One mode of transport that has awed me ever since I was a small child is air transport. The technique that can make a plane to literally “float” in the air is something that has always been beyond my understanding. I have always wondered why unlike other modes of transport that there are so few air accidents. This was well before I knew about the role of air traffic controllers. For all of us who have been to an airport and seen how they operate, we know how important these people are. However, I have been looking at the numerous qualifications that air traffic controllers are required to have, and then I am led to ask, “Are these qualifications significant or important in any way?” (McDougall, & Roberts, 2007, p.48)
Main body
In order for this question to sink in clearly, perhaps it would be good to first understand what these qualifications are. The first important trait that these people should possess is organization. Almost all air traffic controllers are required to be well organized in their private and public life. They should also have very good mathematical and operational skills. Such kind of people should not be diabetic, epileptic or have any heart conditions. Having such kind of diseases automatically disqualifies one for such a position. Their employer’s literary order these people’s lives. Right from the food they eat to the drugs they take, everything they do is accounted for. (Flight international, n.d).
I have friends in many circles and one thing that I have noticed to be a common trait with individuals who are exceptionally bright is that majority of them lack proper organization in their life. The only thing that worries me when I look at the position of air traffic controllers is that it might be locking out good brains out of the profession. In most cases, air traffic controllers require a lot of concentration. The air traffic controllers are trained to center on the precise word the pilots and the other controllers give since a small misunderstanding among them can for instance end up into a disaster. They communicate with pilots by use of radiotelephony method that require a lot of attention such as the fact that just one transmission can take place at a time, transmissions sometimes come together or obstruct each other thus they become incomprehensible. This therefore calls for teamwork between the controllers as well as with the pilots, engineers and managers. It also calls for some good organizational skill on the part of the air controller. (Exforsys Inc, n.d)
The air traffic controllers have different functions in various positions in their field of work. There are the area controllers or en route, as they are fondly known. These are responsible for checking that the plane is safe at higher attitudes. The airspace is divided into segments that are three dimension blocks of air and are clearly distinct. An area controller is therefore responsible for each segment and radar can be used or not. The work of radar is to help a segment take care of much more traffic. In cases where the traffic is not much, the area controllers use procedural control to direct the aircraft to safe areas. They also direct planes at standard levels climbing and while arriving at groups of airstrips. (Flight international, n.d).
The other group is referred to as aerodrome or tower controllers and is responsible for aircrafts in the immediate environs around the airfield tower mostly using visual inspection from the airfield tower. The tower is around five nautical distances in radius though it differs largely in terms of volume and shape due to the pattern of the traffic. The tower controllers are divided into several categories including Flight Data or Clearance Delivery, ground control and local control. These categories perform different functions depending on their line of work. (McDougall, & Roberts, 2007, p.48)
Clearance Delivery is the point where they give path authorization to the plane before they start taxiing. This mainly comprises of the details of the path that the plane is required to use after take off. The ground control takes care of the airfield movement vicinity and areas not allowed to the airlines or any other use. They mainly include taxiways, runways that are not active and meeting points where planes arrive after leaving the runway. The local control deals with active runways. They mainly clear the plane for departure or landing thus making sure that the prearranged runway partition is available all the time. In the case where they notice a dangerous situation, a landing plane may be held in the air and be ordered into the runway by the terminal area controllers. (Exforsys Inc, n.d)
Conclusion
Looking at the intricacy of the above processes, I am always left wondering, do we really need to impose all these qualifications upon air traffic controllers? This question is significant in that it addresses a key point in securing security in air transport. It is also problematic because it locks out students who would otherwise have been given a chance to work in this important field of transport but were locked out because they lacked an important trait required to qualify in this job. However, if we hope to keep the sanity in the aviation industry, then it means we continue with the current trend in selecting air traffic controllers.
References List
Exforsys Inc. (n.d). Duties and Responsibilities of Air Traffic Controllers. 2010, Web.
The issues in commercial aviation are unique to the industry, as the aircraft travels through the air and outside of the direct control of on-the-ground specialists. The current state of the industry, however, has a system of navigating the airspace and ensuring that every planes’ route is safe and efficient. Two of the response teams in this process are air traffic control (ATC) and airline operations. The former group of professionals manages the airspace and monitors the aircraft in a designated area, and the latter plans and solves problems during each flight. Together, ATC and airline operations teams are the key to people’s safety and operations control, and their communication is vital for delivering timely information. At the same time, any problems within this collaboration worsen performance and even endanger aircraft workers and passengers.
Safe Operation of Flights
As the number of flights has been continually increasing in the last two decades, the risk of accidents has also increased. According to the United Kingdom Government report, the UK did not have any fatal accidents in large and small commercial and business airplanes between 2013 and 2017 (HM Government, 2018). This compares well against the nine accidents in Europe and 20 accidents in the United States (HM Government, 2018, p. 133). Nevertheless, out of the problems that occur, about 70% of them are related to human error (HM Government, 2018). This prevalence raises the question of how the flights’ safety can be improved by changing the ways in which people responsible for the operations work.
