Detailed Information on the
FAA Air Traffic Organization - Terminal Programs Assessment

ATO-Terminal program should ensure all major capital acquisition programs achieve compliance with American National Standards Institute standards by December 2007.

Develop a plan by December 2007 for improving the management of major capital construction projects, including business case analysis for construction projects and more systematic use of earned value management.

Support the development of common measures that will be used to compare performance between International Air Traffic Service Providers.

Measure: Rate of Category A&B Runway Incursions

Explanation:A runway incursion is any occurrence in the airport runway environment involving an aircraft, vehicle, person, or object on the ground that creates a collision hazard or results in a loss of required separation with an aircraft taking off, intending to take off, landing, or intending to land. ATO-Terminal supports the long-term outcome of decreasing the risk of fatal commercial and general aviation accidents by reducing the rate of Category A&B runway incursions. Of the four types of runway incursions, the two most serious categories A and B. Reducing runway incursions helps to decrease the likelihood of an accident. The performance data represents overall ATO performance, including ATO-Terminal. The tracking of the runway incursion rate target began in FY2006. Prior to that, the actual number of runway incursions was tracked. The runway incursion rate is calculated by counting the number of occurrences of a runway incursion and dividing them by the traffic volume. FAA uses a rate instead of actual occurrences because it enables the agency to make comparisons across all Air Traffic Control towers. The rate is reported per million operations. FAA uses the rate per million operations instead of the number of actual occurrences because it enables the agency to make comparisons across all Air Traffic Control towers, and with international service providers. While FAA has achieved its runway incursion targets in recent years, meeting these targets will pose a challenge for FAA in the coming years. While FY 2003 through FY 2005 saw a slight declining trend in the total number and rate of Category A and B runway incursions, FY 2006 saw a slight increase, with pilot deviations increasing by eight percent. Changes to commercial aviation and general aviation markets continue to pose operational challenges to airports and increase the likelihood of runway incursions. The projected growth in general aviation could place additional pressures on aviation safety. General aviation flights accounted for 55 percent of air traffic activity during a current study period, yet were involved in 72 percent of incursions.

Measure: Rate of Category A and B operational errors per million operations.

Explanation:Operational errors occur when air traffic controllers allow plans to come too close together or too close to terrain. Category A and B are the most severe operational errors. The target for FY 2006 and beyond was changed to a rate per million operations instead of the number of operational errors. Also, beginning in FY 2008, the targets reflect new criteria for measuring A and B operational errors that more objectively determines the severity of an operational error.

Measure: Percentage of National Airspace System On-Time Arrivals

Explanation:ATO-Terminal supports the long-term outcome of reduced congestion by increasing the percentage of National Airspace System On-Time arrivals. Increasing On-Time arrivals enables system users to more accurately predict arrival and departure times, and enables better planning for all other resources used in the provision of aviation services. The performance data represents overall ATO performance, including ATO-Terminal.

Measure: Average daily airport capacity for the 35 Operational Evolution Partnership airports

Explanation:The airport average daily capacity is a measure of the annual capacity level for the 35 Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) airports. Each airport facility determines the number of arrivals and departures it can handle for each hour of each day, depending on conditions including weather, equipment, runway construction, etc. This is commonly referred to as the "hourly called rate" and is used by airport operators to schedule their flights. The measure is the sum of the daily hourly-called arrival and departure rates at the 35 OEP airports per month, divided by the number of days in the month. The annual capacity level for the 35 OEP airports is the weighted sum of the monthly capacity levels. This measure provides meaningful insight over time as to how capacity is growing at the selected airports. Growth in air travel has generally been accomplished by increasing the number of flights. Measuring the growth of airport capacity indicates the limit at which increased service can be accommodated without affecting delay. ATO-Terminal supports the long-term outcome of reduced congestion by increasing the average daily airport capacity for the 35 Operational Evolution Partnership airports. These airports serve major metropolitan areas and have historically had the most impact on NAS delays. Increasing capacity at OEP airports enables increased access to busy metropolitan airports and aviation services. The performance data represents overall ATO performance, including ATO-Terminal. The FY 2004 target and actuals only included arrivals. In FY2005 and beyond the measure includes the average capacity for both arrival and departure traffic.

Measure: Average daily capacity available at select metropolitan areas

Explanation:The airport average daily capacity is a measure of the annual capacity level for the seven metropolitan area airports. Each airport facility determines the number of arrivals and departures it can handle for each hour of each day, depending on conditions including weather, equipment, runway construction, etc. This is commonly referred to as the "hourly called rate" and is used by airport operators to schedule their flights. The measure is the sum of the daily hourly-called arrival and departure rates at the seven metropolitan area airports per month, divided by the number of days in the month. The annual capacity level for the seven metropolitan area airports is the weighted sum of the monthly capacity levels. For FY 2007, the airports in these seven areas are included in this measure: New York, Philadelphia, South Central Florida, Chicago, Washington/Baltimore, the Los Angeles Basin, and the San Francisco Bay Area. This measure provides meaningful insight over time as to how capacity is growing at the selected airports chosen due their significance for traffic flow and importance to the NAS. The selected seven metropolitan areas have the most congested airspace and airports with the greatest constraints on airport expansion. Airport improvements, measured by increases in capacity at these airports, are likely to contribute the most to reduce the causes of system delay. The targets for FY2007 - FY2009 are based on seven metropolitan areas. Prior years were tracked against eight metropolitan areas. In FY2004 performance was tracked for arrival capacity only.

