Air Traffic Control Automation System (ATCAS) Software Maintenance Services Project

ATCAS Software Maintenance Services Project (ASMSP) was built for Air Navigation & Weather Services (ANWS), which provides software and hardware maintenance services to the Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Traffic Control (ATC) Automation System (ATCAS). The focus of ATCAS is to ensure continuous real-time support to traffic controllers managing airport use and airspace within the Taipei Flight Information Region.
ASMSP provides software and hardware support to the Taipei Area Control Center and three Terminal Control Centers, and is operated by a team of individuals who have all be in the ATC field for more than ten years,including 20 ATC engineers. The engineers' tasks deal with but are not limited to data modification, troubleshooting, software enhancements, as well as supporting training programs which reduce workloads and increase productivity.

History
The ATCAS project started as an overhaul to the existing ATC system. ATCAS is a large scale, complex system where maintenance could not have been performed by one organization. Therefore, the ANWS originally contracted out the maintenance of the equipment manufacturer for the first three years. In 1997, it was then decided that for the rest of the ATCAS life cycle, the ANWS would contract maintenance to a local company, arranging for technology transfers and trainings, thus introducing ATC software technology into the country. Gradually domestic software organizations, Institute of Information Industry and Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, were able to provide maintenance support with minimal subcontractor services. Today, ANWS continues to receive the best customer support from local firms through ASMSP.

Challenges
Maintaining the required 99.995% availability of the Air Traffic Control Automation System throughout the year is the biggest challenge for this project. ATCAS is a large scale system composed of mainframe, RISC and PC based platforms running a very wide variety of both custom and commercial of the shelf software. Changes to the system must be thoroughly tested and seamlessly integrated into the operational environment with no impact to the availability or performance of air traffic controllers. While still providing first and second level support and rapid resolution to problems if emergencies arise. Our staff has continued to provide exemplary service for 10 years with maximum customer satisfaction.

Benefits
The Civil Aeronautic Administration’s policy to train a group of domestic engineers and take responsibility of software maintenance for ATCAS was the right decision, not only does it save the government money but the program also provides a great opportunity for local engineers to learn and master this specific domain. Through this project, InfoExplorer and its partners have successfully trained, at competitive costs, groups of skilled people in the ATC field who are ready for all ATC related systems support.

Customer Links

• Civil Aeronautics Administration, Ministry of Transportation and Communication

Contact Window
For any inquiries e-mail services@infoexplorer.com.tw