Air Traffic Control: FAA Can Better Forecast and Prevent Equipment Failures
RCED-91-179
Published: Aug 02, 1991. Publicly Released: Sep 03, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) how effectively the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified and assessed equipment performance problems at its en-route centers, which control traffic between airports; and (2) ways in which FAA could better utilize its current maintenance databases to manage its air traffic control (ATC) systems' maintenance effort.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | In order to strengthen FAA equipment performance analyses, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to refine the FAA Corrective Maintenance database to make the data uniform and consistent, and add precise information to permit complete equipment maintenance analysis. |
FAA issued in December 1993 a handbook which provides guidance for recording information in maintenance databases. FAA developed and released in September 1995 a template of equipment and lowest-replacement unit data to support a national approach for consistent data reporting.
|
| Department of Transportation | In order to strengthen FAA equipment performance analyses, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to use the FAA Maintenance Management System databases, including the Corrective Maintenance database, to analyze and project equipment performance trends. |
The development of the Equipment Performance Analysis Tool (EPAT), which analyzes extracts of the Maintenance Management System databases, has waned during fiscal year 1995 due to the slippages in template creation and reduced project funding. Full scale development of EPAT will resume when the templates are released in late September 1995.
|
| Department of Transportation | In order to strengthen FAA equipment performance analyses, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to establish better management controls to ensure that technicians properly record information in maintenance databases. |
FAA issued in December 1993 a handbook which provides guidance for recording information in maintenance databases.
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Topics
Air traffic control systemsAir traffic controllersElectronic data processingEquipment managementInformation systemsNavigation aidsProduct evaluationRegulatory agenciesReporting requirementsTransportation safety