The Operational Evolution Partnership

NextGen is our future. The OEP is FAA's plan to take us there.

OEP Misson: Lead the collaboration, commitment, monitoring, and accountability among internal and external stakeholders to transition the NAS to NextGen.

The OEP has a proven track record: By 2013 it will deliver on its original goal of adding 30 percent more effective capacity to the National Airspace System. This is a truly significant accomplishment, one which the entire agency has participated in producing.

Now known as the Operational Evolution Partnership , the OEP is FAA's NextGen integration and implementation mechanism. While it aligns to the long-term view provided by the NextGen Concept of Operations, the OEP focuses on solutions for the mid-term, defined as 2012-2018. For this timeframe FAA projects a 27 percent increase in domestic air traffic; if we maintain the status quo, this translates to a 62 percent increase in delay. These mid-term solutions are critical for supporting a robust air transportation system in the next decade.

The Plan

OEP Version 1 provides a framework that is already being used to focus future work within the agency. It presents the key concepts and provides a strategic timeline for when transformational changes can be made. The content of OEP Version 1 was developed by a cross-FAA team working with the JPDO and the aviation community, through RTCA. It forms the basis for the FAA portion of the JPDO's Integrated Work Plan.

The OEP is organized around three key transformational areas: airport development, air traffic operations, and aircraft and operator requirements. It tracks long-range airport development planning, especially in expanding markets. It describes new operational capabilities, presenting a big picture view of the interdependencies of key enabling programs and technologies. It incorporates the avionics implementation plan that will help aircraft operators make informed equipage decisions.

 

Transition Rings

The OEP graphic is used to communicate an activity’s level of maturity. Each of the core domains describes NextGen activities that have firm, funded implementation schedules. OEP would track the progress of its implementation. Three transition rings keep stakeholders apprised of the agency’s NextGen initiatives that are under development. These new initiatives will be aligned to the core domains and grouped into rings based on their level of maturity, which range from research and development to field prototyping, along with activities awaiting policy decisions. The closer we come to full NextGen implementation, the more each domain can be expected to contain activities across all four sections of the OEP graphic.

Air Traffic Operations

This domain focuses on transformative operational capabilities. It is divided into seven solution sets, which were derived from the NextGen Concept of Operations. Each solution set is composed of related capabilities. Capabilities are changes to how the system operates. There are currently 65 capabilities defined for the Air Traffic Operations domain, 39 of which are expected to become available in the mid-term. OEP Version 1 defines the mid-term as 2012-2018.

Airport Development

OEP's Airport Development domain focuses on new airport surface infrastructure that provides significant capacity increases. The plan continues to focus on new runway, runway extensions, and end-around taxiways at the 35 OEP airports. It expands to describe additional projects in planning and environmental assessment phases. OEP will now have a second solution set for planning activities in 15 metropolitan areas that will experience significant growth through 2025.

 

 

Aircraft & Operation Requirements

Aircraft avionics and operator requirements are key enablers for NextGen. OEP will focus on developing a common view of avionics requirements and timelines that can provide the operational capabilities demanded by NextGen.

OEP's Aircraft & Operator Requirements domain identifies the gaps between current avionics capabilities and NextGen operational requirements, and will help FAA focus future research and development and prioritize the development of new standards and criteria.

The avionics requirements will include communications, navigation and surveillance capabilities, and refined weather equipment and displays. The development of these requirements and timelines should be timed closely to the deployment schedules for ground infrastructure, so FAA and industry investments are made in parallel.

 

The Process

The OEP is the FAA's plan for implementing NextGen. It is validated by the OEP Review Board , which examines new programs for inclusion in the plan and for resource prioritization. The OEP Review Board makes recommendations to the OEP Associates Team , which includes the agency's top executives and which has ultimate authority over the OEP. These bodies include representatives from many FAA lines of business, including: Airports; Aviation Safety; the Air Traffic Organization; Aviation Policy, Planning, and Environment; Financial Services; Information Services; and the JPDO. The OEP Planning Staff produces the document, manages internal coordination, and facilitates FAA-industry collaboration.

More than just a plan, the OEP provides a process through which FAA ensures implementation.
The most senior executives in the agency are held personally accountable for meeting OEP commitments. Progress is reviewed in regular meetings of the OEP Associates Team, chaired by the Deputy Administrator, which keeps the “big picture” in view and helps FAA meet its promises.

Importantly, the OEP is a conduit for sharing information and ideas with oversight organizations and particularly with the aviation community. The OEP is designed to help these partners understand what is coming, and when, and what they must do to prepare themselves to participate in the NextGen system.

A robust dialogue among all partners from the very outset of planning is imperative for the ultimate success of this undertaking. OEP Version 1 starts the conversation.