HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013

Subcommittee on Human Factors |MINUTES

Meeting date | time 2/26-2/28 | 

Meeting location JMA Headquarters, Washington, DC

Purpose: Human Factors Guidance review for FY 2015 R&D Budget

February 26, 2013

Dr. Tom Prevot, Acting Subcommittee Chair welcomed the Subcommittee. Dr. Paul Krois 

introduced Dr. Rachel Seely, a new staff member with the Human Factors Division and provided 

a summary of the recent Human Factors Coordinating Committee meeting. Dr. Michelle Yeh 

reviewed the list of action items.

Dr. Cathy Bigelow reviewed the Subcommittee roles and responsibilities to set the tone and 

framework for the meeting. She then provided information and advice on how to write findings 

and recommendations.

Presentation Welcome | Presenter Paul Fontaine

• Sequestration will have impacts on the workforce and slow down activity. Different 

scenarios are playing out including if the continuing resolution (CR) expires at the end of the 

March. Budget pressures will have impacts across the board to all projects, but it will also 

force prioritization (which is good) and examination of how resources are being used and 

applied.

• FAA is coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to define the budget 

picture. The OMB analyst has asked the FAA to address three questions on human factors: 

1. What is the total size of the FAA investments across all human factors across the agency? 

2. Who is in charge of human factors? Through a series of reorganizations, there has been 

loss of focus of having a single person in charge of human factors at the Agency.

3. How can we show we are applying best practices and standards across all these 

investments? Do we have a good holistic view of human factors and how do we apply 

that across all the programs?

These questions will help the FAA make better informed decisions.

Presentation Budget Update | Presenter Mike Gallivan

Mike Gallivan reviewed the RE&D FY 2013 budget status and future budget requests. The FAA 

is operating on a CR through March 27, 2013. The current FAA authorization runs through FY 

2015.

Deleted: continuing resolution
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 2

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Presentation REDAC Vision | Presenter John Wiley

• The Administrator plans to attend the April REDAC meeting. Each Chair and DFO are asked

to coordinate with the Subcommittee to questions for the Administrator by April 1.

• Sequestration – there is a cut coming, but we do not know how deep or for how long. The 

FAA needs guidance from this Subcommittee regarding what the areas of focus should be 

when we get to human factors. This is not the time to look at percent reductions across 

programs, but rather what programs may need to be cut. The focus is to make sure that the 

FAA is conducting the appropriate research to support implementation and to define where 

the research should be going.

Action items Person responsible Deadline

Submit questions for the Administrator for the REDAC 

meeting

HF Subcommittee 

Chair and DFO

April 1, 2013

Presentation FY 2015 ATC/Technical Operations Core Research Directions | Presenter Dr. 

Paul Krois and Mr. Dino Piccione

Dr. Krois and Mr. Piccione reviewed the FY 2015 plan for the ATC/Technical Operations Core 

Research Program and discussed the implications of the recent guidance provided by OMB for 

that program. Mr. Jason Demagalski provided an update on efforts to apply human factors during 

the in-service management phase. Mr. Eddie Sierra described efforts to align human systems 

engineering into the Acquisition Management System (AMS) life cycle.

The Subcommittee discussed the following:

• There is concern about the reduction in personnel selection and training. This is a 

fundamental core capability that needs to be maintained. For existing jobs, good analysis has 

been done that identifies the particular expertise that is needed. Additionally, this research 

provides a scientific basis as a legal defense of the selection process. In light of budget 

constraints, it would be important to understand for how long this core competency needs to 

be maintained.

• UAS activity is upcoming and should be an important part of the portfolio

• Human-systems engineering is a valid concept 

• How to prioritize the work to get it done. Human Factors has made significant strides, but the 

kind and extent of reducing the program scale is detrimental to satisfying the needs of the 

ATO. Prioritization of projects should be based on need and criticality.

Action items Person responsible Deadline

Reprioritize research by needs to ensure as many key 

needs can be met as possible

ANG-C1 July 2013 meeting 

of HF 

Subcommittee
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 3

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Presentation FY 2015 NextGen ATC Controller Efficiency Research Directions| Presenter

Dino Piccione/ Rachel Seely

Dr. Rachel Seely provided a briefing on the NextGen Human Factors ATC program that 

reviewed the primary areas of research in FY 2013 and FY 2014 and the emerging research areas 

for FY 2015. Dr. Seely also provided an update on the HSI Roadmap. The HSI Roadmap 

captures the planned implementation, but it is hoped that this roadmap can be used to identify 

additional areas that need to be accounted for. The Subcommittee discussed the following:

• Connectivity and overarching leadership across organizations needs to be strengthened. The 

subcommittee indicated that there was a shortfall in crosscutting human factors and further 

effort is needed to assess where disconnects exist.

• Integration: Further effort is needed to define how human factors is being integrated across 

programs, organizations, and capabilities. 

