Abstract
Models of human performance which include concepts of task or procedural complexity have been used to evaluate the design of specific procedures which are dictated either by the airline or the flight environment (such as a specific airport). The procedures and environment as they currently exist can be modeled producing a profile across time of the output variable of the model. The variable that has been of most interest to us is pilot workload. One way in which we are using these modeling procedures is to compare a complex departure procedure with another departure procedure which is considered to be typical of most departures. Pilot workload profiles were obtained for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying for each departure. A comparison was made of the profiles from the two departures and it was indicated that the more complex departure greatly increased the workload of the pilots, especially the pilot-flying. The complex departure procedure was analyzed looking particularly at the requirements that produced large peaks in pilot workload for either pilot, and recommendations are being made for changes to the procedure based on this analysis. The value of using such a modeling procedure in the airline environment will be discussed including other possible application areas.
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