A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/876590
predict and prevent them, there will be disruptions to normal operations due to events beyond our ability to control and outside of any possible prediction…things that we can't possibly see coming. Like invisible fumes from a roof construction project that made it into the control room at Washington Center, arson at Chicago Center, hurricanes, earthquakes an d tornadoes — random acts of nature and manmade events will continue to create disruptions to the NAS we can't plan for specifically. But if we start thinking about everything we do with an eye for our contingency operations, we can be better prepared when an ATC - 0 event does occur. With that objective in mind, we're continuing our emphasis on contingency planning, including using demonstration events to better prepare for a real - life emergency scenario. The first of these demonstrations took place last w eek — a simulated outage at Fort Worth Center (ZFW) with certain operations being transferred to Memphis Center (ZME). To ensure we are leveraging these efforts to benefit our national plans in a comprehensive and collaborative fashion, Jim Linney in Sys tems Operations has been working across the ATO and with NATCA and PASS to lead ATO's contingency efforts. It's impossible to be able to simulate every possible ATC - 0 scenario, but in the event of an outage, we need to be able to draw upon off - the - shelf vi able contingency plans to make informed decisions on how to respond, recover , and restore operations based on the set of circumstances we face at that moment. From the ZFW/ZME demonstration we aim to create a realistic concept of operations template for an ATC - 0 event at an En Route Center that could be replicated at other facilities. These demonstrations take into account what would need to happen from surveillance, communications and automation perspectives when the unexpected occurs. Considerations suc h as how long it would take to build a new version of ERAM, determine staffing requirements, the specific route structure needed…and how many shout - lines would need to be opened between facilities, whether or not there's enough chairs and available worksta tions for controllers, and if critical infrastructure is co - located on a single floor within a facility. Each ATO service unit will provide input and information in order to make these simulations as realistic as possible. If we can anticipate some of th e known variables at a specific facility, like how a controller would handle the traffic patterns in and out of DFW from a seat at ZME, we can offset the impact of the unknown variables accompanying the outage. Whether it involves upgrades to software or hardware, or changes to programs or procedures, there are a lot of details involved in developing contingency operations. That's why we're going to continue to focus on contingency and conduct ATC - 0 demonstrations and drills at all our facilities through this year as we seek to increase the knowledge and levels of resiliency we need to lessen the overall impact of ATC - 0 events. Thanks everyone! Teri L. Bristol ATO Chief Operating Officer