Limiting workloads to acceptable levels is not just a matter or work-life balance. Air traffic control service providers need to ensure that high controller workloads do not adversely affect safety, capacity or productivity.
NATS has extensive operational experience in optimising systems design to keep workloads at acceptable levels while maximising safety and cost-effectiveness, and has developed PUMA (Performance and Usability Modelling in ATM), a methodology and supporting computer-based toolset for modelling ATM tasks. PUMA represents the most sophisticated toolset of its kind currently available.
Using the PUMA workload algorithm, predictions can be made concerning workload enhancements associated with modelled tasks, so that where a series of actions are identified as causing high workload, they can be restructured in a logical way so as to achieve the same result but with a lower workload. This can be done by adjusting ATM procedures so that either the actions to be undertaken, or the timing of those actions, will result in a reduction of workload. A full description of PUMA terms and the way in which they interrelate can be found in the PUMA User Guide (available from NATS).
