ECDIS – The challenge of going paperless

Capt. S. V. SulepAnglo Eastern Maritime Training Centre,

Mumbai

It is not only about saving trees

Advance warning of dangersAdvance warning of dangers

Enhanced situational awareness

Time saving

Improved accident statistics

Looking skyward for precedentsCan we expect ECDIS to bring in the same revolution that EGPWS brought to flying?

The Airline Parallel• Prior to the development of GPWS, large

passenger aircraft were involved in 3.5 fatal CFIT accidents per year.

• In1974, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ,made GPWS compulsory

• Since then not a single passenger fatality in aSince then not a single passenger fatality in a CFIT crash by a large jet in U.S. airspace

Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS)

The two major causes of commercial-aviation fatalities - controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and approach-and-landing accidents (ALAs) - accounted for 80 percent of fatalities in commercial transport aircraft accidents in the 1980s. But over the last two decades, flight safety has improved thanks to the introduction of Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) technology.y p y g y ( ) gy

CFIT occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight crew is flown unintentionally into terrain, obstacles or water, usually with no prior awareness by the crew. This type of accident can occur during most phases of flight, but CFIT is more common during the approach-and-landing phase.

The primary function of a terrain awareness and warning system such as Honeywell's EGPWS is to reduce CFIT. The system achieves this objective by accepting a variety of aircraft parameters as inputs, applying alerting algorithms, and providing the flight crew with aural alert messages and visual annunciations and displays in the event that the boundaries of any alerting envelope are exceeded.

The system essentially monitors the airplane's location and altitude, providing a map-type display of surrounding terrain and sounding an audible alert if the airplane approaches too close to terrain, a body of water or a tall structure.

The original GPWS concept relied on information from the air data system and radio altimeter. Enhanced systems use data from satellite systems and databases containing information on a digital elevation model (digital presentation of the terrain elevation features on a topographic map) and an aeronautical database.

As a result of EGPWS, the risk of controlled flight into terrain is now 50 times less in Western Europe and North America than it was in 1991, making this one of the biggest success stories in the history of aviation. Since the introduction of EGPWS in 1996, Honeywell has received reports of more than 30 incidents where the EGPWS gave an alert and provided pilots with timely awareness of terrain in flight situations.

Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). • An electronic display system intended primarily for

cockpit or cabin use. EFB devices can display a variety of a iation data (e g checklists na igation charts pilot’sof aviation data (e.g., checklists, navigation charts, pilot’s operating handbook (POH)) or perform basic calculations (e g performance data fuel calculations)calculations (e.g., performance data, fuel calculations). The scope of the EFB system functionality may also include various other hosted databases and applications. Physical EFB displays may be portable (Class 1), attached to a mounting device (Class 2), or built into the aircraft (Class 3)aircraft (Class 3).

US Navy’s initiative• US Navy has launched ambitious initiative to

equip the entire fleet of ships with ECDIS-N by the end of 2009.

• The US Navy passed an important milestone y p pwhen the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71) became the first ship to g ( ) pbe authorized to navigate with ECDIS

The Challenges

• What back-up is adequate?• Is the training sufficient?• Is the equipment user friendly?• Is the equipment user-friendly?• How far is standardization of equipment?

What back up is adequate?• Different flag states have different requirements.

– a fully-updated folio of approved paper charts– a fully-updated folio of approved paper charts– a second ENC-fuelled ECDIS to be used as a back-up, with an

independent power supply. d ECDIS ith i d d t l hi h RNC– second ECDIS, with an independent power supply, which uses RNCs, or

raster nautical charts. – Some flag states may allow a non-ECDIS electronic chart system (called an

ECS) th t ENC d t b k id d it t IMO b k lECS) that uses ENC data as back-up, provided it meets IMO back-up rules. – Finally, some flag states may permit the use of a chart radar as back-up.

The 270 mm challenge• IMO performance standards require the

size of the ECDIS display to be at leastsize of the ECDIS display to be at least 270 mm X 270 mm.Thi i 1/8 th i f h t• This is 1/8 the size of a paper chart; too small for the comfort of the navigators brought up on full size charts.

Comparison of Views

Old dogs do learn new tricks;

but unlearning the old habits is the real challenge

The HMI issue• Unnecessary data and functions added• Necessary functions not provided (T & P)• Necessary functions not provided (T & P)• Confusing terminology• Different symbology• Continuous update of knowledge required• Continuous update of knowledge required• Ergonomics not always satisfactory

Lack of standardization• Different layouts and controls• Different terminology for functions• Different terminology for functions• Need for equipment-specific training

Fast Pace of Technology • Shortly changing over from S 57 to S 100,

wherein S 101 will govern the norms.wherein S 101 will govern the norms.

Are we ready to go paperless?Are we ready to go paperless?

So, finally are we ready?• We have a long way to go,

• But certainly this is the

Thank you