Signal Design Handbook: A New Framework for Designing Alarms, Alerts, and Warnings in Air Traffic Control

Details

• Creators:
  Ruskin, Keith J. ; Ruskin, Anna Clebone
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Chicago. Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of NextGen
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Air Traffic Control Alarm Systems Audible Warning Devices Automation Design Taxonomy
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration
• Abstract:
  The Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control organization (ATO) encompasses a variety of facilities that include towers, terminal radar approach control facilities (TRACONs), and air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs). Air traffic controllers use alarms, alerts, and warnings (collectively, signals) as an aid to situation awareness and to reduce cognitive workload. We have written a handbook that offers guidance for the creation or modification of air traffic control system alarms, alerts, and warnings using a process that encourages collaboration between controllers, system designers and human factors experts. The novel Signal Design Framework described in this handbook uses a structured interview with operational subject matter experts (i.e., air traffic controllers) and an objective scoring sheet to develop a series of specifications that can be used to modify an existing signal or design a new signal. This framework provides a common language that subject matter experts, system designers, and engineers can use to describe, classify, and objectively evaluate signals. We tested and validated the Signal Design Framework and its associated structured interview during Phase 4 when we developed a new microburst alarm and a trajectory conformance alarm. This project provides the ATO with the tools to develop signals to keep the United States’ National Airspace System the safest in the world.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  692M151940006
• Collection(s):
  Federal Aviation Administration FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fd78899fa72b7785526d47bc134f13e0550e90df052148db7ad93703e33c91ee969faef325bedd988fb103b65c1579517c81fafe593192e459315c646a9c62e4
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89540/dot_89540_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 808.15 KB ]