Keynote Presentations

The keynote speakers for SimTecT 2005 were:

Opening Address

Captain David Coates
General Manager, Flight Operations Training, Qantas

Captain Coates opened SimTecT with a discussion of the benefits that modern simulators were providing airlines in terms of additional and more cost effective training. He saw that Human Factors training was a growth industry, with tangible benefits. Captain Coates noted that stronger cross-functional customer / supplier partnerships were required to continue to enhance the gains already achieved.

A Future View from Defence

Dr Nanda Nandagopal
Director Systems Sciences Laboratory, Defence Science Technology Organisation

Simulation already underpins a broad range of key intellectual activities across Defence. They are increasingly evident across the nine application areas formally recognised by Defence in its policy for simulation. In broad terms the use of simulation enhances the development of capability across and between the three services allowing Defence to be better positioned to support the Australian Government in an increasingly challenging international environment.

In future we will increasingly see simulation as a key enabler in developing and maintaining the required levels of Defence capability in an environment of limited resources. Simulation support to capability development will extend well beyond the individual platforms and training, encompassing integration between systems and platforms along with concept development, experimentation and collective training across our services, including those from allied nations. In addition, the ready availability of economical networks of simulations will mean that individuals and groups can regularly interact with each other, to resolve conceptual, doctrinal and procedural differences, to ‘socialise’ and build trust, and thus to increase their cohesion and effectiveness when conducting real operations. Simulation will cost-effectively complement all capability development activities by enabling them to focus on areas of high value, opportunity or risk through preparatory activities are undertaken in virtual environments.

Key to all of this is the integration of simulations and synthetic environments. DSTO has recognised this through the development of its various BattleLabs and a supporting strategic initiative to facilitate interoperability between these. These BattleLabs range from virtual ships and aircraft, to missile simulations. Each Battlelab plays an important role in supporting decision making for projects within its own particular domain. Promoting interoperability between Battlelabs opens up considerable additional opportunities for gaining understanding into the complex interaction which occur in modern warfare. That is, cooperative Battlelabs will allow Army, Air Force and Navy to test and develop their particular systems within a fundamentally joint synthetic environment. The suite of modelling and simulation tools incorporated together within interoperable BattleLabs will contribute to and benefit from work underway within the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in collaboration with our partners in industry, academia and overseas.

Dr Nandagopal received his B.E., M.S., and PhD degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Madras, Indian Institute of Technology and the University of Adelaide respectively. He has held academic positions at the University of Adelaide, McMaster University, Canada and the University of Melbourne. He joined DSTO in 1989 as a Principal Research Scientist. He was promoted to Senior Principal Research Scientist in 1990. He has worked as the Research Leader Maritime Weapons Systems in the Weapons Systems Division of DSTO. He has held an Adjunct Associate Professor position at the University of Adelaide. He has also been appointed Adjunct Fellow of the Australian National University in Canberra. In July 1996, he was promoted to Chief, Weapons Systems Division of DSTO. He has directed the Australian Weapons Research Programme from 1996 to Feb 2000. Dr Nandagopal has been the Chairman and Australian National Leader for The Technical Cooperation Program on Weapon Guidance, Control and Fuzing Technology from 1993 to 1996. From 1996 to Feb 2000, he has also been the Australian National Representative on TTCP Conventional Weapons Technology Group. He has initiated a number of successful collaborative R&D programs with USN, DARPA and DERA and Australian Industry.

Dr Nandagopal became the Chief, Maritime Operations Division in 2000, assuming responsibility for maritime operations R&D, including underwater surveillance, sonar systems & processing, combat systems, anti/pro-submarine operations, mine warfare, air/surface warfare operations, underwater weapons and countermeasures.

Dr Nandagopal was designated Director Systems Sciences Laboratory from 1 Apr 02 and became the Director at the Laboratory's inauguration on 1 Jul 02.

Flight Simulation: Quality Opportunities have been Flight Planned

Mr Richard McFarlane
Head of Operational and Flight Crew Licensing Standards, Civil Aviation Authority of Australia

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recently convened a technical panel to consider the international standards and recommended practises relating to flight crew training and licensing. The Flight Crew Licensing and Training Panel (FCLTP) has now completed its deliberations and made a number of recommendations to the Air Navigation Commission including increased recognition of simulator training, organisational oversight and the implementation of a new licence. The Chairman of that Panel will provide this Conference with a summary of the FCLTP recommendations and the possible ramifications for the flight training industry with emphasis on expected future role of simulation.