The safety of flights depends on a variety of departments. The proper state of the aircraft is the first aspect, although it does not directly relate to flight operation. Here, risks may include cabin safety, flight controls, and runway condition (Graham, 2018). Next, the airline and airport are responsible for planning that acknowledges the current environment, weather, chosen plane, destination, and other factors (Wensveen, 2016). This data is needed to create a route for each aircraft that minimizes the risk of accidents or breakages. Similar information is also gathered by ATC, which uses it to see the best courses for each aircraft in relation to the airspace and other planes in the same space (Budd and Ison, 2020). Thus, the flights’ operation starts hours before each aircraft takes off. Moreover, the collaboration between the mentioned above entities is vital for ensuring the safety of each.
Air Traffic Control
First introduced in London in 1920, ATC is a service that monitors the airspace to prevent accidents (collisions), share vital information with pilots and organize the airflow for all aircraft in the designated area. It is crucial to note that ATC can only direct the aircraft through controlled airspace – the service is not available in places with uncontrolled airspace due to current limits of technology and law (Updegrove and Jafer, 2017).
Different organizations are responsible for ATC– their choice depends on the area of surveillance, the country’s legislation, accessibility, and other factors. For example, in the US, the military, government, and private companies can operate as ATC, depending on the land and airspace level of security (Strohmeier et al., 2018). In the UK, NATS (formerly known as National Air Traffic Services) is the main ATC service provider (Civil Aviation Authority, 2020; NATS, 2020). However, airports in the country can employ other companies to monitor the airspace from their local towers.
In commercial aviation, ATC towers are located in airports; they are the central location where controllers can see planes take off and land. From this tower, the AT controllers use a variety of devices and cameras to observe the airport’s runway, space near the airport and several nautical miles in the air (Isaac and Ruitenberg, 2017). Furthermore, controllers collect and examine flight data and use it to ensure that planes can safely operate within the controlled airspace. If the airport has only ATC towers, its workers are tasked with vectoring inbound aircraft to a position where they can land using visual aids.
However, some ATC centers also have radar control facilities that allow for better aircraft tracking outside of the immediate space around airports. In these organizations, terminal controllers can observe the traffic with special equipment (radar and terminal controls) within a radius of up to 100 or 200 nautical miles (Hrastovec and Solina, 2016). Therefore, in most developed countries, airspace coverage is high, and ATC is usually able to control significant parts of each flight.
Such data collection and continuous monitoring allow ATC to issue instructions and advisories. Pilots have to follow the instructions in order to stay in their designated air corridor and eliminate the risk of collision. However, they may disregard advisories if they determine a better way of piloting the plane (Edwards et al. 2017). Moreover, as ATC cannot control the entire flight, pilots must use their judgment when making decisions outside of the controlled airspace. Military personnel may offer some ATC in uncontrolled airspace, but this service is usually requested when an aircraft is in distress (Civil Aviation Authority, 2020).
Airline Operations Teams
As noted above, the ATC is responsible for advising pilots on how to stay on their designated route. However, they do not create the plans for each flight – ATC uses charts and data provided to them by airline operations teams. In fact, an airline operations team (AOT) has to create the flight plan and notify ATC early – in the range between two and 12 hours – in order for the route to be approved or edited. Thus, AOTs are responsible for collecting vital data as well, because they need to make the plan in the most efficient and safe way.
AOT’s goals differ from those of ATC due to the nature of its services. ATC prioritizes control over the airspace and aircraft’s location in relation to one another. AOTs work to ensure that people in the planes and on the ground are safe and that no issues occur during the flight. The first responsibility of such teams is flight scheduling – all aircraft have to enter and leave the runways without disturbing each other, and the before-mentioned issues, including refueling, poor weather conditions and maintenance, may lead to delays. In this case, AOTs have the authority to reschedule, cancel, or postpone a flight (Li et al., 2018; Young and Wells, 2019). Thus, the teams have varying types of authority over flight management.
The planning process is also filled with data collection – AOTs need to make flights efficient. Thus, they have to choose routes that will lower fuel consumption, decrease the time of the flight, lower risks and prevent human error. Apart from airspace safety, AOTs are also driven by consumer comfort and company prosperity (Huang, Nneji, and Cummings, 2019). Therefore, they have to account for losses that may occur if they choose a dangerous or inefficient route. Before take-off, AOTs also gather information about the balance and weight of the aircraft. This data is sent to the flight deck, where it is used to prognosticate the amount of fuel and to detect any potential issue early.
As one can see, AOTs balance their choices based on customer satisfaction, local regulations, and business growth. The teams incorporate a variety of specialists who work mostly in airports, as they often need to resolve problems before or during the flight. Weather changes, schedule adjustment, maintenance and other issues are a part of AOT’s responsibilities (Bruce and Mulholland, 2020). Their decisions also affect planes from other airlines; here, the collaboration between AOTs and ATC should be discussed.
Collaboration
The separation of responsibilities between AOTs and ATC requires the two teams to collaborate. AOTs from different airlines create the plans for their flights and send them to ATC for approval and further use. Then, ATC uses its own data to see whether the projects can be implemented and what is the best way to ensure that all flights are possible in the controlled airspace (Bruce, Gao and King, 2017). It should be acknowledged that the two services may not always agree on which plan is the best, but the authority of ATC requires the pilots to follow the service’s commands.