• Off-Nominal Conditions: The majority of programs in development focus on desirable state 

scenarios or “perfect world” conditions when evaluating new functionality, systems, or 

procedures. Further effort may be to develop specific artifacts by phases that include offnominal conditions throughout development.

• Technical Operations: Research supporting Technical Operations is difficult to associate with 

operational improvements. 

• Air-ground integration. There is a great need for this research, particularly on the airport 

surface, and it will be important to think about how this fits in with the rest of the system.

February 27, 2013

Review of Homework Assignments from Previous Day – Findings and Recommendations 

Discussion

The Subcommittee reviewed the Air Traffic/Technical Operations Human Factors Strategic 

Research Plan. The Subcommittee felt that the plan sets forth a good strategy and should guide 

the implementation for FY 2015. However, it is clear some of the proposals in the strategic plan 

are not being implemented in FY 2015, in particular, personnel selection, which is an important 

element of the plan, due to the reduced scale of the program.

Presentation FY 15 Flight Deck Requirements Briefing: Core Program | Presenter Tom 

Chidester and Paul Krois

Dr. Paul Krois and Dr. Tom Chidester reviewed the Core Human Factors Flight Deck Program 

research requirements identified for FY 2015. Note that the FY 2014 portfolio has not yet been 

finalized. The discussion after the presentation addressed the following:

• Subcommittee members were pleased that Part 91 issues were being considered in the loss of 

control research.

• The Subcommittee discussed whether there is a need for a flight deck human factors strategic 

plan.

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HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 4

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• The human factors research proposed under the core flight deck program is important. The 

Subcommittee would like to ensure that key personnel are available.

Action items Person responsible Deadline

Provide the Subcommittee with the details of the 

research execution/program plan when they become 

available. This may be accomplished through program 

reviews (e.g., Deep Dives)

ANG-C1 Ongoing...July 

2013 meeting of 

HF Subcommittee

Presentation FY 2015 Flight Deck Requirements Briefing: NextGen Air-Ground Interaction 

Human Factors | Presenter Dr. Tom Chidester with AVS sponsors (Mr. Doug Farrow, Ms. Terry 

King/Mr. Sean Flack, Mr. Cathy Swider, Mr. Mark Steinbicker)

Dr. Chidester reviewed the NextGen Air-Ground Interaction Human Factors research 

requirements proposed for FY 2015 with input from several AVS sponsors, including Dr. Doug 

Farrow, Mr. Mark Steinbicker, Ms. Cathy Swider, and Mr. Sean Flack.

• Some NextGen research requirements address similar themes as the flight deck core 

program. Further clarity is needed to show the relationships between the deliverables defined 

for the core and NextGen programs. 

• For Datacomm, there is a need to connect between the ground and flight deck side and to 

characterize the changes in the controller’s information requirements.

• HF-15-01: Research requirement is focused on changes but to procedures, but the tasks, as 

presented so far, are focused only on information automation. 

Action items Person responsible Deadline

Better delineate difference between core and NextGen 

research requirements

ANG-C1 July 2013 meeting 

of HF 

Subcommittee

The Subcommittee would like an update on the 

execution of HF-15-01 (NextGen: Roles, 

Responsibilities, Airworthiness, and Operational 

Requirements for the Integration of Automated Systems 

and Functions in NextGen Aircraft Systems) to ensure 

that the research conducted addresses the entire scope of 

the changing roles and responsibilities in human-system 

coordination, flight deck-ATC negotiation, and potential 

skill loss in NextGen.

ANG-C1 Ongoing research 

requirement. 

Update of current 

project to be 

provided at the 

July 2013 meeting 

of HF 

Subcommittee

The Subcommittee would like more detail on the 

execution of HF-15-04 NextGen Flight deck systems: 

flight crew interfaces, installation, integration, and 

operations.

ANG-C1 Ongoing research 

requirement. 

Update of current 

project to be 

provided at the 

July 2013 meeting 

of HF 

Subcommittee

Comment [CAB1]: What program plan are 

they referring to? And need a deadline.

Deleted: ¶

Deleted: Human Factors Flight Deck
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 5

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Action items Person responsible Deadline

The Subcommittee requests a briefing at the next 

REDAC HF meeting on the execution plan for HF-15-

06, HF Considerations for Complex Systems, if the 

requirement moves forward.

ANG-C1 Status update of 

the research 

requirement to be 

provided at July 

2013 meeting of 

HF Subcommittee

February 28, 2013

Presentation Overview of ASIAS | Presenter Mike Basehore

Dr. Mike Basehore discussed the process governing the ASIAS program, the types of data 

collected, the participants, and the types of analysis conducted. He provided a brief overview of 

the ASIAS portal and discussed the data mining techniques used. Dr. Basehore noted that there 

have been several inquiries to use ASIAS data to answer different questions (e.g., design of new 

procedures, fuel efficiency) and stressed that the ASIAS agreement with stakeholders is for 

safety purposes only. The ASIAS board reviews each request in the following way:

• Do we have the information, 

• What will the information be used for, 

• What is the level of risk? 

