United States Department of Transportation
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A Handbook for Effective Signaling in Air Traffic Control Phase 2: Signaling Philosophy
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2021-09-01
[PDF-685.98 KB]
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Edition:Final Report: Phase 2; October 1, 2020-September 30, 2021
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Abstract:An air traffic control (ATC) facility is a dynamic, high-stress environment that requires that controllers rapidly detect problems and make time-critical decisions. Signals (alarms, alerts, and warnings) are essential for alerting controllers to potential collisions and other adverse events, but they can increase operators’ response times and decrease their response rates (so-called alarm fatigue). To inform our project to create a handbook of design guidance for design and use of ATC signals, we have developed a signaling design philosophy that can enhance the effectiveness of signals in the ATC environment. We used reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) over a 6-year interval from 2015 to 2020 and structured interviews to understand the complexity of the controller’s tasks in the context of potentially high-consequence situations and events. (Ruskin et al., 2021) We found 370 relevant reports that we analyzed for hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections. We then conducted structured interviews with former controllers to further explore the role of signals in air traffic control. We are now using this information to develop strategies that can enhance signaling modalities (e.g., new auditory, visual, and tactile signals) and guide the ways that these signals are used. This signaling philosophy will be our roadmap for the next phase of the project, which is the development of a handbook for ATC signal design.
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