The conversation between AOT and ATC is an inherent and constant part of aviation. As the two teams usually utilize similar data sets, they may exchange them to show why a particular decision should be made. Weather conditions continue to play a significant role in determining how the flights will be scheduled and how the pilots need to behave while in the air (Bazargan, 2016). Differences in weather predictions can worsen the collaboration, as the two services may get different data – research suggests integrating big data and virtual mapping in order to make such data sharing better (Achenbach and Spinler, 2018; Bouarfa, Blom and Curran, 2016); Mogford et al., 2016). Technological advancements can simplify collaboration and reduce human error.
A communication channel between AOT and ATC is necessary to eliminate such misunderstandings in a timely manner and prevent unnecessary delays or cancellations as well as accidents. Most importantly, both AOT and ATC workers should have great conversational skills to understand each other and come to the best decisions (Schopf, Stouten and Schaufeli, 2021). AOTs ensure that customers’ rights are represented, while ATC enforces the law and monitors the overall state of the local airspace.
Interdependability
The descriptions of the services’ roles show that ATC and AOT greatly depend on each other for data sharing and guidance. Thus, if one team were not to exist, the other would face many obstacles in maintaining a safe environment for flying. If the airlines did not have dedicated operations teams, ATC would not receive flight plans. This means that they would have no information about the aircraft that were set to enter the airspace that they navigated. In this case, the service could not control the airspace and ensure that the planes are adhering to their route and flying at a safe distance from other aircraft.
This would increase the risk of collision and endanger passengers and workers on the plane. The controlled airspace would be chaotic, increasing the stress on ATC professionals and further raising the negative impact of human error on accident rates (Edwards et al., 2017; Novak et al., 2020; Truschzinski et al., 2018). As a result, the UK could face a number of problems, especially in domestic flights.
If ATC services did not exist, AOTs would encounter similarly detrimental issues. ATC is responsible for keeping the aircraft on the route, safe from other planes and informed about weather conditions and other potential threats. Without this information, the pilots would not have much information about their location in the airspace. While AOTs could provide some weather reports, they have limited data about the sites that are outside of their designated control. ATC operates as a chain, where each link of the local control base gives all pertinent information about the flight to another part of ATC based on the location of the plane (Dmochowski and Skorupski, 2017; Richters, Schraagen and Heerkens, 2016). Thus, pilots always know in which part of the controlled airspace they are and whether they need to account for some factors that they cannot determine from their position.
Conclusion
The discussion of air traffic control and airline operations teams shows that the two services cannot function without one another – their duties and responsibilities are complementary. ATC receives flight plans from AOTs, which allows this service to map out the controlled airspace and ensure aircraft safety. Simultaneously, AOT collects all data about its flights, but it cannot control planes from other aircraft. If one of the services were not to exist, the other could not perform its job adequately. Thus, the interdependence of ATC and AOTs is inherent to the success of aviation globally. In the UK, one company oversees the majority of ATC, which potentially gives it the ability to streamline operations and make communication with AOTs easier. However, the relationship between the two services can be improved further with the help of technological advancements.
Reference List
Achenbach, A. and Spinler, S. (2018) ‘Prescriptive analytics in airline operations: arrival time prediction and cost index optimization for short-haul flights’, Operations Research Perspectives, 5, pp. 265–279.
Bazargan, M. (2016) Airline operations and scheduling. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Bouarfa, S., Blom, H.A. and Curran, R. (2016) ‘Agent-based modeling and simulation of coordination by airline operations control’, IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing, 4(1), pp.9–20.
Bruce, P.J. and Mulholland, C. (2020) Airline operations control. London: Routledge.
Bruce, P.J., Gao, Y. and King, J.M. (eds.) (2017) Airline operations: a practical guide. London: Routledge.
Budd, L. and Ison, S. (eds.) (2020) Air transport management: an international perspective. London: Routledge.
Dmochowski, P.A. and Skorupski, J. (2017) ‘Air traffic smoothness. A new look at the air traffic flow management, Transportation Research Procedia, 28, pp. 127–132.
Edwards, T. et al. (2017) ‘Task demand variation in air traffic control: implications for workload, fatigue, and performance’, in Stanton, N. et al. (eds.) Advances in human aspects of transportation. Cham: Springer, pp. 91–102.
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Huang, L., Nneji, V. C., and Cummings, M. (2019) ‘How airline dispatchers manage flights: a task analysis in distributed and heterogeneous network operations’, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), pp. 1389–1393.
Isaac, A.R. and Ruitenberg, B. (2017) Air traffic control: human performance factors. London: Routledge.
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The case study focused on identifying the causes of stress disorder among air traffic controllers at ATL, its impact, and ways of managing it. It is clear from the analysis of both primary and secondary data that role overload, role ambiguity, unreasonable demand for favors, limited social time, constant threats, and poor workplace environment are the leading causes of stress disorder. If left unchecked, stress may cause health and social problems to these employees and economic problems to the airport. The study has identified a number of ways of addressing this problem.
Introduction
Air traffic controllers (ATC) play a critical role in the daily operational activities at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). According to a report by Barusch (2017), ATL is currently the busiest airport in the world, accommodating over 950,120 flights and 100 million passengers in the year 2012 alone. It has maintained the top position since 1998, which is a clear demonstration of the effort put in place by stakeholders to ensure that it remains a successful airport.
However, recent studies have indicated that ATCs are exposed to numerous hazards that may have a serious negative impact on their health, their output, and the operational activities at ATL. A study by Zastrow (2017) indicates that stress disorder is one of the most common hazards that ATCs face in their workplace.
