NEWSLETTER -
WINTER 2005
After many months of "due process"
we are delighted to announce that 
has been registered as a Community Trademark within the EU.
We set great store by our brand and are continually working to ensure that it is supported by the quality of work and integrity for which it was designed. This registration will help to ensure that we cannot be confused with other companies across the whole of the EU.
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IN THIS ISSUE...
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Articles
If you are interested in any of the issues and solutions discussed in this
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Icon has now completed the business case for SEAP (Large Scale European ADS pre-implementation Programme). The main objective of SEAP is to extend the European ADS network to enable large scale Trans European trials involving fleet equipped aircraft. The main benefit identified for ANSPs was reduction in controller workload and the main benefit for airlines was an increase in flight efficiency.
Using a conservative set of assumptions, a strong case was established for the SEAP ANSPs to invest in ADS-B technology and implement the SEAP applications in the SEAP area. Provided ANSP benefits are passed onto airlines as a reduction in service charges, an attractive internal rate of return is also available for airlines. The study found that there is strong case for an incentive scheme that returns benefits selectively to those airlines that invest in the equipment and encourages early investment.
The following ADS applications will be implemented in the SEAP area.
The SEAP Business Case was evaluated using the EMOSIA methodology and
ATOBIA mode,l and benefits were quantified using expert judgement.
EMOSIA
The European Model for Strategic ATM Investment Analysis
(EMOSIA) is a standard method for carrying out cost benefit analyses of
ATM investments, supported by a tool based on the 'Decision Advisor'
program. It is now the method of choice for Eurocontrol for the
evaluations of investment options. ICON is a major practitioner in the use
of EMOSIA. We have used it in the assessment of the SEAP business case. We
will be also using it to carry out the Cost Benefit Analyses of DMEAN and
C-ATM and A-SMGCS.
The EMOSIA method consists of three main elements:
DMEAN
Icon has been awarded the contract to carry out a cost
benefit analyses of DMEAN.
The DMEAN objective is to release latent ATM capacity by closer integration of a number of ATM areas such as Airspace Management and ATFCM as needed to meet capacity and flight efficiency requirements 2006-2009. Given these time scales, DMEAN will not depend on new technologies but will be based on an improved utilisation of the current ATM system. This will be achieved through enhanced collaborative processes, information exchange and other improvements that are required to balance demand and capacity in a more dynamic way.
The DMEAN CBA is to be carried out in two stages. The first it to look
at short-term operational improvements for 2006/7, and the secod is to
carry out a full assessment of the cost and benefits of the DMEAN CONOPs.
More information on the DMEAN concept can be found on the
DMEAN
home page.
Performance
of Future Concepts
Icon has long been associated with the performance of air traffic
management and we are currently looking at how the performance of future
concepts should be identified. Given the intensive effort about to be put
into SESAME, this work is of the essence. Our opening proposition is that
the traditional approach to identifying new concepts by identifying
potential changes to technologies and procedures is no longer appropriate.
Future systems should be designed by identifying a target set of industry
performance measures and then carrying out option appraisals to determine
how best to achieve them.
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Going
for S-CAT
UK Government is retendering the Frameworks through which
it procures much of its management and IT consulting. ICON has joined with
other small companies to bid. So far so good. We will continue to
concentrate on our core expertise of strategic, policy and financial
analyses, the use of future technologies and commercial, procurement and
programme management in complex environments. If we achieve the success we
are expecting there will be more opportunities for suitably qualified
consultants. Please feel free to contact us if your expertise matches our
services and you have an interest in working in UK Government
organisations. We would be particularly interested in hearing from
consultants who have current experience of this work.
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OGC
Framework
We are delighted to announce that the UK Office of
Government Commerce has appointed Icon as a supplier for framework reviews
and consulting. Details of the OGC services may be found on
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?id=377
and http://www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1000332
There is currently an open call for Gateway Review Team Leaders for all
Sectors and for Gateway Team Members for Health. If you feel that you have
the necessary expertise to carry out reviews please contact us.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Management
of Business Case Evidence
The key element of a successful business case to justify
major capital investment is the ability to demonstrate the benefits that
can be derived from an economically viable solution. This can be difficult
to achieve, especially when it involves the research, development and
implementation of complex new concepts and products.
Validation is the process by which evidence is obtained that the "right" solution is being developed. It is part of classic system engineering lifecycles where validation is seen as one of the final activities to test whether a system meets the original user needs. In reality this is too simplistic a model because most complex systems and products are developed in an iterative and evolutionary way; therefore, validation should be performed throughout the lifecycle to support the go/no go decisions on further development. It is important to distinguish validation from verification, which is the process that tests whether a product has been built as specified in the design phase.
