COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING (CDM) Testimony before the National Civil Aviation Review Commission

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COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING (CDM)Testimony
before the National Civil Aviation Review
Commission

• Testimony of Chris Pear
• Manager of Flight Dispatch Operations
• United Airlines
• Testimony of Rich Falcone
• Manager Technical Operations
• American Airlines
• Reviewer Jianfeng Wang (Jeffrey)
• George Mason University
• February 2, 2005

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Outline

• COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING (CDM)
• Background
• What is CDM?
• Why CDM?
• How CDM works?
• Conclusion

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Background

• The White House Commission on Aviation Safety
  and Security has called for "a strong
  government-industry partnership . . .needed to
  develop and integrate the research, standards,
  regulations, procedures and infrastructure needed
  to support the aviation system of the future."
  (Final report to President Clinton, February
  1997).

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What is CDM?

• CDM is a philosophy of business, based upon
  information exchange and collaboration between
  government and industry, used to create a safer
  and more efficient (NAS).

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Why CDM?

• Main purpose safety
• The potential benefits of this type of
  collaborative effort are significant both
  economically and functionally.

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How CDM works?

• the CDM Implementation Group oversees three
  sub-groups to conceptualize and implement
  specific aspects of CDM
• Ground Delay Program Enhancements (GDPE)
• NAS Status Information
• Collaborative Routing

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How CDM works?

• All CDM incentives rely on information exchange
  and collaboration between government and industry
• AOCnet
• Airline Operational Control Centers (AOCs)
• Air Traffic Control System Command Center
  (ATCSCC)
• Volpe National Transportation Center

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GROUND DELAY PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS (GDPE)

• Most mature, scheduled to go into prototype
  operations at San Francisco and Newark airports
  this winter
• Applications
• to determine what changes are needed in policies
  and procedures, as well as modifications and
  enhancements to the actual infrastructure (i.e.
  FSM, ETMS database, AOCnet).
• Flight Schedule Monitor (FSM), enables NAS users
  to view operational constraints and information
  from the AOCnet
• Both AOCs and ATCSCC can perform "what if"
  analyses
• The safety benefits are still being realized
• To allow controllers more time to view varied NAS
  scenarios and choose the safest method to avoid
  constraints. For example, airlines are using FSM
  to predict flight fuel needs

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NAS STATUS INFORMATION

• To provide critical safety related information
  that is currently not available to all users or
  is currently not disseminated in a timely manner.
  
• Through the AOCnet, information can be rapidly
  distributed to all necessary parties, so that ATC
  and flight operators and crews may make necessary
  changes to flight operations.

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COLLABORATIVE ROUTING

• To make FAA explore alternative technologies and
  techniques which will allow FAA flow managers and
  aircraft operators to engage in a more effective
  collaborative decision making process than verbal
  communications
• (1) create a system allowing ATC and the users to
  negotiate routes which avoid congestion and
  delays in the NAS
• (2) allow users and ATC to negotiate routes that
  avoid adverse weather while minimizing negative
  impacts on the NAS

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Conclusion

• The CDM concepts are destined to become the first
  initiatives of the Free Flight Action Plan to
  come to fruition and they establish a new
  philosophy in air traffic management through a
  cooperative decision making approach. Never
  before have such positive and mutually beneficial
  accomplishments been witnessed than what has
  occurred because of the collaboration between FAA
  and airlines in recent years.