These officers spend a lot of time controlling ground and air traffic within the airport to ensure that no accidents or incidents occur. Sometimes they work for very long hours and under strenuous conditions. There are a number of other factors that cause stress disorder among the ATCs. In this case study, the researcher will investigate the causes and impact of stress disorder among ATL’s ATCs and then recommend ways through which this problem can be eliminated.
Methodology
When conducting a case study, Seal (2012) says that it is important to define how data will be collected. Information used in this case study was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary data was collected from books, journals, and reliable online sources. As Barusch (2017) notes, conducting a review of the literature makes it possible to understand what other scholars have found out in a given field of knowledge.
It eliminates cases where a report duplicates already existing information. A review of literature helps in identifying the knowledge gap so that a researcher can know that area to focus on enhancing the existing knowledge. Primary data was collected from a sample population, as discussed below.
Sampling and Sample Population (Participants)
It was necessary to collect data from the affected population (air traffic controllers) who are working on a daily basis to ensure that operations at ATL run smoothly. A number of them have indicated that their workplace environment is highly stressful, and it was necessary to hear directly from them. Given the tight schedule of these participants, and the limited time that the researcher had to conduct the study, a small sample of 20 participants was selected. The researcher used a stratified sampling strategy to ensure that the participants properly represent the entire population. This approach ensured that tower controllers, approach and departure controllers, and en route controllers are included in the sample.
Data Collection Procedure and Material Used
The researcher wrote a letter to the management unit at ATL, requesting that the research be conducted at the institution. The letter was hand-delivered to the relevant authority. After getting the needed approval, the researcher identified and contacted a sample of the ATCs at this airport through a phone call. 20 participants from the three units who agreed to be part of the study were selected.
The researcher explained to them the relevance of the study and their role in it. It was necessary to prepare the material for data collection in advance. A questionnaire was prepared and sent to the participants through their e-mail. They were requested to fill the questionnaires and send them back electronically. Information obtained from them was analyzed to help inform the conclusion and recommendations in the study.
Data Analysis
Data collected from the primary sources were analyzed qualitatively to help explain how ATCs are exposed to a stress disorder, the impact of this problem, and what can be done to address it effectively. The analysis also involved comparing the findings made from primary data from that made from secondary data sources. The findings from the analysis defined the conclusion made in this study and recommendations that were proposed.
Ethical Considerations
When conducting research, Seal (2012) says that it is important to take into consideration ethical concerns. The researcher ensured that before contacting the participants, the relevant authority was contacted, and the needed consent was received. The researcher informed the participants about the research in advance to ensure that they were fully prepared for the study. The respondents were at liberty to withdraw from the study at any time without any consequences.
Literature Review
Occupational health and safety management is a concern that has attracted the attention of scholars over the recent past as stakeholders try to find ways of making workplace environment safer and friendlier to employees than was the case in the past. Air traffic controllers play a critical role in the aviation industry and the lives of thousands of passengers and the safety of properties worth millions of dollars are always in their hands on a daily basis as they work tirelessly to ensure that planes take off and land safely within the airports (Sarafino & Smith, 2014).
The soundness of their mental and physical health is critical in ensuring that they are able to undertake their responsibilities without making mistakes (Sarafino & Smith, 2014). A simple mistake committed by an air traffic controller can be catastrophic and may cost many lives if it is not corrected at the right time. That explains why the issue of stress disorder management among these airport employees has attracted a number of scholars who are keen on promoting the safety and security of people and properties within the aviation sector.
Scope and Magnitude of the Problem
According to Bor and Hubbard (2016), air traffic controllers are always under immense pressure to be precise in everything that they do. They must be capable of making very quick calculations and decisions in order to avoid aircraft conflicts and any threat that may be exposed to the aircraft. Grogan (2014) says that primary sources of stress that air traffic controllers have to deal with can be broadly classified as operational and organizational.
The operational stress emanates from the nature and scope of work they undertake on a regular basis. Clarke (2016) says that during the peak of traffic load, these controllers experienced increased levels of stress. Their attention is needed almost to the last second. As soon as a given plane takes off, another one will be landing, and they have to control them. Sometimes the equipment they use fails to function as expected, and they have to find alternatives within the shortest time possible to avert danger. Zastrow (2017) says that one of the greatest fears among air traffic controllers is experiencing a situation where they are coerced to bend the rules.
It may be a terrorist demanding to land without any prior schedule. At times it may be an instruction from a higher authority within the airport. The possibility of serious repercussions of such favors often causes stress among these airport employees. Clarke (2016) says that sometimes the problems that ATCs experience are similar to those that pilots suffer on a regular basis. The figure below shows statistics of some of the common sources of stress disorder among pilots and air traffic controllers.
Figure 1: Source of stress among pilots and ATCs (Sarafino & Smith, 2014).
Organizational stress is often caused by a number of factors. One of them is shift schedules (Bor & Hubbard, 2016). Sometimes the management would force them to work for extra hours, especially during peak, to meet the high demand. When these officers work past their normal schedule, it is impossible to avoid stress because they are expected to remain sharp even though they are tired. There are cases where role conflicts arise.
