Modeling Aviation Security Processes: A Group Model Building Approach

摘要

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is collaborating with a team of system dynamics modelers from three national laboratories to build a model of its security checkpoint operations at US commercial airports. The purpose is to proactively identify high-leverage opportunities for investment to improve system performance. To elicit a broad range of expertise and opinions to better understand the systemic issues facing TSA as it strives to improve its security checkpoint operations, we conducted more than 30 interviews with headquarters and field operations staff; we also hosted a two-day group model building (GMB) exercise. In this paper, we use causal-loop diagrams along with a description of the results of the GMB exercise to present a rich articulation of the issues facing TSA in managing its security checkpoints. We also look at how the complex interrelationships among various factors ultimately impact the effectiveness and efficiency of an aviation security checkpoint.