A new approach to air traffic controller workload measurement and modelling

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical approach for workload measurement based on the task times and the changing task priorities of en route air traffic controllers (EATC). Design/methodology/approach - A model called Total Airspace Workload Measurement Model was developed to measure EATC workload. Turkish airspace was chosen for practical application of the model. A survey was conducted of EATC to calculate the weighting coefficients and times of different tasks defined in the model. The survey results were analyzed with SPSS 15.0. The real traffic data of Turkish airspace for two peak hours period in heavy traffic covering August 2007 was provided by the General Directorate of Turkish airports. Geomedia 6.0 was employed for the visualization of the real traffic data. Findings - The total airspace workload during two peak hours of traffic, estimated reference sector capacity and the number of operational sector were defined and calculated to analyze the distribution of workload among sectors. Practical implications - This study can be used for en route sector design such as decision of the number of operational sectors and planning of sectors capacity in the strategic level. Air traffic control service providers can also refer to this study for human resources and equipment planning. Originality/value - A number of parameters and variables were defined and included in the model by taking into consideration the different service types provided by EATC. All parameters and variables were identified with the task times of the controller. This analytical approach can be applied to those particular airspaces which have different characteristics.