Ward (2012) says that when a tower controller is forced to work as an approach and departure controller, he or she will struggle to adjust to the new role, and that may be a source of stress. Some of them have complained about an unfavorable working environment that makes their work more complex. These problems not only affect ATCs locally within ATL but also others at the national and global levels. They are globally systemic (Sarafino & Smith, 2014). The following figure shows the stress-performance curve
Figure 2: Stress-performance curve (Angle, 2016).
Federal and industry statistics show that stress disorder among ATCs is becoming a serious problem that can no longer be ignored. Ward (2012) says that the morbidity of this problem is high, although the mortality rate is still low. Many of these employees are highly stressed, and it is by luck that mistakes related to their high levels of stress at the workplace are rare. When analyzing the epidemiology of the problem, it is clear from a study by Jensen (2012) that tower controllers and approach and departure controllers have the highest incidence of stress disorder.
Stakeholders have tried to find ways of managing this problem, and one of the most common recommendations include allowing ATCs to work in an enabling environment and as per the standards schedules without being overworked (Weir, 2013). As shown in figure 2 above, when overworked, the levels of stress may increase to a breakdown level where the employees cannot properly perform because they are burnt out.
Their inability to perform properly may have serious economic consequences to the airport, besides putting thousands of lives at risk. The poor performance of an individual air traffic controller affects the overall economic performance of the airport (Angle, 2016). Some of the direct costs may be damage to planes or facilities within the airport. Indirect cost may be the loss of time when these employees take longer than expected to respond to the needs at the airport. Their social lives may also be affected by stress, especially when they can no longer relate well with friends and family because of the disorder.
Discussion of Findings
Hazards and Exposure
In the literature review, a detailed discussion of exposures that are responsible for stress disorder among air traffic controllers is provided. They are broadly categorized as operational and organizational based on their nature. Occupational health and safety guidelines provided a standard practice that should be embraced by airport management authorities to eliminate such sources of stress among the employees. If left unchecked, stress may develop into a serious health problem.
Grogan (2014) notes that stress is often associated with dangerous diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, mental illnesses, and cancer. Stress disorder among ATC is chronic as it keeps on recurring whenever the workload increases. Bristow (2012) says that there is a limit beyond which every individual air traffic controller cannot work effectively. The findings from the literature are in line with the information gathered from the participants. The figure below shows what the participants feel are the most common causes of stress in the workplace.
Figure 3: Common causes of stress among ATCs (Developed by author).
According to Bristow (2012), most of the employers do not consider the above factors as serious issues that need to be addressed, and that is why they end up causing stress among the air traffic controllers. Causal Theory holds that the personality and behavior of a person are often shaped by the experiences they have in life (Clarke, 2016). When employers fail to take care of the causes of stress discussed above, it is possible that ATCs may develop peculiar behavior in the workplace that may affect their productivity. This is true, based on the confession below given by one of the participants when asked how he copes with the stress at the workplace:
“My colleague and I have an arrangement that allows us to sleep in shifts while in the air control tower because of the strenuous schedules” (Respondent 1).
Risk Management
Using the hazard analysis method, it is important to look at the severity of stress disorder to know when authorities should consider coming up with ways of managing it. Based on the review of the literature and data collected from the participants, the following figure shows how stress develops among air traffic controllers.
Figure 4: Hierarchy of stress disorder (Developed by author).
As shown in the figure above, the last two stages in the pyramid are dangerous and should not be allowed within an organization. In this case study, it was established that ATL has come up with control measures to prevent such extreme levels of stress, but the measures are not measures that do not conform to the hierarchy shown above; hence they are ineffective because it majorly takes into account interest of senior managers.
Conclusion and Recommendations
It is clear from the above analysis that stress disorder among air traffic controllers at ATL is an issue that still needs a proper solution. Proactive measures should be embraced that will help avoid stress among these employees instead of using reactive measures that seek to manage to fight the vice after affecting the target population. As shown in the discussion, it is necessary to have measures put in place that will ensure that stress disorder among air traffic controllers is eliminated. The following recommendations should be taken into consideration:
ATCs should be assigned roles based on their expertise and experience.
The management should avoid cases where ATCs are overworked, especially when they have indicated that they may need some time to rest at the end of their schedule.
It is necessary to avoid coercion and threats when managing ATCs.
The environment within which ATCs work should be friendly and sustainable.
References
Angle, J. (2016). Occupational safety and health in the emergency services. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Barusch, A. (2017). Foundations of Social Policy: Social justice in human perspective. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Bor, R., & Hubbard, T. (2016). Aviation mental health: Psychological implications for air transportation. London, UK: Routledge.
Bristow, G. V. (2012). Ace the technical pilot interview. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Clarke, S. (2016). Occupational health and safety. New York, NY: Routledge.
Grogan, S. (2014). Shell-shocked Britain: The First World War’s legacy for Britain’s mental health. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Jensen, R. C. (2012). Risk-reduction methods for occupational safety and health. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Sarafino, E. P., & Smith, T. W. (2014). Health psychology: Bio-psychosocial interactions. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Seal, B. (2012). Academic encounters, human behavior, level 4: Reading and writing. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Ward, H. (2012). Oxford handbook of epidemiology for clinicians. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Weir, R. E. (2013). Workers in America: A historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Zastrow, C. (2017). Introduction to social work and social welfare. Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning.
