Operator-centred local error management in air traffic control

Introduction: A large number of air traffic control occurrences take place without resulting in loss of separation between aircraft. Unfortunately such occurrences are seldom reported and therefore not used for disclosing system weaknesses, such as inappropriate methods and procedures.The ATCC (Air Traffic Control Centre) Malmoe made a trial with local reporting of “learning occurrences”. The trial was ATCO-(Air Traffic Controller) centred. The study objectives were to evaluate if ATCOs would start to report after a defined training and marketing effort, if they could identify system weaknesses, if concrete actions for safety improvement would be taken as a result of the trial and to what extent expert support was necessary.Method and material: The trial period was eight months. The ATCO report would be made on a simple form, available on site. These reports would then be analysed in groups and the marketing and feedback efforts would be co-ordinated by the local flight safety group.Results: 43 reports were filed and analysed during the trial period. The initial motivational training and marketing was considered adequate. During the group discussions, the ATCOs identified system weaknesses within 40 of the reports. The resulting safety improvement actions included: the ATCC unit becoming more active in contacting the pilots and airline companies, the renaming of some waypoints (due to name similarities), the implementation of safer procedures when relieving ATCOs, the training of ATCOs in cockpit flight management systems, and the initiation of a research project primarily concerned with ATCO mental overload.Expert support was required in the beginning to help ATCOs focus on the system rather than on the individual.     

The role of the controller in the accelerating industry of air traffic management

This paper considers the role of the controller in future Air Traffic Management (ATM), an industry which is undergoing considerable and rapid change at this time. In particular, the paper focuses on the area of allocation of function, i.e. the determination of what the (human) controller should do, what the hardware and software (machine) should do, and what tasks they should share, and who (or what) is in control, in this increasingly complex system. The premise of the paper is that traditional criteria for allocation of function, so-called Fitts List approaches, are no longer clear-cut to apply, if they ever were. Technology is reaching the point where many traditionally human functions and roles can be supported or even completely autonomously carried out by automated systems. The question is quite simple — what functions, roles, and even responsibilities should be automated? This question is becoming an imperative in currently accelerating technologies such as ATM. As an example, aviation saw a huge insurgence of automation into the cockpit, with four generations of so-called glass cockpit designs, culminating in aircraft which are completely fly-by-wire, and where some aircraft have envelope protection such that the pilot's control actions are monitored and may be overridden by the machine. However, this transition from largely manual flight to glass-cockpit control was not without problems and automation-assisted accidents, and the air traffic industry would do well to avoid such problems. ATM is an area that has been relatively non-automated for the past 30 years. But as traffic levels continue to rise rapidly, there is general agreement that ATM systems must adopt some level(s) of automation support in order to maintain safety and efficiency of air traffic operations. However, ATM development is currently also highly technology-driven, perhaps with most emphasis on what technology can do for us, rather than what we need it to do. From a human factors perspective, the question of what we need from technology and automation is the critical one. As technology continues to accelerate, it is probable that it will be able to deliver whatever functions we wish it to. It is therefore appropriate to consider what the role of the human should be. If such considerations are not made now, then accelerating technology and traffic levels, and the need for ATM systems that can cope, will deliver systems which, if they fail, will lead to the types of negative experiences and fatal accidents that the aviation world has already experienced. Quite simply, if the role of the human is not considered now, it will be too late to consider it. Furthermore, if this occurs, then future as yet unforseen automation-assisted accidents will inevitably be attributed to human error. This paper considers some of the factors and issues surrounding the difficult area of automation and allocation of function, and gives an example of one method, based on error analysis, which has been used to try to answer some of the difficult automation questions currently facing ATM and human factors.     

A model of the air traffic controller's picture

This paper reviews the development of a model of the air traffic controller's mental image, ‘picture’, or situation awareness, used for controlling air traffic. The computerised model's development, origins and theoretical basis are outlined, and the model is described in some detail in the context of current air traffic operations. The model can be utilised to explore the potential impacts of future automation on the cognitive performance of the air traffic controller. The general potential contributions of the area of cognitive modelling to system design and training in accelerating industries such as air traffic control, are also discussed.     

