The goal of this project is to study the interactions of airline operations control centers (AOCs) with other "players" in the national aviation system. This includes both indirect interactions (where the actions of one person may constrain or impact the actions of another, even though they never directly communicate with one another) and direct interactions (where two or more individuals directly exchange information and discuss actions). To date, this project has included studies involving chief dispatchers, air traffic coordinators, dispatchers and pilots from eight airlines, three ATCSCC (Air Traffic Control Systems Command Center) specialists, and traffic managers from seven TMUs (Traffic Management Units).

A variety of field and laboratory research methods have been employed, ranging from interviews to focus groups to observational studies. In addition, prototype systems have been developed to demonstrate certain design concepts, and to serve as testbeds for the formal empirical evaluation of specific hypotheses.

This work is still in progress. However, as the findings have a direct bearing on certain ongoing FAA and airline programs and activities, we feel that it is important to make results available as quickly as possible. Hence, some of the papers collected here represent thorough discussions of specific research questions, while others are simply preliminary reports on the data that we have collected.

Finally, if it appears that our approach is very broad, that is because it is. During the evolution of our research, we have found that the aviation system has become so tightly coupled that many important issues can only be effectively studied by looking at the interactions of individuals at AOCs, in the cockpit, at ATCSCC and at TMUs. As the included papers illustrate, however, taking a broad approach does not imply that only vague conclusions can be drawn. Our findings provide detailed discussions of the factors underlying successful interactions in the current aviation system, as well proposals for potential improvement. These discussions clearly highlight human factors as a continuing major concern in designing a safe and efficient aviation system, and identify ways in which the design of the overall system (including FAA and airline policies and procedures, staff training and selection, task allocation, information exchange and display, and the design of technological support tools) affects the perf ormances of individuals at the airlines and at the FAA.

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