The Subcommittee discussed access to ASIAS data and analysis. To date, most ASIAS analyses 

have been conducted within the context of FAR Part 121 operations and results released to the 

Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) for the development of Safety Enhancements. 

Researchers may also request access to the data through the FAA for development of 

computational algorithms and analytical methodologies. Non-proprietary data and results from 

the analyses of such data may be released to FAA entities after the request and results are 

reviewed by the ASIAS Issue Analysis Team.

Presentation Integrating HF into Operations Concept Validation Program | Presenter John 

Marksteiner

Mr. John Marksteiner provided an overview of how human factors has been integrated into the 

development of operations concepts and reviewed the FY 2012/13 initiatives.

Presentation NextGen Human Factors | Presenter Bill Kaliardos

Dr. Bill Kaliardos addressed two questions: 

(1) Who has the overall authority on human factors integration in NextGen? 

(2) How is the role of human factors addressed within the reorganization?

The discussion noted that advocacy for human factors includes through the FAA Human Factors 

Coordinating Committee and the Human Factors Division and its programs.

Deleted: Mr

Deleted: Mr

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Deleted: Development

Deleted: Ops 

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Deleted: HFCC 
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 6

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Subcommittee Discussion of Open Recommendations: The Subcommittee reviewed the 

findings and recommendations from the Spring 2012 meeting. The following recommendations 

have been closed: Spring_2012_13, Spring_2012_14, Spring_2012_18, Spring_2012_19.

The next meeting of the HF REDAC Subcommittee will be held from July 30-August 1, 2013.
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 7

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Attendance

Members

Tom Prevot (Acting Subcommittee Chair)

Chris DeSenti

Bill Edmunds

Alan Jacobsen

Bill Rankin

Bill Rogers

Phil Smith

Other Attendees 

Eddie Austrian, Fort Hill Group

Mike Basehore, FAA

Cathy Bigelow, FAA

Sherry Chappell, NTSB

Jason Demagalski, FAA 

Colleen Donovan, FAA

Gloria Dunderman, FAA

Doug Farrow, FAA

Paul Fontaine, FAA

Sean Flack, SAIC

Mike Gallivan, FAA

Dan Herschler, FAA

Bill Kaliardos, FAA

Jim Knight, FAA

Paul Krois, FAA

Scott LeMay, FAA

Maura Lohrenz, Volpe

John Marksteiner, FAA

Tom McCloy, FAA

Rob Pappas, FAA

Dino Piccione, FAA

Stephen Plishka, FAA

Rachel Seely, FAA

Gary Serfoss, JMA

Eddie Sierra, FAA

Mark Steinbicker, FAA

Cathy Swider, FAA

John Wiley, FAA

Barbara Wilper, FAA

Michelle Yeh, FAA

Via Telcon

Amy Pritchett (Subcommittee member)

Jack Blackhurst (Subcommittee member)

Tom Chidester

1:00 – 2:15 FY 15 Flight Deck Requirements Briefing: 

NextGen Air-Ground Interaction Human Factors 

Tom Chidester with AVS 

sponsors (Doug Farrow, 

Terry King/Sean Flack, 

Cathy Swider, Mark 

Steinbicker)

2:15 – 2:30 Break

2:30 – 3:30 Findings and Recommendations Discussion All

3:30 – 4:00 Review of Findings and Recommendations & 

Action Items from previous meetings

Wrap up – Homework Assignments - Review of 

Action Items

All

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Federal Aviation Administration¶

REDAC Human Factors Subcommittee¶

JMA Solutions 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 

400E, Washington, DC ¶

Meeting Agenda, February 26 – 28, 2013¶

Call-in number: 1-866-527-1265, passcode: 33 99 

302#¶

¶

Day 1 (Tuesday, February 26)¶

8:30 – 8:45 ...
HF REDAC Subcommittee Meeting, February 26-28, 2013 8

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Day 3 (Thursday, February 28)

8:30 – 9:00 Review of Homework Assignments from 

Previous Day – Findings and Recommendations 

Discussion

All

9:00 – 10:00 Overview of ASIAS Mike Basehore

10:00 – 10:15 Break

10:15 – 10:45 Integrating HF into Ops Concept Development John Marksteiner/ Cynthia 

Morris

10:45 – 11:00 NextGen Human Factors Bill Kaliardos

11:00 – 11:30 Findings and Recommendations Discussion

11:30 – 12:45 Working lunch: Continue Findings and 

Recommendations Discussion

All

12:45 – 1:00 Wrap-up

• Review of Action Items from the meeting

• Agenda – date/location, what will be included 

for the next meeting