Fatigue prevents workers from doing their job effectively and might cause serious mistakes and overlooks. In such fields as air traffic control, such errors might prove lethal and disastrous (Kirwan, Rodgers, & Schafer, 2016). Therefore, it is paramount to be aware of risk factors and causes of fatigue among air traffic controllers, and use methods which would allow for mitigating these factors and causes. Both the risk factors and the possible techniques for their mitigation are discussed in this paper.
Risk Factors for Fatigue in Air Traffic Control
On the whole, there are many very general factors that cause fatigue. These include overworking and ineffective distribution of work, poor diet, stress; burnout; anxiety; age; disease, and many others (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2013). In addition, there are numerous risk factors for fatigue, which more specifically pertaining to the duties of air traffic controllers (Kirwan et al., 2016).
For instance, these include the volume of the air traffic and the degree of complexity of its regulation; ineffective rotation and poor shift distribution; additional workload related to the need of on-the-job training (this is especially important for new air traffic controllers); and so on (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). Depending on a particular combination of the factors present in a given case and their intensity, they may pose a considerable threat to many people, increasing the risk of air traffic incidents, and, therefore, should be identified and dealt with to negate the threat (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009).
Potential and Existing Methods for Mitigating the Risk Factors for Fatigue in Air Traffic Control
Depending on which fatigue risk management initiatives are used and in what circumstances, these may be effectual or ineffectual. For example, an initiative that would introduce breaks for air traffic controllers during which they would have an opportunity to take a short nap (15-20 minutes) may be effective in managing the risk of tiredness (Caldwell & Caldwell, 2016).
Another possible initiative that was proposed by Federal Aviation Administration (2009) offers to create more effective air traffic controller task rotation techniques, which involves changing their tasks from challenging to easier ones during different shifts, also seems to have great potential to prevent fatigue from monotonous job and burnout.
Importantly, as has been previously noted, on-job training itself might serve as a risk factor for fatigue (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). Nevertheless, employees might be trained to use various techniques, which may help them prevent fatigue (Caldwell & Caldwell, 2016).
In addition, it should also be effective in promoting air traffic controller awareness of the various causes of fatigue. These workers need to know about such risk factors and causes of fatigue as “sleep debt,” poor diet, disease, excess weight, physical inactivity, etc. (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2013), because these are factors most of which cannot be controlled by the administration of the airport, but could be managed by the air traffic controllers themselves.
Employing fatigue prevention and mitigation strategies, such as continuously monitoring the workload of air traffic controllers; eliminating or at least reducing to a minimal level the need to work extra hours; rotating the duties of air traffic controllers; providing the opportunity to rest and take a nap during the shift; giving the workers a sufficient amount of time to rest between their shifts and supplying them with vacations of an adequate length; employing some physical techniques (such as exercise) to lower the level their tiredness; dealing with stress by using conflict resolution techniques, etc., might prove instrumental in dealing with the problem of fatigue of these workers (Caldwell & Caldwell, 2016; Trapsilawati, Qu, Wickens, & Chen, 2015).
Conclusion
On the whole, it should be stressed that there exist numerous causes and risk factors for fatigue, both general and industry-specific. To reduce the risk of fatigue of air traffic controllers, airport administrations should rationally distribute their workload and working time, as well as to make these workers aware of the reasons for fatigue, permitting them to address the causes which are not directly related to their work duties.
References
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (2013). Fatigue – the rules are changing. Web.
Caldwell, J. A., & Caldwell, J. L. (2016). Fatigue in aviation: A guide to staying awake at the stick (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Kirwan, B., Rodgers, M., & Schafer. (Eds.). (2016). Human factors impacts in air traffic management. New York, NY: Routledge.
Trapsilawati, F., Qu, X., Wickens, C. D., & Chen, C. H. (2015). Human factors assessment of conflict resolution aid reliability and time pressure in future air traffic control. Ergonomics, 58(6), 897-908.
Air traffic control (ATC) is one of the most complex and challenging professions. It consists of managing air traffic and airport operations through communicating with, tracking, and directing air vehicles while considering safety, scheduling, and environmental factors. Due to the difficult demands of the job, there are components which affect these professionals, impacting their performance. The most common hazard that air traffic controllers face is occupational stress and equipment issues.
ATC has established an infamous reputation for being a high-stress profession. The human factor is essential in the industry, as the workers use their cognitive abilities to fulfill their responsibilities. Occupational stress directly impacts air traffic controllers, but the responsibility of their job has a direct bearing on pilots and passengers of aircraft. Surveys of air traffic control show that primary concerns include operative and organizational structures (International Labour Organization, n.d.).
They experience four types of stress factors: psychological, physiological, social, and work pressure related. These lead to devastating health consequences, even if the person practices a healthy lifestyle (Blogut, 2015). The biggest hazard in occupational stress is physical fatigue which affects the air traffic controllers both in performance and efficiency. Fatigue causes to slower reasoning, misjudgments, and inefficient response to stimuli. This is influenced by shift work which is disruptive to the workers because of rapidly rotating schedules and shift length (Tomic & Liu, 2017).
Air traffic controllers utilize complex technology to fulfill their duties. It is often outdated, inefficient, and has even basic ergonomic issues. There are no safety back-ups to the system. Meanwhile, any proposed future equipment and software increases automation, but it leads to the air traffic controller feeling disconnected and lacking control of the situation (Breselor, 2015).