空中交通管制员的情境意识与航空安全

大部分空管不安全事件与空中交通管制员情境意识下降有关，研究管制员情境意识，预防管制员工作中情境意识下降对于预防空管不安全事件具有十分重要的意义。笔者讨论了空中交通管制员情境意识的意义、常见的管制员情境意识问题、管制员情境意识下降的原因以及提高和维持管制员情境意识的方法四个重要的管制员情境意识问题。笔者特别提出，采取积极的措施预防注意力分散、提高专业技术水平、主动管理工作负荷、管理班组资源是空中交通管制员在工作中获得和维持良好情境意识的途径。     

民航空管安全文化建设探析

根据民航空管安全发展的客观规律,在综合考虑践行空管持续安全理念、减少空管人为差错、建设空管安全管理体系的基础上,提出要实现我国民航的持续安全,就要构建并不断完善空管安全文化建设的有效手段和途径。对空管安全文化建设的途径展开了深入探索,并提出了相关建议和措施,包括开展技能竞赛等文化娱乐活动、建立管制员心理培训与辅导机制、提升管制员新技术适应能力等。空管安全文化的建设是空管发展的坚强后盾,有效手段和措施建设的推进将成为航空运行安全的有力保障。     

基于扇区单元的航路交通流复杂度研究

空中交通航路交通流复杂度越来越高,威胁整个航路的正常运行,严重时甚至影响航空器的运行安全。为研究和解决扇区航路交通流复杂度较高的问题,了解了造成航路交通流复杂度较高的原因。基于航空器的基本运动学方程,列出了航空器运动过程中27种典型的飞行状态组合。考虑航空器的临近效应、速度差异和汇聚梯度3个影响航路交通流复杂度的主要因素,分别建立了相应的测量模型,从3个方面研究对航路交通流复杂度造成的影响,然后采用加权求和的方式求得三方面综合对航路交通流复杂度的影响程度。以雷达模拟机数据作为仿真验证对象,通过MATLAB软件对建立的模型进行了仿真验证     

基于Fuzzy-ANP的空管安全风险评估研究

空中交通管制对于保障飞行安全至关重要,如何进行空管安全风险评估是亟待研究的问题。在分析三角模糊数学和ANP原理的基础上,针对空管安全风险因素相互影响的特点,建立基于Fuzzy-ANP的空管安全风险评估模型。以某空管单位为例进行实证分析,通过计算评价指标权重,找到影响空管安全风险的关键指标。结果表明,影响该空管单位安全的主要因素为管理标准效能、员工培训次数和人员语言及交流沟通状况等,该空管单位应重点改善这3个因素并兼顾其他影响因素。研究表明,Fuzzy-ANP分析法有助于确定安全风险评估的重点。     

SESAR safety decision-making: Lessons from environmental,nuclear and defense modeling

SESAR, the ‘Single European Sky Air traffic Research’ program, envisages radical changes for European Air Traffic Management (ATM). It integrates and implements new technologies and information processing. This paper examines the safety decision-making in the implementation of SESAR projects. SESAR poses new safety problems because it adopts new paradigms for ATM safety – what lessons are there from environmental, nuclear and defense modeling? These disciplines have also had to confront the limitations of modeling the rates of rare and damaging – even catastrophic – events. A major conceptual change in SESAR is that of automated separation assurance systems. Some existing responsibilities transfer from the controller – either to the pilot or to computer systems – in a progressively phased approach. The major problem for SESAR safety validation is that mixed equipage/operations within a common airspace potentially generate new and different safety issues regarding the validation of safety predictions. A potential way forward uses high-fidelity Human In The Loop Simulations (HITLS) to generate confidence in the resilience of the ATM system. The focus changes from proving safety, i.e. through traditional kinds of validation processes, to extensive resilience testing using these simulations. The aim would be to test how resilient the system is to seeded errors, penetration testing, and crash/stress testing. This would be a high cost process because of the large investments required and the need for long sequences of testing. However, these demanding processes can provide ‘justified belief’ to the decision-maker that the changed ATM system is acceptably safe.     

Air Traffic Management accident risk. Part 1: The limits of realistic modelling

The prime goal of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system is to control accident risk. Some key questions are posed, including: What do design safety targets really mean and imply for risk modelling? In what circumstances can future accident risk really be modelled with sufficient precision? If risk cannot be estimated with precision, then how is safety to be assured with traffic growth and operational/technical changes? This paper endeavours to answer these questions by an analysis of the nature of accidents, causal factors and practical collision risk modelling. The main theme is how best to combine sound safety evidence and real-world hazard analysis in a coherent and systematic framework.     