Improving Human Performance Outcomes

Werner Naef, Air New Zealand

The objectives of continuous improvement, correction of findings in quality assurance and – last but not least – correction of findings of accident investigations has resulted in increased recurrent training and checking of locomotive drivers. Locomotive simulators are increasingly being used to effectively enhance training and to ensure appropriate audit outcomes by measuring and checking the performance of locomotive drivers. The technology and the methodologies are similar to those used in aviation – the process of progressively introducing simulator training also shows similar reactions within the established training community. NSW RailCorp for example operates 3 simulators in Sydney; two of them representing specific locomotives and one being used as a ‘reality centre’. Europe’s largest rail transport organisation - Deutsche Bahn – has 18 simulators operating in 12 training centres across Germany. Some 70 simulator instructors are working two-shift, 6-day weeks to accomplish the task.

In order to ensure the required uniformity across the organisations great efforts have been undertaken to ensure standardisation of training/checking methodology, of hardware, of procedures, tasks, processes and of documentation. In some organisations the standardisation process has progressed to the extent of certification of simulator instructors. The need for developing safety relevant, validated and reliable behavioural markers / norms for locomotive drivers has led to a research initiative which is in progress. Experience and expertise from aviation have supported all the processes described above, – although the rail transport system lacks the border crossing application of internationally approved standards.

The presentation will show the successful transfer of proven simulator methodology from aviation into the locomotive training systems.

Training, Exercising, and Rehearsing in the Joint Combined Battlespace Context

Steve Moore
Director, Joint Training Analysis and Simulation Center, U.S. Joint Forces Command
Deputy Joint Force Trainer, Capabilities, Joint Warfighting Center

Simulation is a key component of the United States Department of Defense’s Joint National Training Capability. Providing realistic combat training that has the proper Joint Battlespace Context is the goal, the Live-Virtual-Constructive linkage provides the means. Mr. Moore’s presentation will discuss where the United States Joint Forces Command Joint Force Trainer is headed in both the strategic dimension as well as what the command is executing currently. The history and evolution of the Joint Warfighting Center will also be discussed.

The link to United States Pacific Command’s Warfighting Center and the Joint Combined Training Capability will be conceptualized and discussed. It is clear that senior leaders from both Australia and the United States see linked ranges, augmented with virtual and constructive domains becoming a key to maintaining worldwide Defense readiness. The current and future environment paints a picture where the LVC capability compensates for insufficient live training resources. The LVC JNTC can be made globally available to meet the training needs associated with future forces and operations.

Regulatory Standards: More of the same, or Time to start thinking about new Approaches?

Donald Irving
Chair, JAA Flight Simulation Training Device Steering Group and Consultant to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority and the European Joint Aviation Authorities

View the text of the keynote address.

The existing international regulatory standards for Qualifying civil flight simulation training devices are well established and are being used by a steadily increasing number of countries. Recent revisions to the regulatory standards have consisted of correction, clarification, and adding more testing. Unfortunately, the additional testing is based on the more of the same principle rather than examining the changing nature of the task. As aeroplanes are evolving with ever more advanced systems and the required training changes over time from handling skills acquisition to systems management, do the underlying regulatory standards need to be reviewed from the ground up?

During the past five years the training industry has changed shape quite significantly. New cost conscious operators do not have the time to involve themselves in complex technical arrangements whilst procuring new equipment. Simulation providers are creating ever more innovative solutions which are increasingly difficult to regulate using the current set of standards. In parallel, more and more regulators are joining the fray demanding that their particular interpretation of the standards and rules are met.

The regulatory authorities cannot always appreciate fully the increasingly technical solutions that the training industry are creating. Should we now be starting to prepare the ground for a fundamental review of how commercial flight simulators and other associated training devices are qualified for use?

Within the regulatory system for flight simulation training devices, centralisation may soon happen within Europe. With a regulatory system already well-established within the USA, can we move forwards to a form of data package and possibly device certification which will meet these changing needs? Any such move would need the entire industry, simulator manufacturers, data package providers, equipment vendors, simulator operators and of course the regulators to step up to the challenge!

Donald Irving graduated from Glasgow University and spent the initial part of his working life with Rolls Royce working with embryonic simulation models. In 1977, he joined Rediffusion Simulation as a flight systems engineer. During this time he was fortunate to work on early auto-test systems and QTG production.

In 1988, he joined the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority as Simulator Standards Manager with a brief to reorganise their simulator evaluation program to include objective testing. During his time with the UKCAA, he was fortunate enough to be a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s, the Royal Aeronautical Society’s and the Joint Aviation Authority’s working groups on regulatory standards for flight simulators. Latterly, Don chaired the JAA’s Simulation Training Device working group developing standards for helicopter simulation devices.

In 2001-03 Don spent two years in Canberra working for the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority. During that time, he assisting in the development of CASA’s flight simulation standards and tried to spread the northern hemisphere’s philosophy on Flight Simulator evaluations and standards.

He is currently chairman of the JAA’s Flight Simulation Training Device steering group and works part time for both the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority and the European Joint Aviation Authorities.

Don Irving has been a speaker, organising committee member and chairman of a number of RAeS flight simulation conferences. In 2003, He was awarded the RAeS’s Flight Simulation Silver Medal.