The relevant occupational hazards are well known and researched, however, there are rarely any sufficient changes made until there is a critical situation. Most enacted controls to the situations are reactive. Training for air traffic controllers is detailed, but it rarely addresses the issues of the occupational stress. The administrative controls in existence simply check-up on the physical health of the employees and their competence.
There are some established limits to working hours and management of air traffic flow to prevent overload. Lack of proper engineering controls contributes to dysfunctional equipment which contributes to stress and exhaustion of these professionals. The FAA is attempting to revamp its regulations as well as introduce NextGen technology which focuses on supporting human cognitive processes. However, the industry lacks the necessary funding, so the government is seeking to privatize the air traffic industry so it can expand (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2017).
The most valuable assessment tool to determine occupational hazards is surveying air traffic controllers who undergo the daily stress of the job. Airline accidents due to ATC are rare, but the industry essentially has a zero-accident goal. To achieve that, the employees’ well-being must be supported. Performance is based on a combination of capability, motivation, and system organization (Eurocontrol, 2010).
Administrative controls that can be implemented is a change to scheduling, allowing for more stable rotations, shortened shifts, and rest (along with the implementation of necessary systems and facilities) which give an opportunity for recovery. Further, more extensive human resource services should be available. Increased training and health education specifically addressing the stress faced by employees will result in better performance (Tomic and Liu, 2017).
Technology can be improved through modernization and optimization of systems that have an ergonomic design and support the human cognition. Future technology must be implemented universally and have customization and backup systems. Any level of automation should be cooperative with the human worker to balance effectiveness with enhancing their mental capabilities. Overall there should be regulation on an international scale that is supported by legislation which promotes the industry and its human capital (Wang, Cui, & Yang, 2015).
Free Flight air traffic control system plan was first proposed in the mid-1990s when the U.S. officials recognized the need for a more cost-effective method of governing the airspace. However, to this day, a comprehensive system for flight control automation has not been implemented due to several challenges. In the upcoming decades, air traffic demand is anticipated to grow further: “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects in its aerospace forecast for 2008-2025 that 78.0 million aircraft will be handled by FAA en route traffic control centers in 2025, as compared to 46.8 million aircraft handled in 2007” (Prevot, Homola, Mercer, Mainini, & Cabrall, 2009, p. 1). The increase in air traffic intensity will put more pressure on Air Traffic Control (ATC) operators, who are already overwhelmed with the amount and complexity of tasks at hand (Gorodetsky, Karsaev, Samoylov, & Skormin, 2008). More dangers to the ATC operators’ performance, however, are posed by the growing frequency of non-standard events, such as hijacking (Gorodetsky et al., 2008), technical failures, and deliberate faulty actions of pilots and crew, such as during the May 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 crash. The emotional tension present in such situations makes it difficult for human ATC operators to govern and resolve the conflicts efficiently. An automated system, on the other hand, is believed to eliminate the human error factor in the decision-making process, thus ensuring the successful management of non-standard situations. Nevertheless, with the current state of automated air traffic control development, it is unlikely that the system can be correctly implemented in the next ten to fifteen years. There are also additional challenges that, I believe, may impair the success of the initiative. In this project, I aim to describe the potential benefits and difficulties that the introduction of a Free Flight system will incur.
Potential Benefits of Free Flight
Lower Rate of Mistakes
The main reason for the implementation of an automated air traffic control system is to lower the incidence of mistakes made during the traffic flow management process and decision-making. The airborne separation assurance system (ASAS), which is one of the main components of the Free Flight system, will be responsible for conflict detection and resolution (Alam, Shafi, Abbass, & Barlow, 2009). In the case of serious risk of conflicts, the ATC operators will be able to respond more quickly and efficiently, as their workload will be significantly lower (Langan-Fox, Canty, & Sankey, 2009). Studies prove that medium-term conflict detection and resolution automation was useful in resolving 98% of conflicts during nominal operations at 2x and 3x traffic densities (Prevot et al., 2009). With support from automated systems, controllers were able to resolve 75% of the off-nominal short-term conflicts (Prevot et al., 2009), which means that the rate of failures and misses in conflict resolution will indeed be lower if at least some degree of automation is provided.
Higher Cost-Efficiency
It is generally accepted that the automation of operations provides cost-saving benefits in the vast majority of circumstances, including air traffic control. In the case of Free Flight, the lower rate of mistakes and the more effective choice of route will account for decreased fuel burn, lower environmental impact (Prevot, Homola, Martin, Mercer, & Cabral, 2012), as well as fewer flight delays and cancellations. Together with decreased staff needs, these features are likely to save billions of dollars for the airports, flight companies, and other involved entities. These savings could be used to modernize aircraft and airport sites, improving their safety and security, which is one of the highest priorities in the contemporary air travel business.
Increased Control by the Pilots
As a result of the automation of ATC, more control will be given to pilots and crews, including in conflict management (Alam et al., 2009). This will further increase the availability of operators for the cases requiring urgent action (Langan-Fox et al., 2009). Moreover, “In Free Flight, pilots will have the freedom to choose their trajectory and speed in real-time to maximize their flight objectives while maintaining safe separation from neighboring traffic” (Alam et al., 2009, p. 298). The increase in control given to pilots and the crew will result in greater security on a wide variety of routes. Furthermore, it will decrease the possibility of misses by the ATC operators affecting the safety of the flight, as pilots will have more flexibility in responding to a risky situation.
