSs) erected alongside the runway(s), a personal computer-based master station (MS) at the air traffic control tower, and three software modules for data preprocessing, acquisition, analysis, display, and broadcast. Wind data measured at the RSs are transmitted sequentially at 0.5 Hz to the MS via a uhf radio link. Windshear profiles are derived directly from the measured wind components projected along the runway axis via the data-analysis module. One of the five windshear states from no windshear to windshear or microburst alert are issued by comparing the maximum windshear to a set of predetermined thresholds related to the well-established F-factor. To minimize false alarms, alerts are issued only if the windshear pattern simultaneously satisfies several criteria. The windshear messages that correspond to the current windshear state together with the wind speeds and directions are displayed and updated every 2 s at the MS. vhf broadcast of windshear messages to the aircraft is updated every 4-8 s

Comparing display symbology for an advanced air traffic control tower application

Describes experiments that compare air traffic controller performance with two different types of simulated airport radar display formats. The formats differed in the method of presenting aircraft radar returns: analog or digital symbols. Pre-experimental studies examined potential airport tower automation systems and the opinions of various system stakeholders about these automated systems, and then modeled airport operations to discern the impact of these systems on controller workload and airport congestion. Results from the earlier studies helped focus the experiments which concluded that the digital icon format is likely to be better than the analog format at helping controllers accomplish their duties in a timely manner.

Extrapolating CRT Color Use Research to LCD Flat-Panel Color Selection: Lessons Learned

The application of colors in a complex graphical user interface (GUI) can be a significant determinant of both the operational effectiveness and the customer appeal of software product. This paper reviews the process of color selection, the literature supporting selected colors, and the results of a colors verification study in the design of a GUI for a tower air traffic control system. This system includes workstations employing daylight readable, high resolution, flat panel color displays. As a result, this work also assessed the applicability of largely CRT-based literature and guidelines to LCD technology. Overall, the color scheme derived from the available literature was found to be both high in usability and customer appeal; the CRT-based body of literature was found to be largely applicable to LCD technology, with only minor color modifications required to selected colors.

An Application of Auditory Alarm Research in the Design of Warning Sounds for an Integrated Tower Air Traffic Control Computer System

Auditory alarms are often determined by different manufacturers in isolation without any guidelines or standards. The result is an environment filled with inconsistent, confusing, meaningless, and often annoying alarm sounds. Such factors have been considered in the design of a Tower Air Traffic Control computer system (referred to as TCCC) currently under contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will serve to integrate and standardize the various systems in the tower. One of the many benefits of this new automation will be that the warning sounds in use today will be replaced with standard, ergonomically designed alarm sounds. This paper follows the process the authors used in constructing TCCC auditory alarms, combining a detailed analysis of the common problems associated with auditory alarms with a review of alarm construction theories and standards. The results of this process, the proposed TCCC auditory alarm attributes, are then presented.

Systems integration, user interface design, and tower air traffic control

Tower air traffic control is currently performed using several unintegrated systems. While each of these systems supports performing an isolated task, the compilation of tools presents a number of challenges. This paper reports ways in which the Tower Control Computer Complex (TCCC) will support and enhance user management of numerous systems. Areas that will be notably improved include the consistency in the user interface of the air traffic control toolset, the task of manually integrating tools and information, toolset alert management, and toolset organization and administration.

Can Unions Survive? The Rejuvenation of the American Labor Movement.

Defines the challenges facing the movement and offers comprehensive prescriptions for its successful transformation. --The George Washington Law Review valuable analysis of the rise, fall, and--hopefully--the revival of unionism in America. [The book] distills into readable form a mass of legal and empirical analysis of what has been happening in the workplaces of the United States and other industrial democracies. Most important, Craver has drawn a blueprint of what must be done to save collective bargaining in this century--must reading for scholars, lawmakers, and, especially, union leaders themselves. --Paul C. Weiler, Harvard Law SchoolAuthor of Governing the Workplace: The Future of Labor and Employment Law A thoroughly researched, insightful, and readable look at why American unions have declined. . . . This is a very informative analyis of a vital topic, and it will have a multidisciplinary appeal to anyone interested in union- management relations. --Peter Feuille, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of IllinoisWhen employees at firms like Greyhound and Eastern Airlines walk out to protest wage and benefit reductions, they are permanently replaced and their representative labor unions destroyed. Every year, the threat or drama of a high-profile strike--in air traffic control towers, at Amtrak, or at Caterpillar--makes national headlines and, every year, several hundred thousand unrepresented American employees are discharged without good cause. During the past decade, employer opposition to unions has increased. Industrial and demographic changes have eroded traditional blue-collar labor support, and class-based myths have discouraged organization among white-collar workers. As the American labor movement begins its second century, it is confronted by challenges that threaten its very existence. Is the decline of the American labor movement symptomatic of a terminal condition? In this work, Charles Craver presents an incisive analysis of the current state of the American labor movement and a manifesto for how this crucial institution can be revitalized. Journeying with the reader from the inception of labor unions through their heyday and to the present, Craver examines the roots of their decline, the current factors which contribute to their dismal condition, and the actions that are needed--such as the recruitment of female and minority employees and appeals to white-collar personnel--that are necessary to ensure union viability in the 21st century. Craver thoughtfully discusses what labor organizations must do to organize new workers, to enhance their economic and political power, and to adapt to modern-day advances and to an increasingly global economy. He also suggests changes that must be made in the National Labor Relations Act. This book is essential reading for lawyers, scholars, and policy-makers, as well as all those concerned with the future of the labor movement.