The term validation has slightly different meanings in certain industries, such as nuclear and healthcare, where it refers to formal processes, dictated by regulation, which lead to the certification of products to national and international standards, for example, the testing and trials of pharmaceutical products.
In general, evidence gathering and interpretation for business justification increases in complexity with the complexity of the product and concept. Evidence can be obtained from any point in the product development lifecycle, using a variety of techniques (e.g. paper based research, prototyping, simulations, in-vitro and in-vivo trials, pre-operational testing), each focusing on different aspects using different indicators and metrics to measure results. A huge amount of data can be generated from these activities, some of which is fully or partially overlapping in scope, can be contradictory and which may or may not be relevant for the business case. The data becomes even more voluminous and problematic when it has been generated in a multi-national, multi-partner environment.
Icon has been involved in developing methodical approaches to managing validation information to support decision making in exactly this kind of environment. For example, we have played a central role in the successful development and operation of the Validation Data Repository (VDR) for EUROCONTROL which has significantly improved the information management of validation activities in Air Traffic Management System development (see attached case study).
If
you are interested to find out more about how Icon could advise you on
managing validation processes, please at contact us at enquiries@icon-consulting.com.
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Noise
With Directive 2002/30/EC now translated into law by Member States,
airports are faced with a fresh set of challenges in balancing the
management of increasing air traffic and better relations with their
neighbours. National responsibilities under the Chicago Convention dictate
that states cannot promote tougher noise standards for aircraft
unilaterally. Long-established airports close to major cities may have
already conducted major campaigns for insulation and even property buy
out. Local or national land-use planning policies have been used to
prevent inappropriate local developments, which might otherwise conflict
with local housing, schools and hospitals. But the problem of managing a
response to traffic growth remains, especially when most major airports in
the EU are served with aircraft which already comply with the new ICAO
Chapter 4 standards. Evidence is accumulating that noise certification
levels are not always the most reliable guide to operational performance.
The challenge is greatest at night when ambient noise levels may be much
lower.
How aircraft are flown during approach and departure, and where, will be critical to controlling noise impact and curbing annoyance. Some practices such as noise preferential routes or appropriately glide slopes are widely used today. In future technology may allow specially tailored noise abatement procedures at each airport, purpose designed with the distribution and densities of local population in mind. But that is for tomorrow; today the paramount requirement for safety, through the frameworks provided by PANS-OPS and JAR-OPS, means the emphasis has to be on best practice. Working with ATC providers and airlines offers the opportunity to ensure that appropriate noise abatement procedures are used and complied with, without compromising safety. Airports should be actively considering adopting an audit of current practice to check that optimum benefits in terms of noise reductions are both available theoretically and delivered.
Readers may have noticed the publication of the following letter in Flight International (9-15 August 2005), by an Icon associate, Martin Wright.
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Chapter 4 is no panacea for today's airports in the EU (Airbus sounds out A300B4 for Chapter 4: Flight International 9-15 August p10). The ink is barely dry on Chapter 4 but the search to re-certificate types originally noise certificated to Chapter 3 over 30 years ago spells more trouble. Most of today's production aircraft already meet Chapter 4. The expectation is that new aircraft will also operate for 30 years and more. Rapid growth of air traffic poses the threat of larger noise contours at airports where fleets are already wholly or largely Chapter 4 compliant. The noise certification regime also does not necessarily rank aircraft in terms of how much noise they make in normal operation. Yes, aircraft have got quieter and considerable effort has been committed to squeeze out a few decibels here and there. But the plain truth is that technology has not delivered a step change to match that from the higher bypass ratio engines originally developed to power big airframes such as the Boeing 747. That change allowed ICAO to agree Chapter 3 and shrank contours, especially with concerted action to phase out non-compliant types. Permitting elderly, marginally compliant aircraft to operate, particularly in noise sensitive night-time settings, simply compounds airports' difficulties with their neighbours |
Safety Culture
Icon's
report
(prepared in association with HRA) into changes in ATM Safety Culture as a
result of new technology has now been published.
This report describes a small-scale project about the impact that future
ATM technologies may have on safety culture in ATM. The overall objectives
of this project were to:
Changes in safety culture were discussed with regard to recently
introduced technologies (such as OLDI, STCA, Human-Machine Interface) and
future technologies (such as MTCD (medium term conflict detection), CORA
(conflict resolution assistant), datalink and ASAS (airborne separation
assurance system). The main findings suggest that teamwork and
communication appear to be particularly vulnerable to change, although
controllers also indicated that there is high chance that their
understanding of the risks and their job satisfaction may change with new
technology. Controllers trust in equipment, personal responsibility for
safety and job pressure were also predicted to change with the
implementation of new technology.
Icon Consulting, 2Fl, Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London W1J
6BD
tel: +44 (0) 207 494 9994 | email:
enquiries@icon-consulting.com