Design implications for teamwork in ATC

Abstract

In air traffic control (ATC), teamwork is a key component among air traffic control operators (ATCOs) to safely direct the aircraft through the sky and on the ground. To be able to design for future ATC systems, we must understand how ATCOs work together, their teamwork, and how they experience and perceive teamwork, in different ATC environments. We conducted interviews with 16 ATCOs working in four different ATC environments (en-route control, terminal area control, tower control for a small airport and tower control for a large airport in Sweden) and analysed the results in the light of the "Big Five" model of teamwork. The main contributions of this paper are to show: (1) how eight teamwork factors are differently manifested by the ATCOs in the different ATC environments, (2) that teamwork in ATC is important during routine operations, during stressful work, and during abnormal situations, and (3) that the design of the organisation, the environment, and the tools, affects teamwork and the importance of different teamwork factors.

Automation, teamwork, and the feared loss of safety

“…The Big Five model was used as a foundation for the human-human teamwork and human-automation teamwork questions. However, in ATC, the team orientation factor can be taken for granted, since selected and trained professionals and the ability to work in a team is a prerequisite [27]. This aspect was, therefore, excluded from the present study.…”

“…A team can be seen as a set of two or more people who interact with each other in a dynamic way, and who adaptively work toward a common goal [41], and satisfying teamwork between team members can enhance performance [27]. However, with the introduction of automation, at least at higher levels where automation acts more as an agent, comes also the introduction of human-automation teamwork for the operator to stay in the control loop [32].…”

“…The Big Five model has been applied in various contexts, such as in learning environments [44], in army peace-keeping teams [45], in project teams [46], and for fighter pilots teamwork experiences [47]. Regarding ATCO teamwork, it was found that mutual trust was the most important teamwork factor followed by adaptability and shared mental models [27].…”

“…Moreover, with increased automation, it becomes relevant to include teamwork perspective on automation, rather than strictly viewing automation as a tool for the operator to use. This has been recognised in previous studies, which have suggested designing for human-automation teamwork [26] with automation designed in relation to proficient use by the ATCOs [17,23], and for teamwork between operators [27]. However, few studies have recently addressed ATCOs' experience of current ATM systems.…”

Empirical study of Team Usability Testing: a laboratory experiment

“…In the study of Svensson et al (2019), only interview data of different working roles in an airport were used to recommend design implications.…”