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Julio Henriques, NATCA's National ERAM Implementation Representative and New York Center (ZNY) Facility Representative Julio Henriques and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx 11 NextGen Now | Summer 2015 come from pushing the process down to the local facility level. This is true with ERAM and many other issues." NATCA Northwest Mountain Regional Vice President Jim Ullmann, who this summer is completing his tenure on the NATCA National Executive Board, helped lead its ERAM efforts, said despite the completion of the nationwide deployment, the hard work is only just beginning. "As we look back over the last five-plus years, and reflect upon the successful deployment of ERAM in 20 of our nation's en route centers, it is easy to believe the hard work is done. But in the world of modernization, nothing can be further from the truth," he said. "There are an amazing number of ongoing and upcoming NextGen programs that will have to be integrated into the ERAM platform. With the tireless efforts and hard work of many who work on these programs comes the need for these subject matter experts and NATCA representatives to be afforded the time to participate. There were a large number of people involved in ensuring ERAM was delivered safely and efficiently, and future programs will also need such dedicated and consistent involvement." Ullmann also addressed the relationship between controller staffing and modernization efforts in the National Airspace System, highlighting the challenges that are emerging. "Many are aware of the ongoing staffing situation in our air traffic control facilities, and the difficulty associated with short-staffed facilities being able to release select and qualified subject matter experts, and appointed labor representatives, from the air traffic operations," he said. "As we continue to work collaboratively with the agency and our aviation stakeholders, we must all push to ensure the consistent availability of qualified members of the workforce to participate in the design, training, and implementation of NextGen projects and future NAS modernization. I believe this commitment will help ensure all future programs are given the best possible chance to be fully successful."

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