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Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
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Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-00/25
Title and Subtitle: The effects of performance feedback on air traffic control team coordination: A simulation study
Report Date: July 2000
Authors: Bailey, L., and Thompson, R.
Abstract: This 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.
Key Words: Air Traffic Control, Training, Teamwork
No. of Pages: 13
