Title: Change management in the ATM system: integrating information in the preliminary system safety assessment

Authors: Riccardo Patriarca; Giulio Di Gravio; Maurizio Mancini; Francesco Costantino

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Via Eudossiana, 18 – 00184 Rome, Italy ' Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Via Eudossiana, 18 – 00184 Rome, Italy ' ENAV S.p.A, Via Salaria, 716 – 00138 Rome, Italy ' Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Via Eudossiana, 18 – 00184 Rome, Italy

Abstract: The increasing air transport demand suggests looking at air traffic management (ATM) as a continuously and evolving process. The procedures and equipment we use today will not continue coping with next air traffic requirements. It is thus necessary to provide ATM services for the current operating scenarios. This paper proposes a systematic tool, i.e., the preliminary system safety assessment tool (PSSA-T) to help the decision makers in evaluating safety implications of system changes. PSSA-T relies on the definition of two indexes, based on the aerospace performance factor (APF) methodology. These indexes allow a structured safety analysis of any proposed change: the first compares the evolutionary scenario with the current one and the second one considers the effects of a failure of the changed agent (equipment or procedure) in a future scenario. The paper illustrates a case study for the flight progress strip (FPS) change to electronic FPS.

Keywords: airspace change; air traffic management; ATM; risk assessment; decision making; subject matter experts; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; aerospace performance factor; APF; change management; information integration; preliminary system safety assessment; system changes; flight progress strip; electronic FPS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJADS.2016.080123

International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences, 2016 Vol.9 No.2, pp.121 - 138

Received: 09 Mar 2016
Accepted: 30 Jun 2016
Published online: 02 Nov 2016 *

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