Integrated Evaluation of Air Traffic Controller Workload Based on Matter-Element Analysis

A model for evaluating the controller workload was presented based on matter-element analysis, particularly from a mansystem engineering perspective. On the basis of a questionnaire survey, 18 kinds of indexes which influence the controller workload were determined. By establishing the classical field and node field of the controller workload, the correlation function of the controller workload grade was obtained; then the correlation degree and estimated grade of controller workload were given. A case study verifies the feasibility of the proposed evaluation method.

Sectorization Model of Terminal Airspace with Arrival and Departure Separation

Terminal airspace(TMA)is the airspace centering several military and civil aviation airports with complex route structure,limited airspace resources,traffic flow,difficult management and considerable airspace complexity.A scientific and rational sectorization of TMA can optimize airspace resources,and sufficiently utilize the control of human resources to ensure the safety of TMA.The functional sectorization model was established based on the route structure of arriving and departing aircraft as well as controlling requirements.Based on principles of sectorization and topological relations within a network,the arrival and departure sectorization model was established,using tree based ant colony algorithm(ACO)searching.Shanghai TMA was taken as an example to be sectorizaed,and the result showed that this model was superior to traditional ones when arrival and departure routes were separated at dense airport terminal airspace.

Method for Evaluating Instantaneous Sector Capacity

A method for evaluating instantaneous sector capacity based on the workload of air traffic controller(ATC)is developed.The basic characteristics of the assessed sector is described and a model to correlate the workload with the instantaneous sector capacity is developed using workload data.The correlation between the regional sector/approach sector capacity and the traffic flow organization is analyzed.Experimental results show that the instantaneous sector capacity assessment is reasonable and the instantaneous capacity is strongly correlated with the spatial and temporal distributions of the traffic flow and the sector operation mode.These results can provide an important reference for sector operation safety,capacity prediction,air traffic management,and airspace design.

3D Sector Optimum Partition of Airspace

A new method for sector optimum partition of airspace is proposed by dividing the fright altitude into several layers according to the distribution characteristics of the controller＇s workloads in an airspace. On the basis of the original distribution of the waypoints at each level of altitude, the sweel5 line algorithm of Voronoi diagram is used to divide them into certain polygons （ elements）, and the controller＇s workloads are calculated in each Voronoi polygon. Then by the rule about balance of controller＇s workload and by adding conditions of control handover or coordination for the sector, a mathematical model for the controller＇s workload based sector optimization is built. By the model, the Voronoi polygons are optimally partitioned. As a result, a 3D sector optimum partition of the whole airspace is formed by combining the sector optimum partitions at every layer. The actual airspace partition for Xiamen Airport has proved the reasonability and effectiveness of the 3D sector optimum partition of airspace proposed.

Rule based vs Optimization based Workload Control with and without Exogenous Lead Times:An Assessment by Simulation

Order release is a key production planning and control function,specifically in high variety contexts.A large literature on release methods that balance the workload consequently emerged.These Workload Control methods can be rule based,using a simple greedy heuristic,optimization based or optimization based with lead times that are exogenous.Although all three types of methods have the same objective,their performance has never been compared.Using simulation,this study shows that a better on time delivery performance of jobs can be achieved by the two optimization based release methods.Most importantly,optimization based methods that assume lead times to be exogenous significantly outperform alternative methods in terms of tardiness performance.Rule based and optimization based Workload Control without exogenous lead times overemphasize average lateness reduction,which leads to sequence deviations that offset performance improvements through balancing.In contrast,Workload Control methods that assume lead times to be exogenous limit sequence deviations,which leads to a significant reduction in dispersion of lateness.This has important implication for the future design of order release methods,and managerial practice.