Our engineers design, construct and sustain more than 600 towers and TRACONs, en
route centers, combined contr ol facilities , and thousands of communication, navigation,
radar , and surveillance sites across the country.
ATO engineers were essential in our commissioning of new control towers this past year
at San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Tucson. These towers were designed with green
fixtures that reduce energy costs and environmental impact. To construct towers, design
engineers review drawings to ensure that building systems are installed according to
code. Project engineers work with the contractor to ensure tha t the tower is built
according to the approved design.
We also have engineers working in all phases of program management and project
execution. They design and procure systems that support our NextGen transformation.
They conduct safety analysis to miti gate any potential risks that can come from
introducing new systems into the live operation. When controllers tell us what
capabilities and functions they need from a new system, our engineers translate those
requirements into contract specifications that are used to execute the procurement.
Engineers in Technical Operations install and integrate these newly procured systems
into the NAS and employ strong operational risk management strategies throughout the
design, installation , and integration phases of t he project.
Focus FAA is running a series of articles this week about ATO engineers who are
supporting programs like TAMR, ADS - B, SWIM, Runway Status Lights , and others.
Engineers tend to look at systems and ask "Why?" They want to know what makes
things work, and how they can be made to work better. These are traits that we can
model. These are the traits that inspired them to come to the FAA.
As we think about the c ontributions of our engineers, let's also reflect on the various
skills and strengths within our workforce – like communication, critical thinking, team -
building, administrative, leadership, management, and technical skills, among others.
Because of our pe ople, the ATO leads the safest, most efficien t airspace system in the
world.
Thanks everyone!
Teri L. Bristol ATO Chief Operating Officer