Coping with accelerating socio-technical systems

In 1997 a workshop was held on the subject of how to cope with accelerating technologies. These are industries such as aviation, air traffic control and biotechnology, amongst others, where the rate of technological development is significant. A number of papers were presented from a range of viewpoints and in a variety of different industrial contexts. The papers ranged from theoretical models to help understand the process of acceleration and its impact on organisational learning, to practical analyses of future potential risks in specific accelerating industries such as air traffic control. The aim of the papers and the workshop as a whole was to provide insight into the problems associated with accelerating technologies, and thereby derive measures to control or cope with such acceleration. The problems arising from acceleration, as predicted by the theoretical models and evidenced by experiences in accelerating industries (e.g. aviation) are manifold. Two examples of particular problems are unforeseen risks in an industry (a lack of forward vision), and a failure to learn adequately (i.e. in time) from incidents occurring in an organisation (a lack of constructive hindsight). There is also an incipient danger of society being driven by technology rather than being led by social needs. Even if each technology ultimately becomes ‘ultra-safe’, it will nevertheless have its own ‘event horizon’, limiting useful further progress. Each of the papers from the workshop is summarised and integrated into a three-part synopsis of the workshop. This covers the context of accelerating technologies, modelling their impacts, and deriving coping strategies. Four of the papers are included in their entirety as separate papers in their own right in this special issue of Safety Science.     

交通行为意识的行为控制作用

引用心理学中意识对行为的控制作用,简单描述了人的行为过程,得出行为意识对行为控制起到"总开关"的作用;指出增强交通行为意识是实现交通行为控制的有效手段;将交通行为意识分为3种,即交通安全意识、交通守法意识和交通秩序意识,依据心理学中意识建立和强化的一般方法提出了建立与增强3种交通行为意识的基本方法,包括教育、宣传、刺激、处罚、回报(包括自然回报和人为回报)及激励等6种方法。笔者提出的交通行为意识增强及激励的方法,为确保交通参与者的交通安全和进一步提高道路交通管理水平提供新的理论和方法依据。     

基于交通安全的交叉口倒计时信号灯设置研究

交通信号倒计时装置被国内一些城市广泛采用。在体现交通“以人为本”原则的同时,倒计时装置的应用也应注意其带来了一些交通安全和通行效率上的问题。倒计时会诱发一部分驾驶员在绿灯末尾时加速通过路口,和红灯变绿灯下一相时头车提前高速到达冲突点,可能引发重特大交通事故,因而需要更长的绿灯间隔时间保证信号换相时的交通安全。由于绿灯间隔时间增长,交通信号倒计时装置降低了交叉口的通行能力,且不当的绿间隔设置还会造成严重的交通冲突。因而应谨慎采用机动车交通信号灯倒计时装置,并应辅以绿灯间隔时间调整、交通安全宣传教育和明确交通规则等措施。     

我国道路交通安全规划基本框架研究

在分析我国道路交通安全形势及发展趋势的基础上,阐述《中华人民共和国道路交通安全法》、《中华人民共和国道路交通安全法实施条例》所要求的制定我国道路交通安全规划的重要性,以及道路交通安全规划对预防道路交通事故的重要指导意义和现实意义。研究发达国家道路交通安全规划的框架结构和规划内容;从宏观的角度提出我国交通安全规划定位的高起点要求;探讨了规划的基本框架结构———规划的实施目标、战略重点和政策保障措施及其相互关系;针对我国实际情况创造性地提出了我国道路交通安全规划非单一性的实施目标;给出了确保规划目标顺利完成应优先考虑的战略重点以及国家政策保障措施。     

道路交通安全管理规划体系初探

《道路交通安全法》明确规定 :“要求县级以上地方各级人民政府应当适应道路交通发展的需要 ,依据道路交通安全法律、法规和国家有关政策 ,制定道路交通安全管理规划 ,并组织实施。”依据该条文的要求 ,笔者探讨了道路交通安全管理规划的作用 ,论述了道路交通安全管理规划体系的总体设计 ,提出了包括道路交通安全调查、交通安全管理现状评价和问题分析、交通安全趋势预测、交通安全管理目标确定以及具体专项规划等内容的道路交通安全管理规划体系。     

