Workload of the VTS Sector Operator and Implications for Task Design

摘要

This study identifies the factors determining the vTS sector operator's workloadand recommends the most appropriate use of automation to manage that workload. Investigations were conducted at vTS New York (Governors Island) and at vTS Puget Sound (Seattle, WA). The primary tasks, as measured at both sites, were radio communications with traffic, the manual recording of vessel information and track history on cards, and the monitoring of traffic by radar. Analyses found that the primary determiner of the workload of these primary tasks was the number of participating vessels monitored by one operator and the amount of associated radio communications. The findings support the recommendation of a dynamic sector to manage workload: that is, an automated system that could keep track of the number of vessels per sector and suggest an early hand-off point from a more busy to a less busy sector or, alternatively, a temporary split of a sector. Additional recommendations include the automation of some vessel communications