Electronic Flight Bags - A Human Factors Approach: Analyse ihrer Auswirkung auf die Arbeitsbelastung der Cockpit Crew und des Auftretens von Anomalien, die eine Gefahr für die sichere Flugdurchführung darstellen

Abstract

When Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) were first introduced in the cockpit, their major purpose was to replace documents and paper forms which were previously stored in the aircraft or carried by the pilots. Since the early 2000s commercial airlines have been introducing EFBs in their normal flight operations and they are quickly becoming multi-function devices that allow pilots to calculate aircraft performance figures, display aeronautical charts, access checklists (etc.). Being a relatively new addition to the cockpit, there are not much data available in the literature regarding the impact that EFBs are having in flight safety, specially when used for complex tasks performed under high workload phases of flight. As airlines and aircraft manufacturers seek approval to expand the scope of operational uses of the EFB, it is important to perform an assessment from a human factors perspective. The aim of this thesis is to assess the influence of the EFB on flight crew workload and safety aspects that endanger a safe flight operation. Furthermore the thesis primarily deals with the Lufthansa EFB. In order to achieve this goal, a focus group of five pilots was formed, who both have practical experience with the EFB and the traditional, paper-based cockpit. Individual, face to face interviews were conducted to gain insights and assessments of the pilots with regard to the objectives of this thesis. After the transcription and analysis of these five guided interviews the EFB can be described as an achievement for today’s flight operation. It could be shown that the implementation of the EFB resulted in a strong reduction in flight crew workload and can be assessed as not critical for the safe flight operation. However, since the EFB has become a substantial component in the cockpit over the last decade, it still has potential for optimization in some areas. This starts with the training, which is not sufficient both in scope and content. Also the Electronic Flight Folder has to be reworked with a view to a more ergonomic design. In addition to the continuous improvement of the application structure or respectivly a more intuitive handling of the system, the deeper integration of the EFB into the cockpit systems would be a future-oriented step and has to be reviewed. Due to the limited time frame of this thesis the elaboration of possible approaches to solutions and further optimization concepts was not the subject of this thesis. This can be worked out by the future researches to further exploit the potential of the EFB.