Increased Capacity
Studies suggest that the route capacity will increase dramatically as a result of automated traffic control (Prevot et al., 2009). Researchers agree that “The main factor limiting en-route capacity is controller workload associated with providing safe separation between aircraft” (Prevot et al., 2009, p. 1). The increase in capacity, in this case, will be provided by decreasing the workload of the ATC operators and ensuring that the automated systems are capable of handling a steep increase in the aircraft density en route (Prevot et al., 2009). Growing the capacity of the ATC process is essential to provide a safe environment for the increasing number of flights, aircraft, and routes, which is inevitable due to the development of tourism all over the world and the improvement in air travel demand, both in developed and developing countries.
Challenges
Low Trust in Technology
Even though human errors account for the majority of potential airplane crashes and collisions, most people are still skeptical of relying on technologies for their safety. Therefore, some form of human control will probably remain in place to govern the technology, which will also provide opportunities for human errors. However, this paradox has already been addressed in research. For instance, Higham, Vu, Miles, Strybel, and Battiste (2013) explain that a comprehensive training will result in higher trust in technology while at the same time preventing most of the human mistakes that may occur during its use.
Underdevelopment of Components
One of the major concerns about the Free Flight system adoption is the underdevelopment of the components that are crucial to its functioning. For instance, the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system is at the core of all automated traffic management enterprises (Strohmeier, Schafer, Lenders, & Marticovic, 2014). It allows the aircraft to broadcast their locations and route plans in current time, thus enhancing situational awareness and the capability of the ATC to indicate and resolve traffic conflicts (Strohmeier et al., 2014). However, there are some major security considerations applicable to the current state of ADS-B technology. For instance, there is a relatively high incidence of message loss; the system is also susceptible to RF attacks and functions via an unstable data link, which may lead to serious accidents, such as aircraft disappearances, collisions, and airplanes spoofing (Strohmeier et al., 2014). Costin and Francillon (2012) also highlight that the ADS-B has no security mechanisms in place, which may avert the flight security improvements made as a result of the ATC automation.
Impaired Performance
Some studies show that the automation of ATC processes may lead to impaired performance of pilots and controllers. For instance, in a study by Vu et al. (2012), the researchers found that the pilots who received conflict resolutions from an automated system were less capable of performing various flight tasks, such as en-route and arrival spacing, weather avoidance, and continuous descent arrival than those who received instructions from an operator (Vu et al., 2012). Another study by Rovira and Parasuraman (2010) suggested that the use of imperfect automation in the ATC processes was associated with a decline in conflict detection compared to manual task performance and had a major effect on the success of the operator’s actions. This shows that the introduction of an underdeveloped technology may reduce the success of incident responses and impair the security of travel.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that, in the current stage of development, the Free Flight system will have far more implications than benefits. Whereas the system will decrease the costs for air travel companies and reduce the workload of the ATC personnel, it may create additional risks for the security of passengers and aircraft, particularly due to the underdevelopment of its components. One of the alternative ways to increase the effectiveness of ATC is to introduce partial automation using reliable technologies; the comprehensive introduction of the Free Flight system, on the other hand, should be postponed until all of the technologies involved are proven to be reliable and efficient.
References
Alam, S., Shafi, K., Abbass, H. A., & Barlow, M. (2009). An ensemble approach for conflict detection in free flight by data mining. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 17(3), 298-317.
Costin, A., & Francillon, A. (2012). Ghost in the Air (Traffic): On insecurity of ADS-B protocol and practical attacks on ADS-B devices. In Black Hat USA (pp. 1-12). Web.
Gorodetsky, V., Karsaev, O., Samoylov, V., & Skormin, V. (2008). Multi-agent technology for air traffic control and incident management in airport airspace. In Proceedings of the International Workshop Agents in Traffic and Transportation, Portugal (pp. 119-125). Web.
Higham, T. M., Vu, K. P. L., Miles, J., Strybel, T. Z., & Battiste, V. (2013). Training air traffic controller trust in automation within a nextgen environment. International Conference on Human Interface and the Management of Information (pp. 76-84). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Langan-Fox, J., Canty, J. M., & Sankey, M. J. (2009). Human–automation teams and adaptable control for future air traffic management. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 39(5), 894-903.
Prevot, T., Homola, J. R., Martin, L. H., Mercer, J. S., & Cabrall, C. D. (2012). Toward automated air traffic control — Investigating a fundamental paradigm shift in human/systems interaction. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 28(2), 77-98.
Rovira, E., & Parasuraman, R. (2010). Transitioning to future air traffic management: Effects of imperfect automation on controller attention and performance. Human factors, 52(3), 411-425.
Strohmeier, M., Schäfer, M., Lenders, V., & Martinovic, I. (2014). Realities and challenges of nextgen air traffic management: The case of ADS-B. IEEE Communications Magazine, 52(5), 111-118.
Vu, K. P. L., Strybel, T. Z., Battiste, V., Lachter, J., Dao, A. Q. V., Brandt, S., & Johnson, W. (2012). Pilot performance in trajectory-based operations under concepts of operation that vary separation responsibility across pilots, air traffic controllers, and automation. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 28(2), 107-118.
