Volpe Center: Volpe Center Highlights

Information Resources

Volpe Center Highlights - November 1994

Economic Growth and Trade

Advance America's economic growth and competitiveness domestically and internationally through efficient and flexible transportation.

Presentation of Technical Paper on Aviation Management Organizational Structure (FAA)

At the recent annual meeting of the National Organization Development Network, held in Baltimore, MD, Dr. D.L. Damm-Luhr, chief of the Volpe Center's Change Management Division, joined Coast Guard Captain A. L. Gerfin in presenting a technical paper on management organization structure. Captain Gerfin chairs the Aviation Management Organization Structure (AMOS) Quality Action Team (QAT), which was chartered by the Coast Guard Commandant. The paper focused on innovative and cost-effective methods for gathering data from a broad cross-section of Coast Guard personnel in a short time period. Two sets of "field validation sessions" served to gather data on current conditions in aviation management and on a proposed business model. Having the data enabled the QAT to significantly improve the quality of its proposals, and to increase credibility for its improvement ideas with the Commandant.

Aviation Information Technology Support for Airport Grants (FAA)

The third and pivotal workshop in the Business Process Improvement project for FAA's Office of Airport Planning and Grants team was convened in early November. During this workshop, the team, which is supported by the Volpe Center's Change Management Division, explored the best practices from site visits they conducted, and pursued a redesign of the processes used to produce the major products. Some of the ideas the team expressed include focusing more on planning and less on certifying compliance with regulations, performing the function of "point of contact" between airports and the FAA, streamlining the notification phase of the process, and reducing grant application and award paperwork by assembling a 5-year "Master Award" that contains most of the repetitive paperwork. The Center is now developing a business case for the recommended improvements and an implementation plan for specific improvements.

Support Provided to Base Closure Information Management (FAA)

In part due of the nation's aviation growth, Congress and the FAA are interested in working with the DOD, and state and local governments, to convert closing military bases into civilian airports when there is a request by a civilian sponsor. Because there are several Federal and local agencies involved in closing and converting a military base to a civilian airport, a detailed tracking system is required to know what has been accomplished in the closure/realignment process and who is responsible for a specific task. In response to this need and in support of the FAA, Mr. Leon Rudman, of the Volpe Center's Center for Transportation Information, has submitted a draft report and computer program for the FAA Military Airport Program to the Office of Airport Planning and Programming. This process is not a resource management tool, but rather a suspense and tracking system of a complex set of activities, including a Center-developed early warning system to track "real world" tasks and activities.

Maximizing Efficiency in Air Traffic Control Facilities (FAA)

In collaboration with the FAA, Volpe Center has developed the Staffing Standards and Analysis System (SSAS) for the FAA Airway Facilities (AF) organization. The AF organization consists of nearly 1,000 field offices that are staffed by over 9,000 technicians and engineers responsible for maintaining over 29,000 Air Traffic Control (ATC) facilities in the field. The SSAS is the official tool for FAA AF to establish the maintenance staffing requirements and support its maintenance human resources and organizational planning studies. The system has been installed at FAA headquarters, all nine regions, and numerous field offices. An enhanced version of the SSAS was released to FAA recently, which will help the FAA to consolidate its maintenance organizations and to make better use of their human resources to perform its mission. In a separate effort, the Center is working with the FAA on its Maintenance Management System (MMS), which contains data on the inventory and performance of the over 29,000 ATC facilities cited above. The FAA is currently incorporating data on these facilities into the MMS. In this effort, the Center is building a microcomputer-based decision support tool, called Equipment Performance Analysis Tool (EPAT), to analyze the performance of parts below the facility level. Version 1.0 of EPAT, which was recently developed and delivered to the FAA, will improve the FAA's ability to manage and plan for maintenance actions by providing the capability to monitor trends in performance of facility parts, identify problem parts, and more effectively allocate maintenance staff.

VTS-2000 Port Assessments (USCG)

The Volpe Center's Economic Analysis Division recently delivered to the Coast Guard's Office of Navigation Safety and Waterways Management a final report entitled "VTS 2000 Port Assessment for Tampa Bay, FL." This is the fourth in a series of port specific assessments to support the planning and budgeting for the acquisition of equipment and facilities to conduct Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) at major deep draft ports around the country. These port assessments represent updates and refinements to the "Port Needs Study-Vessel Traffic Services Benefits" report the Center delivered to the Coast Guard in August 1991. The Tampa Bay assessment is the first that evaluates scenarios involving a private sector traffic management system, as a stand-alone substitute for, or as a coexisting system cooperating with, the Coast Guard "Preferred VTS Design." The Tampa Bay analysis reveals no economic advantage from combining a private sector system with the Coast Guard Preferred VTS Design. The additional operating cost imposed on the Coast Guard by the existence of the private sector system does not yield any increase in estimated benefits.

Completion of Final Report on National Prisoner Transportation System (DOJ)

The Volpe Center's Service Assessment Division has been working with the Department of Justice's U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to improve its systems for processing and transporting prisoners. Dr. Douglass Lee, principal investigator of the project, submitted the final report of the benefit-cost evaluation for the Automated Booking Station (ABS) to the sponsor. The ABS provides a single integrated workstation for entering prisoner information, taking and storing digital "mug" photos, rolling and printing fingerprints electronically, and communicating over a wide-area network. The Center was responsible for overseeing the production of the ABS to meet USMS needs. To date, USMS has approved the installation of four prototype stations in local USMS districts. Time savings alone for data capture and information exchange were sufficient to make a strong case for further deployment of ABS.

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