Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) to Manage Adverse Conditions (2021)

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41 5.1 Change Management and Promotion of ACDM Get Ready for Change The implementation of ACDM necessarily leads to at least some degree of change in practices, procedures, and even organizations. The success of ACDM implementation relies on a proactive approach to make these changes as smooth as possible for the teams and the operations. Individuals and groups concerned by these changes should be involved with the ACDM projects affecting their work, be prepared to transition to the new processes or technologies, and be trained to operate them. The proposed comprehensive approach to change management for ACDM implementation is similar to the 6-step process proposed in ACRP Report 153: Guidebook for IROPS Stakeholder Communication & Coordination (Cogliandro et al. 2016) (See Figure 10). 1. Obtain SG buy-in. In accordance with the process described in the previous chapters, new projects should be proposed by the WG and approved by the SG. The SG then creates TSG to prepare and implement specific projects (changes). Submissions to the SG should include at least a description of the project, its goals, a brief assessment of what needs to change and why a list of resources is needed, a budget estimate, and a timeline. 2. Document existing conditions. The work of the TSG should always start with an inventory of the existing conditions at the perimeter of the project. 3. Establish a plan to implement change. From the existing conditions, the TSG should establish a plan to realize the project and implement the change considering human factors and opera- tional readiness and transition aspects. 4. Review, revise, and train together. The TSG proposal should be reviewed (for instance, by the WG) and revised as needed. The parties concerned by the change should train and prepare together for the change. Simulations and drills should be conducted if relevant. 5. Cooperate during transition. The stakeholders should cooperate through the transition and activate backup plans if this transition is not completed as planned. 6. Monitor and plan corrective actions. Operations should be monitored after the change is implemented for a defined period of time. Corrective actions should be performed if some features of the change appear to be suboptimal or have unforeseen negative impacts. Involve Your Team with the Projects Involving the operations team members of the different stakeholders in the ACDM projects they will run will not only allow the projects to benefit from their experience but will also help design and develop an ACDM process that is operationally realistic and efficient. It will contribute C H A P T E R 5 Continuing the ACDM Implementation Effort

42 Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) to Manage Adverse Conditions to ACDM team building by bringing people together from different entities who will learn about their respective practices, needs, and constraints and will make the participants aware of the coming change. They can then be executors of the change by informing and educating their co-workers. This involvement with the TSG—in addition to members’ regular operational or technical duties—should be considered when estimating the resources needed for each project. Supervisors should be invited to adjust the duty rosters and individual schedules to facilitate the participa- tion of their teams in the ACDM implementation effort and to prevent ACDM from becoming a burden, which could adversely increase the workload. Consider the Human Side The introduction of new ACDM procedures and technologies should help the operations in their daily duties and during adverse conditions. According to FAA Order 9550.8: Human Factor Policy, human factors entail a multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations and apply that information to equipment, systems, facilities, procedures, jobs, environments, training, staffing, and personnel management for safe, comfort- able, effective human performance (FAA 1993). The human factor and the potential impact of changes on the individual workload should be considered. Among the stakeholders, the FAA ATCT might be the most familiar with these considerations and can be of tremendous help to the ACDM initiative by taking these aspects into consideration. Operational Readiness and Transition Some ACDM projects might require a specific preparation of the stakeholders before their commissioning and sometimes a more comprehensive transition plan. In-depth training sessions, “what if” exercises, and full-scale drills should be conducted for procedures and systems, intro- ducing significant novelties to real-time operations to increase operational readiness. Create New TSG & Include Stakeholders Steering Group Buy-In Document Existing Conditions Use Data Sources Establish Plan to Implement Change Improve Stakeholder Readiness Review, Revise, & Train Together Evaluate Plans & Training Cooperation During Transition Monitor & Plan Corrective Actions Improve Procedure/System Activate Backup Plan If Needed 1 3 2 4 5 6 Figure 10. The six-step ACDM change management approach.

Continuing the ACDM Implementation Effort 43 Transition plans should include the following: • A detailed description of the change, mentioning the functions and positions involved, • An inventory of the different impacts on current practices and organization, • A risk assessment of these impacts and mitigation when relevant, • A training plan for the staff members impacted by the change, and • A backup plan in case the transition is not successful and cannot be complete. Promoting ACDM to the Airport Operations Community ACDM promotion is an important component of ACDM implementation. ACDM is a recent concept that is not yet widespread in the United States. In addition, ACDM implementation will introduce several novelties in operations locally. This warrants a specific outreach of the members of the nascent local ACDM community. ACDM promotion utilizes similar tools and techniques as those used for raising awareness as part of the airport SMS or its security management systems (SeMS). ACDM goodies, newsletters about the updates and latest achievements, regular workshops for getting new ideas from the practitioners, seminars for analyzing recent events, and sharing lessons learned are good ways to keep in touch with the operations community. The ACDM toolbox itself is important for promoting ACDM. A module of the training program proposed in the “Train” section explains how the toolbox can be shared with the members of the ACDM community as a local library and a repertory of collaborative documents, procedures, templates, and tools. 5.2 Maintaining and Enhancing the Local ACDM Performance Review Board A Performance Review Board (PRB) should be established at larger airports. The missions of the PRB can be fulfilled by the SG or an existing body of operations leaders if the creation of a new separate group is not relevant locally. The goal of this PRB is to review and analyze the airport KPIs over set periods of time (e.g., monthly or quarterly), consider the contribution of the ACDM initiative to their evolution, and provide performance-driven recommendations for enhancing operations overall. The PRB meetings should focus on the benefits enjoyed by the stakeholders over the time period reviewed, which implies that KPIs measure these benefits either quantitatively or qualitatively. Special sessions can be convened on an ad hoc basis following individual disruptions. Annual or Biannual ACDM Workshop The CDM Manager, with the support of the SG, should organize annual or biannual ACDM workshops to reflect on the past period of ACDM operations, gather lessons learned, identify potential enhancements, and strengthen the ACDM spirit (teambuilding) across the stakeholders. The workshops should be times when the ACDM community gathers to discuss how to make the process more efficient and how to resolve operational issues that can make the life of the practi- tioners easier. These 1- or 2-day workshops should be interactive and friendly. They can feature thematic roundtables ideally led by moderators from different entities (stakeholders). The participants

44 Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) to Manage Adverse Conditions can rotate between the roundtables. The workshops can be preceded by an electronic survey to the local ACDM community for collecting ideas and topics in advance. The WG should review the output of these workshops and propose to the SG revisions to the ACDM implementation roadmap or individual items of the local ACDM (e.g., plans, proce- dures, processes) accordingly. Toward the Next ACDM Roadmap While the initial ACDM implementation roadmap is being finished, the WG should evaluate and then present the SG with a possible second ACDM implementation roadmap that continues the implementation effort and expands the ACDM initiative. The next ACDM implementation roadmap can keep strategic objectives of the ongoing ACDM implementation roadmap with higher operational objectives or set up new strategic objectives as well. The second ACDM implementa- tion roadmap should not be just an extension of the ongoing ACDM implementation roadmap but should build on the success of the latter in a logic of continuous improvement and cover aspects of operations that are not necessarily the focus of the ongoing initiative. The design and initiation of the next ACDM implementation roadmap should follow the same process as the initial ACDM implementation roadmap. Other than that, the organizational aspects (Memorandums of Understanding, groups, etc.) are already set. The SGs and WGs should give themselves enough time before the end of the ongoing ACDM implementation roadmap and proactively hold the discussions on the next ACDM implementation roadmap to avoid a lapse of inactivity that could compromise the commitment of the ACDM community.