空中交通管制中人的可靠性模糊综合评价研究

人是空中交通管制系统中最灵活、最具适应性和最有价值的因素 ,而其行为也是最易受到不利影响的。由于空中交通管制中产生的人为失误 ,往往会导致航空器空中危险接近 ,严重的后果甚至会酿成空难。笔者从人 -机 -环境系统工程的观点出发 ,提出了空中交通管制中人的可靠性评价的指标体系结构模型。从人自身因素、软件、硬件、环境等方面指出了影响空中交通管制中人的可靠性的心理、空中环境等 17个子因素。运用模糊数学的方法 ,建立空中交通管制中人的可靠性定量评价模型 ,并用实例进行了验证。研究表明 ,该方法应用于空中交通管制中人的可靠性评价是一种新的尝试 ,其评价结果可为各级领导机构提供航空安全管理的决策依据。     

基于主成分分析法的空管多指标安全综合评估研究

在空中交通管制运行风险识别的基础上,建立反映其安全状况的指标体系,并确定指标的量化方式。运用主成分分析法对指标数据进行处理,建立管制安全综合评价模型;通过实例对管制安全的评价结果进行分析,认为管制员违规操作和技术水平是影响管制安全运行的重要因素,另外空管设备的完好程度对管制安全存在较大的隐患。根据建立的模型,对4个管制单位的安全性进行了评价。综合评估的结果为空管部门制定安全措施及预防对策提供科学的分析依据。     

空管安全风险管理信息系统分析与设计

针对空中交通服务管理系统(简称为"空管",下同)中存在的安全管理不规范、安全信息不畅通和信息化程度低等安全管理问题,根据空管安全风险管理信息系统(SRMIS)的工作原理,提出SRMIS的业务流程和组织结构,设计了SRMIS的总体结构、风险管控和指标预警等主要功能,研究实现过程中的指标评价、部门评价和模糊综合评价等信息评价方法以及指标预警、因素预警和综合预警等预警预控方法和关键技术。该系统能进行持续的风险识别和综合预警,定期自检、自查、自审,不断改进安全管理工作,并在武汉空管中心实证有较好的应用效果,为空管中心的安全风险管理提供了信息化管理的工具和途径。     

基于分类交通冲突与微观仿真分析的城市交叉口安全诊断及改善

鉴于传统的城市交叉口交通冲突整体评价方法不能深入地分析和解决交叉口内部的交通安全问题,依据流量和相位时长关系确定分类交通冲突评价系数,计算出不同相位阶段中不同交通冲突类型(机-机、机-非、机-人)的交通冲突率和分类综合交通冲突率,从而比较和诊断交叉口内部危险性高的交通冲突类型及所在相位,并应用VISSIM仿真软件评估相应交通安全改善措施对路口交通效率的影响。以北京市光彩北路路口为对象进行实验分析,其结果表明,分类交通冲突技术与微观交通仿真分析的充分结合,可提高城市交叉口安全诊断的准确性及相应改善措施的有效性。     

Measuring safety culture in a research and development centre: A comparison of two methods in the Air Traffic Management domain

This paper describes two safety surveys carried out in an Air Traffic Management Research and Development centre (EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre). The paper discusses the differences and similarities between the two tools with regard to their development, the method of conducting the surveys, the results and their implications. It has been estimated that about 50%¹ to 60%² of accidents and incidents appear to have their roots in the design and development process, and since this is the core business of the EEC, it was deemed necessary to investigate the maturity of safety at the EEC. The challenge for the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre (EEC) was to develop a tool that is relevant to a research and development environment with the objectives of (i) identifying areas of weakness in the safety culture of the organization (ii) helping in developing a Safety Management System. The first objective was addressed by developing a Safety Culture Survey (SCS) tool and surveying the EEC (March, 2003). The second objective was addressed by customizing an existing (SMS) survey tool (RD) for the R&D environment. The SCS is based on traditional measures adapted to ATM and then to R&D, and the River Diagram (RD) is more of a safety management survey, adapted from other industries and already applied to HQ (EUROCONTROL Head Quarters) to examine their commitment to safety. Nevertheless, the two surveys have been compared to see where they agree and where they ‘dissociate’. Overall, the SCS has a broader focus on “softer issues”, i.e. more complex issues of ‘trust in management’. Diagnostically, the River Diagram survey helps the practitioner develop SMS implementation plans more readily than the Safety Culture survey.     

加强和规范高校校园交通安全管理的思考

目前高校校园人多车多,校园道路交通安全压力大、隐患多,成为影响校园安全稳定的不利因素。为有效解决校园交通安全管理方面存在的问题,文章阐述可以通过制定《校园交通安全管理规范》,建立健全校园交通安全管理体制机制,使交通安全管理工作更加规范化、制度化、科学化,有效维护校园良好的交通秩序。