Summary

The ATS section of the Technical Professional Manual is robust in policies and some of them need updating. These updates range from small grammar fixes to major overhaul or deletion.

Introduction

1.1. The ATS section of the Technical Professional Manual (TPM) contains policies back 30 years, some of which are in need of minor edits to current documents whereas others need major overhaul.

1.2. Edits must also be made to ensure continuity and harmonization of word usage. This paper details only the editorials that are needed within the ATS section of the TPM.

Discussion

2.1. The TPM contains many policies, some of which date back to its inception. Due to changes in technology and application among other matters there is a need for a book wide update.

2.1.1. This paper outlines edits that amount to minor word changes to work toward harmonization with ICAO documents.

2.1.2. Some of the existing policies also feature definitions that are not within in the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM and should be placed there. There should be a hyperlink featured within the policy leading to the definition itself.

2.1.3. There are a few policies which are currently within the TPM that do not propose any specific action or requirement but rather just state the definition. These policies are proposed for movement as well as the information is still useful and valid but may not be a policy unto its own.

2.2. ATS 3.3 – Harmonization of the Airspace Classification.

2.2.1. Within the opening of the policy the phrase, “MA’s shall urge ATS Authorities,” ATS Authorities is referring to the ANSP or ANSPs, which is the appropriate term to use. The proposed revision is “MAs shall urge ANSP(s).”:

2.3. ATS 3.4 – Standardisation of Regional Transition Altitudes.

2.3.1. This policy needs a minor edit to include “shall” prior to the words “be implemented” to correct the phrase to viable English:

2.4. ATS 3.7 – Sector Capacity Values.

2.4.1. This policy goes so far as to state “defines” in reference to the 2 definitions. Therefore, it is suggested to place these definitions within the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM:

2.5. ATS 3.8 – ATC within ICAO Assigned International Airspace.

2.5.1. This paragraph needs a few minor grammatic editorials. The first line is missing the word “shall” prior to “not”, it should be adapted to “shall not”. Additionally, the capitalization of the word NOT should be remedied to a lower case for consistency. For further clarity the simple / marks should be altered to say and/or.

2.6. ATS 3.9 – Radar Monitoring.

2.6.1. The first sentence of this policy needs an edit for harmonization with the rest of the manual. The abbreviation of PBN should be housed between parenthesis, such as (PBN). The revised sentence would read, “Any introduction of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) routes that are closely spaced should be subjected to safety analysis.”

2.6.2. This policy needs updating and edits beyond the scope of this paper and it is therefore suggested that it be added to the upcoming TOC working program.

2.7. ATS 3.13 – Mixed Mode Operations.

2.7.1. The first sentence reads more as a definition than policy and should be moved to the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM. This is also beneficial since such a definition is not already included.

2.7.2. There is a small edit that needs to be made in the final sentence of the policy, which should be reworded to read “shall take place to ensure that the change in the ATM system does not increase controller workload to an unacceptable level.” The replacement of the word “must” with “shall” is to continue harmonization with ICAO literature.

2.8. ATS 3.14 – Virtual Centers and Functional Airspace Blocks.

2.8.1. This section needs several editorial changes. The title of the policy, “Virtual Centers and Functional Airspace Blocks,” uses the Americanized spelling of centre, which should be corrected for uniformity.

2.8.2. In the first sentence, the word “must” is replaced by the word “shall” to maintain continuity within the TPM and conformity with ICAO.

2.8.3. In second sentence, the word “and” is missing between operational and legal.

2.9. ATS 3.17 – The Use of Safety Nets in ATM.

2.9.1. The first part of the policy reads as more of a definition than policy and would fit better within the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM.

2.10. ATS 3.18 – Controller Tools.

2.10.1. The current policy amounts to more of a definition than a standalone policy and therefore should be moved to the Acronym and Terms section of the TPM.

2.11. ATS 3.19 – Conflict Detection Tools.

2.11.1. The first 2 sentences read as more of a definition than policy and should be moved to the Acronym and Terms section of the TPM.

2.11.2. In the final section of the policy, the word “must” needs to be replaced by “shall” to continue conformity with ICAO documents.

2.12. ATS 3.21 – Area Proximity Warnings.

2.12.1. This current policy is a definition rather than a policy and should be relocated to the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM.

2.13. ATS 3.22 – Route Conformance Monitoring Systems (RCMS).

2.13.1. This existing policy goes so far as to list itself as definitions; as such this policy will be moved to the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM.

2.14. ATS 3.30 –Air Traffic Flow Management – Implementation.

2.14.1. One minor edit is required to keep consistency in grammar throughout the policy of changing “Procedures should be in place” to “Procedures are in place.”

2.15. ATS 3.33 – Merging and Sequencing Concepts.

2.15.1. The bulk of the policy remains strong and valid with the need of a small alteration. The need for the system capability may not be present in all cases but can be crucial in some scenarios. Therefore, the final bullet point needs to be amended to read:

2.16. ATS 3.38 – Terrain and Obstacle Clearance Responsibilities.

2.16.1. “Must” will be changed to “shall” throughout the policy for continued harmonization with ICAO documents.

2.16.2. Within the first paragraph it is proposed to further change “air crew” to “crew”.

2.17. ATS 3.43 – Crisis Management.

2.17.1. The current policy utilizes the phrase OCIR without it being defined either within the phrase or within the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM.

2.17.2. It is proposed to add an IFATCA specific definition including a graphical definition of OCIR to the Acronyms and Terms section of the TPM. The proposed definition would read:

2.18. ATS 3.44 – Moving to a New Facility.

2.18.1. The first point of the list should say defining in lieu of define since it is the controllers that will be doing the work, and for consistency with the other bullet points.

2.18.2. For continuity within the list, item b) should have a period at the end.

Conclusions

3.1. There are many policies in need of review which ranges from minor edits to being placed in a totally different section of the TPM.

Recommendations

4.1. It is recommended that the abovementioned sections of the Technical and Professional Manual (TPM) be amended accordingly, as described in Section 2 of this working paper.

References

IFATCA. (2019). IFATCA Technical and Professional Manual (TPM). 2019 Ed. Montréal, Canada: International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations.