Operational Monitoring: A Definition, a model, a scale, and some results

Abstract

Today’s control rooms and cockpits are very different from those of only a few years ago, and thus may require different operator’s abilities and skills. DLR has been conducting studies to identify the abilities and skills requirements for operators in NextGen and SESAR settings. In workshops with pilots and air traffic controllers, monitoring was identified as increasingly important, and so was the focus of simulations in a linked air/ground environment, and of experiments using an abstract traffic flow task. A scale for ‘operational monitoring’ using Fleishman’s Job Analysis Survey, and a model of expert’s monitoring behavior were postulated and extensively tested. The scale was also included in a large study with pilots, air traffic controllers, military radar and reporting personnel, and with console operators working in the control room of a large oil refinery. Results demonstrate the relevance of Operational Monitoring across the different jobs.