Evaluation of alternative transition strategies for advanced technology systems

AbstractDuring the next 10 years the Federal Aviation Administration will be modernizing its Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCTs) with advanced technology navigation, communication, and radar systems. There are a number of design strategies for technology transition under consideration. In this article, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used as a justification methodology to integrate and evaluate both quantitative and qualitative factors in this complex, multi‐attribute problem domain. Four alternative transition strategies are compared with respect to the criteria of cost, functionality during transition, difficulty of work during transition, efficiency of the final layout, and controller satisfaction in a hypothetical example.

特集 航空宇宙におけるシミュレータの動向 仮想現実感を利用した飛行場管制シミュレーション施設の構成と運用計画

特集 航空宇宙におけるシミュレータの動向 仮想現実感を利用した飛行場管制シミュレーション施設の構成と運用計画

Air traffic control towers

Air traffic control towers are specialist-use buildings of varying degrees of complexity, and considerable differences in size. They do, however, share many common features in both construction, and therefore design, and in the selection of sites. This Paper looks at the processes through which the most suitable site is selected for a control tower building (CTB) at an aerodrome and at the design and construction features of the CTB and its associated technical and support accommodation. It emphasizes the input of professional air traffic control (ATC) staff into the design brief, which is then considered by civil engineering consultants who will produce the architectural design. Whereas suitability for purpose in the operational ATC sense is determined by ATC planning staff, within the parameters thus obtained, the consultants will have some considerable degree of freedom in their own design work, leading to CTBs of striking dissimilarities in appearance capable of fulfilling similar operational roles.

Design-Construction of Detroit Metropolitan Airport Air Traffic Control Tower

Charles E. Mayer President Precast Services, Inc. Twinsburg, Ohio Precast concrete was used as the principal structural loadbearing element, with an exposed architectural finish, in the new $10 million, 232 ft (71 m) tall, air traffic control tower for the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. This article describes the design-construction highlights of the project from the viewpoint of the architect, structural engineer, precaster and erector.

Intelligibility of UHF and VHF Transmissions at Fifteen Representative Air Traffic Control Towers

A comparison of the intelligibility of UHF and VHF communications was made between “plane to tower” and “tower to plane” at fifteen control towers. A specially equipped plane was flown in a circle with a 20-mi radius for these tests. Voice Communication Laboratory multiple-choice word lists were read by two talkers, one in the plane and the other in the tower. These messages were recorded on tape in both places. Five subjects listened to these recordings in the laboratory, and their responses were scored for accuracy against the original word lists. The percentage of words heard correctly from tower to plane varied from 90% to 38% with an average of 73.7% and was much higher than the corresponding percentage from plane to tower of 63% to 3% with an average of 44.4%. There was very little difference between the intelligibility of VHF and UHF. In general, those towers that had high plane-to-tower scores also had high tower-to-plane scores: the correlation among towers between hearing and being heard was fairly high.

A Survey of the Noise Attenuation Characteristics of Navy Air Traffic Control Towers

The sound-pressure levels of a standardized noise source were measured in octave bands both inside and on the catwalk just outside the cab of fifteen control towers. A twin-engine Beechcraft, positioned 100 feet from the base of the tower was used as a standardized source. The attenuation for the towers averaged 20–27 db in the octave bands between 75–9600 cps. The attenuation for four modern navy towers, currently the standard navy structure, was about 5 db better in the octave bands primarily affecting speech 600–1200, 1200–2400, 2400–4800 cps. These values of attenuation were then used to rate these towers with regard to Speech Communication Criteria. The results indicate that the current navy structures are adequate for communication in the towers for airfields with piston-driven planes, but communication difficulties should be expected in the presence of jet planes. Tapes recorded in the control towers will be used to demonstrate the accuracy of these predictions.