CAATS, Take II.
If you believe NavCanada's literature, CAATS has been in operation in the Moncton Center for two years. Well, sort of. It has been in operation, but not in all areas. They have been working towards implementation in the rest of the building since then. Last fall, "phase 2" of CAATS was attempted, and it ended in failure. The system wasn't stable when the more intricate parts of arrivals and departures came into play in the low level and terminal airspace within Moncton ACC. Today is the day where CAATS is supposed to make its second attempt in the rest of the building. As I write this at about 5:30 in the morning, they are attempting to make a start to the day with CAATS.
I have been involved in the process this time, since the end of January of this year. I've watched as they've presented various builds of software for evaluation, written procedures for "normal" operation as well as backup plans in case of failure. Will it work this time? I don't know. I'll offer my observations for this time, though.
I believe CAATS has a better chance of survival this time around. The software is reported to be more stable. The processing tasks have been delegated to the various machines in a way which, arguably, makes more sense. The engineers and developers have done a ton of work on the software, and we have done a bunch of revisions on the local "adaptation" to make things look and work better. Management, to their credit, has taken more pains in getting backup equipment and procedures ready.
Because of all of this, I believe it has a better chance. Only time will tell, though. And the clock started ticking in the wee hours of this morning. Because of my involvement in the CAATS project in our building, my time for posting may be limited over the coming week. Here's hoping things go well so that's not the case. I'll update you if anything significant happens. Here's a copy of the NOTAM regarding CAATS installation, just for interest's sake:
I have been involved in the process this time, since the end of January of this year. I've watched as they've presented various builds of software for evaluation, written procedures for "normal" operation as well as backup plans in case of failure. Will it work this time? I don't know. I'll offer my observations for this time, though.
I believe CAATS has a better chance of survival this time around. The software is reported to be more stable. The processing tasks have been delegated to the various machines in a way which, arguably, makes more sense. The engineers and developers have done a ton of work on the software, and we have done a bunch of revisions on the local "adaptation" to make things look and work better. Management, to their credit, has taken more pains in getting backup equipment and procedures ready.
Because of all of this, I believe it has a better chance. Only time will tell, though. And the clock started ticking in the wee hours of this morning. Because of my involvement in the CAATS project in our building, my time for posting may be limited over the coming week. Here's hoping things go well so that's not the case. I'll update you if anything significant happens. Here's a copy of the NOTAM regarding CAATS installation, just for interest's sake:
050087 CZQM MONCTON FIR
CZQM DUE TO NEW EQPT INSTALLATION ACFT OPR ON THE NORTH ATLANTIC,
BOTH EAST AND WESTBOUND AND TRANSITING MONCTON FIR MAY EXPERIENCE
DELAYS IN OBTAINING OPTIMUM ALT BETWEEN 1300-1900 (WESTBOUND) AND
2300-0500 (EASTBOUND) DAILY. OPR MUST REFERENCE DAILY NORTH ATLANTIC
TRACK MESSAGE AND SHOULD REFER TO DAILY AFTM ADVISORY
0505311300 TIL APRX 0506100500
posted by Michael at
05:38
