FRMSc (Flight Risk Management System)
The aviation industry is one of the most heavily regulated and safety-critical industries in the world. With the increasing demand for air travel, pilots and crew are working longer hours, flying more frequently, and experiencing more Jet lag and circadian disruption. All of these factors can contribute to fatigue, which can have serious consequences for flight safety.
Client being providing services to aviation industry wanted to build an integrated FRMSc web application and mobile apps to collect data for aviation where collected data would be used for research and analysis by FRMSc scientists which further help to identify and assess the factors that contribute to fatigue, developing policies and procedures to manage those risks, and continuously monitoring and improving the system in effective manner.
Objective
Techbit allocated highly skilled and experienced analysts seeing the cruciality of the application as no chances of skipping any minimal information can be avoided. So team started working on creating project’s scope with defining architecture for smooth transition and development as System will be a data-driven and routinely collect and analyze the information and reports related to pilot and crew alertness as well as operational flight performance data which would help to control the risk associated with both transient and cumulative fatigue.
Team did thorough analysis of aviation industry as requirement was to build a robust and secure system which has its algorithms validated with a huge dataset collected from pilots performing their duties across the world. System would be used by FRMSc scientes for a time being for research but later expected to be used by many major airlines have contribute to the dataset including Air New Zealand, British Airways, Lufthansa, JAL, Emirates, DHL, Pan Am and Britannia.
So the main objective of team was to design and develop FRMS to minimize the risks associated with fatigue among pilots & crew members where data will be collected and sent to scientists for research and analysis. Team aimed to build system which would help in preventing fatigue-related errors, incidents, and accidents by implementing a systematic approach to managing fatigue risk that includes the identification, assessment, and mitigation of factors that can contribute to fatigue.
The ultimate goal of an FRMS we were developing was to enhance safety and operational efficiency in the aviation industry by ensuring that aviation personnel are adequately rested and alert while on duty, thereby reducing the likelihood of fatigue-related errors and accidents.
Technologies We Have Used
Approach
Developing a FRMS for the aviation industry requires a systematic and comprehensive approach that considers the unique operational and organizational characteristics of the industry. Team started with to identifying the factors that contribute to fatigue, including work schedules, sleep patterns, workload, and other related factors.
Once the factors were identified, then team assess the level of fatigue risk associated with each factor, using a variety of tools and techniques such as fatigue risk assessments, fatigue modeling, and other data-driven approaches which helped to the assess the highest risk areas and prioritize interventions to address those risks.
After assessing the fatigue risks, the next step is to implement mitigation strategies, including scheduling practices, education and training, monitoring and reporting systems, and other interventions designed to reduce the likelihood of fatigue-related errors and incidents. These interventions should be regularly reviewed and evaluated to ensure their effectiveness and to identify areas for improvement.
System team intend to develop required to limiting the number of hours aircrew can work and specifying the minimum rest time which is required before commencement of each flight duty period. The purpose of an FRMS is to support the safe application of such FTL Schemes by recognizing the need for aircrew be adequately rested before commencing and during flying duties by facilitating both proactive and reactive interventions in relation to the implementation of FTL Schemes.
Challenges
Developing FRMS for aviation already is a quite challenging and the major challenge team cased was integrating the portal with various systems used in the aviation industry, such as flight operations, crew scheduling, maintenance, and weather data, which had different data formats and protocols whereas ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the data that the portal uses, as inaccurate data would lead to incorrect risk assessments and poor decision-making by Scientists and researchers .
Most challenging part was to connect FRMSc to the powerful HARVEST analytics package. Where system takes schedule details and the outputs of the FRMSc model analyses, to provide a useful tool for FRMS managers to evaluate trends, fatigue hotspots in schedule design and identify fatigue risk.
Cybersecurity was also challenging, as the FRMS portal will contain sensitive information such as crew schedules, maintenance records, and safety reports, which must be kept secure from unauthorized access and data breaches. Rest, development of the mobile and web applications went fluent as there were different PMs and teams for development and QA were deployed.
Benefits
Client was happy with the deliverables in the application and effective results produced by application based on their scientists after through check and testing by them. FRMS offered numerous benefits to the client in terms of feedback including improved safety, as FRMS portals we built help identify potential hazards and risks, and provide the necessary information to FRMS team to avoid them.
As per the current status, FRMS application Techbit developed is be used for Research purposes by their researchers and scientists from the aviation and human behavior domains. But as anticipated, application will fulfill various other roles benefiting the whole industry with putting huge impact on the Pilots, Crew, Airlines, and more. Below are few of the benefits currently noted and shared by client as a feedback on the data / reports generated;
