Visualization and analysis of controllers’ working processes in en route air traffic control

Abstract

In order to meet increasing air traffic demands in recent years, skilled air traffic controllers are definitely required. Thus, effective and efficient controller training is a key issue in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) domain. However, the transfer of skills from experienced controllers to ATC trainees is difficult because the working processes of the experienced controllers are based on their implicit knowledge acquired through their working experiences. Toward resolving this difficulty in ATC training, the present research attempts to visualize and analyze a couple of controllers’ working processes for establishing intrail separations between arrival flights using our process visualization tool of ATC tasks. The analysis results illustrate the performance differences of those working processes and their probable causal factors. This fact strongly implies the practical applicability of the visualization tool for supporting the debriefing and discussion concerning the training results of ATC trainees.