CAATS - Cooperative Approach to Air Traffic Services
Overview
Background & policy context:
The European Commission launched a new paradigm shift 'collaborative decision-making in a complete air and airport environment, including innovative research to increase the efficiency of air transport service provision' and wanted it to be applied across the European Commission's Sixth Framework (FP6) Ait Traffic Management (ATM) projects. This implied the co-ordination of the processes and methodologies and concerned the following research areas in FP6:
- co-operative ATM;
- advanced airborne system applications;
- reduced separation minima;
- airport efficiency;
- advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System;
- advanced approach and landing concepts;
- innovative ATM research.
CAATS intended to gather, expand and refine the knowledge produced by the FP6 projects in these areas (avoiding overlapping and gaps) and in other relevant projects (e.g. FP5, Eurocontrol). Knowledge was consolidated by a small team of focused experts and then disseminated on a broad scale. On the basis of all the information obtained in CAATS, best practice manuals were produced.
Objectives:
The main objective of the Cooperative Approach to Air Traffic Services (CAATS) was the coordination of processes and methodologies across ATM related projects of FP6in relation to Safety, Human Factors and Validation domains. The most significant output of CAATS was the achievement of a coordinated, cooperative European approach to ATM research and technical support in the mentioned domains.
The projects focused in the Safety, Human Factors and Validation research areas began on the basis of the knowledge that was achieved previously and all, in turn, produced new knowledge. The knowledge produced so far in previous projects has been only loosely coordinated. As the time for actual deployment of the new systems and applications approached, it became indispensable to take a coordinated approach to the knowledge produced across the EC's proposed research areas.
Best practice manuals were produced, to be used not only by EC projects but also by other interested stakeholders. The aim was to provide a coordinated approach by all FP6 projects to achieve the EC's paradigm shift. CAATS also identified issues not yet covered, recommending, achieving or coordinating further developments. CAATS improved the co-ordination and support amongst the projects in order to avoid disruptive and expensive overlapping.
Methodology:
The methodology used was collecting, collating, analysing and harmonising the knowledge produced by FP6 projects in the areas of Safety, Human Factors and Validation with the aim to identify best practices or gaps/needs for improvement.
A specialised team was assigned to each of these areas consisting of Team Members and Team Experts. Associated Measures Experts were also available to assist the members of the team in particular subjects.
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