The European Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) Pro- gramme [EUROCONTROL, 1999a]1 provides six additional cruising levels
to air traffic in the airspace of 39 RVSM States. This facilitates the task of Air Traffic Services (ATS) in maintaining a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of traffic and results in increased capacity of the Air Traffic Manage- ment (ATM) system and reduced inflight delays and fuel economies for the users.
The RVSM Programme requires specific training for aircrew and Air Traf- fic Control (ATC) staff which was performed prior to the start of RVSM operations. The Programme also requires ATC equipment and procedures to be modified according to specific Programme requirements prior to the start of RVSM operations.
The Programme involves activities from a wide range of stakeholders and
1The resources for the project, which have been used in this case study, are no longer
covers different areas including the followings. Definitions have been taken from EUR RVSM Master Plan [EUROCONTROL, 1999b].
Safety. The introduction of RVSM must be achieved in conjunction with a thorough assessment of the safety implications of this change, the es- tablishment of clear safety objectives, and safety evaluations showing the attainment of these objectives, before and after RVSM introduction. Airspace Aspects. The definition of the extent of the European RVSM area has been based on the operational requirement for a homogeneous area without significant gaps. Within RVSM airspace, sectorisation and ATS routes will need to be reviewed in the context of the availability of the additional RVSM Flight Levels.
ATC Procedures. ATC Operational Procedures for the European RVSM airspace will need to be developed and implemented, including Flight Plan- ning Procedures, Contingency Procedures, Transition Procedures, Proce- dures for handling non-RVSM State aircraft. These procedures will be reflected in the ATC Manual for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) in Europe. Additionally, ATC training syllabi will be developed to support RVSM ATC training by the ATS providers.
ATC Systems. In order to accommodate and support the provision of ATC in an RVSM environment, ATC systems will need modification. The modifi- cations are related to the controller and ATC training simulators to accom- modate new needs. Further, the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) will need to adapt the system for RVSM, including modifications to the Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS).
Aircraft Requirements. For operations in RVSM airspace, flights are re- quired to be RVSM approved regarding the RVSM requirements. The RVSM requirements are reflected in the ATC Manual for RVSM in Europe, as basis for National regulation.
Monitoring. In line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Guidance Material, introducing RVSM should have appropriate monitoring in place to confirm that the height keeping performance requirements are being met. The monitoring programme requires the availability of height monitoring systems, both ground based (HMUs) and portable for on-board measurements (GMUs).
The identified activities have been organised into five main sub pro- grammes and projects which have been further divided into a number of Work Packages (WPs) (tasks with objectives/deliverables).
1. Project P0: Programme Validation & Management. The main deliv- erables of P0 are the detailed RVSM Master Plan [EUROCONTROL, 1999b].
2. Sub Programme P1: Airspace User Preparation & Performance Ver- ification. It ensures that the technical, operational and regulatory means will available for airspace users and States to enable RVSM approvals. P1 also assists and monitors the approval process. The monitoring programme will provide the technical data to confirm that safety objectives are met
3. Sub Programme P2: ATM Preparation. This will ensure all Air Traffic Service (ATS) provider units are prepared and ready for the introduc- tion of RVSM. It identifies the tasks and deliverables required to make airspace changes including introducing RVSM related ATC procedures (ATC Manual for RVSM in Europe), modifying ATC systems (Agreed Operational Requirements for System Support, Agreed Interface Spec- ifications, and software and procedures to fulfill the requirements), providing ATC training (ATC training syllabus), and resolving legal issues.
4. Sub Programme P3: RVSM Safety Assurance. It constitutes the safety assessments necessary prior to implementation, just after implemen- tation, and at the end of the RVSM Programme to ensure that the agreed safety objectives are met. It includes the development of an agreed Safety Policy, a report on the RVSM Functional Hazard As- sessment (FHA), a report on the Collision Risk Assessment (CRA), National Safety Plans, and Pre/Post-Implementation Safety Case. 5. Project P4: Awareness and Marketing. P4 caters development, de-
livery and coordination of an awareness programme through actions, products and packages supporting RVSM milestones.
Figure 6.1 gives an overview of the areas covered in the Programme and WPs with the associated deliverables/objectives. WPs have been cate- gorised regarding the main areas and the general relationships between them are specified. An additional area, Management, has been defined (for our case study) which shows the managerial aspects of the Programme. Obvi- ously, managerial activities (Project P0) and their outcomes determine other activities and monitor them. Accordingly, the deliverables of this area, in- cluding Programme Support Office (PSO), RVSM Master Plan, and RVSM Management Plan, are related to all other WPs, which is shown as relation- ships between this area and other areas rather than between WP (shown as dashed arrow). Additionally, some of the WPs involve more than one area and they are shown on the boundary between related areas.
Figure 6.1 :Conce ptual ov erview of the EUR RVS M Programme