The Effects of Performance Feedback on Air Traffic Control Team Coordination: A Simulation Study

Civil Aerospace Medical Institute2000PDFTech ReportBailey, L. L.Thompson, R. C.United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace MedicineUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUnited StatesAir traffic controllersComputer aided instructionPerformance evaluationsSimulationTrainingAir traffic controlTeamworkDOT/FAA/AM-00/25Final ReportThis study examines the efficacy of team members observing a computer playback of their performance as a training tool in building effective air traffic control (ATC) teams. Participants performed various simulated radar-based ATC tasks under varying levels of aircraft density. The results suggest that observing a computer playback of one's team performance enabled team members to gain a system's perspective of how their performance both affects and is affected by others. This perspective enabled team members to better coordinate their individual efforts, which thereby led to improvements in team cohesion and in the percentage of aircraft that reached their destination within the time constraints of a given scenario. However, as aircraft density increased, these improvements began to diminish. Additional specialized training may be necessary for ATC teams to improve their coordination during periods of high workload.120