Why we must learn to SWIM?

The power of information is in sharing it…
A document discussing future air traffic management functions passed through my desk the other day. The time frame was 2020 and the context, one can safely assume, SESAR, the big European air traffic management development program.
Reading the document, I came upon several instances where the authors described how certain functions will need to be limited or might not even work since the system will not be aware of this or that piece of vital information.
There was also no mention of important, hitherto under-utilised, new sources of information, like the Airline Operations Centre (AOC). Can’t use that thing once the aircraft is airborne, was the reason given.
I am not saying the document was bad. It had all the right things and the right words in it. What it failed to do was show how to-day’s constraints arising from the dearth of information would become requirements to be satisfied by System Wide Information Management (SWIM).
A system built along the lines described in the document would have the same limitations built into it that make to-day’s set up struggle to keep up with demand.

What is the problem?

Traditionally, elements of the air traffic management (ATM) system were built as local monoliths which, even when using industry standards to communicate, could do so only via cumbersome messaging and only on a limited scope of subjects.
Connections were often point to point and adding new elements was complicated and expensive.
While the ATM system is flush with information, this information is scarcely shared, often stored in multiple copies (with subtle differences between copies) and changes to information are often not properly communicated to those interested.
In this sea of information, ATM finds itself severely limited by a lack of information!

SWIM to the rescue

System Wide Information Management is a concept that calls for breaking down the artificial walls between elements of the ATM system, creating a network of cooperating nodes (including aircraft) that share their information. This sharing is limited only by commercial sensitivity and/or security considerations.
Those with information to share will not ponder whether there is someone out there who needs that information. If there is something to offer, it will be shared. Those who need information can then simply search and see whether someone has shared what they need.
This is of course an over simplification and in subsequent articles we will explore the complexities involved. For now, understanding the essence of SWIM as described above is sufficient.

Working in a SWIM environment

Obviously, in a SWIM environment with everyone sharing their information, no part of the ATM system can be said to be limited by a lack of information. If a function in Centre A does not have what it needs, but Centre B or X does, then via the shared environment the information will be available as if it were sitting on the hard drive of the local system.
SWIM also ensures that all the information shared is of the required quality, so no need to worry about the practices of one’s neighbours or partners far away.
Clearly, the AOCs will be part of the network and all the information they have to offer will be available for ATM use. Even in respect of aircraft already airborne… One should not try to picture a frantic supervisor trying to get though to an AOC person on the other side of the world in order to agree a change of level! The end-user applications and user interface of the SWIM environment make such operations a piece of cake… well, kind of.

What if we cannot SWIM?

When reading a document like the one I mentioned and seeing that the authors apparently have not really considered the changes that will be brought by system wide information management, one sees the spectre of a new ATM system that continues to labour under the same, lack of information induced, limitations we are so familiar with to-day.
Everyone working on the design of the future system must realise that what have been constraints in the past must become requirements in the future, to be satisfied by system wide information management.
It is not possible to work on ATM system requirements without possessing a deep understanding of what system wide information management can and cannot do.
ATM requirements must push SWIM while SWIM should only very rarely form a limitation on ATM.
We will drown in the sea of information if we do not learn to SWIM in time!

Nothing is lost – yet

We are all well aware that there is work ongoing on the subject of SWIM at several levels. Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) has shown what information sharing can do to improve things, the transition from Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) to Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) is happening now, the future flight plan uses SWIM-like mechanisms and the concept of SWIM has been described and discussed many times over in SESAR.
If a document gets written ignoring the changes SWIM will bring, the excuse cannot be that it is not clear what SWIM is all about.
Most often people default to the traditional picture of the world for one of two, rather pedestrian, reasons:

• It is easier to work with what they know and understand; or
• They have honestly failed to read up on SWIM and its consequences

Both problems are easy to remedy. In the first instance, managers and supervisors must insist that every element of the new ATM system be defined and described taking the facilities of the SWIM environment into account. SWIM may not be fully defined at this stage of development, but SWIM is a service to ATM. Hence, if the ATM folks have a requirement against information management, they should just state it. It will then drive the SWIM definition.
The problem in the second bullet point is simply a matter of communication. All too often we old hands tend to assume that when we sleep, walk, eat and live with SWIM, everybody else does the same. This is a big mistake!
We must ensure that the virtues, issues and details of SWIM are communicated all the time to all who will be required to work in areas affected by SWIM. That new developments, new facilities, new solutions are added to the basic description as they become available and people are triggered to update their knowledge. We should never assume that they know…
The power of information is in sharing it. This is true of SWIM as it is for any other area!