Measure: Operational availability of critical equipment at the 35 Operational Evolution Partnership airports

Explanation:This measure monitors the adjusted operational availability of critical operational equipment at the 35 Operational Evolution Partnership airports. The measure is the percent of time specific equipment is available to deliver service. Adjusted Operational Availability is the ratio of maximum facility/service hours minus all outage time except for improvements to maximum facility/service hours, expressed as a percent.

Measure: Percent of major system investments within ten percent of budget

Explanation:This measure monitors ATO-Terminal's effectiveness in ensuring that major system acquisitions are within ten percent of budget. The measure is determined by calculating the annual expenditure against the planned expenditure. This measure tracked only select programs and their high-level milestones through FY 2008. Beginning in FY 2009, defined criteria will be used to ensure all baseline programs, including those submitting OMB-300 Exhibits, will be tracked with Level 1, 2 and 3 milestones. FAA continues to use an annual target of 90% due to the uncertainty that afflicts cost estimates for large procurement projects. In order for more than 90% of the agency's programs to consistently achieve the budget targets, those programs would have to be planned with an unrealistically low margin for error. This would introduce an unacceptable level of risk that could not be mitigated cost-effectively.

Measure: Percent of major system investments on schedule

Explanation:This measure monitors ATO-Terminal's effectiveness in ensuring that major system acquisitions are on schedule. The measure is determined by tracking the actual schedule performance against the planned schedule performance. . This measure tracked only select programs and their high-level milestones through FY 2008. Beginning in FY 2009, defined criteria will be used to ensure all baseline programs, including those submitting OMB-300 Exhibits, will be tracked with Level 1, 2 and 3 milestones. FAA continues to use an annual target of 90% due to the uncertainty that afflicts schedule estimates for large procurement projects. In order for more than 90% of the agency's programs to consistently achieve the schedule targets, those programs would have to be planned with an unrealistically low margin for error. This would introduce an unacceptable level of risk that could not be mitigated cost-effectively.

Measure: Unit cost for providing terminal services

Explanation:This measure monitors the unit cost for providing terminal services. The unit cost is the service delivery point labor expenses divided by the total number of operations. Future targets are based on projected expenses and projected traffic volumes. The measure provides a high-level perspective on the cost of providing services to our customers. The long-term goal for this measure is to control the unit cost while handling the projected increase in traffic volume. In the near-term, the targets and actual performance will move up and down as the turnover in the controller work force occurs.

Measure: Productivity rate at service delivery points

Explanation:This measure monitors productivity at each of the ATO-Terminal service delivery points. ATO-Terminal productivity is the number of operations per direct employee. Direct employees are the people within ATO-Terminal, including air traffic controllers and first level supervisors, who have direct interaction with the user community. With safety always ensured, this productivity measure indicates the balance between efficiency and capacity. ATO-Terminal uses this measure to manage its staffing costs. Productivity increases are needed to handle the projected increase in air traffic volume. Without these improvements, higher controller staffing levels would be required to handle the same volume of expected traffic, leading to an increase in cost.

Measure: ATO-Terminal staffing ratio

Explanation:This measure monitors the staffing ratio at each service delivery point to ensure the proper balance between line and staff functions. The ATO-Terminal direct/indirect staffing ratio is determined by dividing the number of direct employees by the number of indirect employees at a location. Direct Employees are those involved in the actual provision of air traffic control services (e.g., controllers, supervisors, etc.). Indirect employees are the remaining facility personnel who support the direct employees (e.g., Facility Manager, Administrative Assistant, etc.). ATO-Terminal uses this measure to manage staff costs since it is an indicator of potential overtime spending requirements. For example, if the ratio moves below the target level then there are not enough direct employees and overtime spending will most likely have to increase. In the long-term, the intent is to gradually increase the ratio meaning there are more direct employees providing services to our customers. In the near-term, the targets and actual performance will move up and down as the turnover in the controller work force takes place.

Measure: Rate of fatalities per 100 million persons on board.

Explanation:Beginning in FY2008, the FAA introduced a new performance metric for commercial air carrier safety??Fatalities per 100 Million Persons on Board. This new metric is more relevant to the flying public, as it better measures the individual risk. All fatalities, including passengers, crewmembers, ramp workers, and ground fatalities, are considered equally. The measure is calculated as the number of fatalities (including ramp accidents and other fatalities as a result of the accident) divided by number of passengers and crew on board flights. The agency aims to cut this risk in half by 2025. Before FY 2008, the commercial fatality rate was a rolling three-year average of the accident rate. The three-year average was calculated by dividing the number of accidents for the previous 36 months by the number of departures.

Measure: Number of general aviation accidents.

Explanation:This measure counts the number of general aviation and non-scheduled Part 135 fatal accidents during the fiscal year. The measure includes all civil (non-military) general aviation aircraft operations that are not Part 121 or Part 135 (commercial aviation). FAA and the general aviation community developed General Aviation Fatal Accidents measure as an overall measure of the impact of improved safety. Beginning in FY 2009, this measure will be converted to a rate. The new safety metric will track the general aviation fatal accident rate as the performance measure rather than the number of fatal accidents. The current measure is not rate-based and does not reflect fleet activity levels and their relationship to the number of fatal accidents. The new performance measure will be a true rate-based metric that tracks changes in the fatal accident rate for a fixed volume of flight hours. The performance target baseline will cover the period from 5/1/05 through 4/30/08. This 3-year period captures the safest years ever recorded for General Aviation so consequently, the baseline and targets should be ambitious. FAA's goal is to reduce general aviation fatal accidents over the next ten years to no more than one accident per 100,000 flight hours. Targets for the revised measure will be available near the end of FY 2008.

Is the program purpose clear?

Explanation: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was established by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and is responsible for regulating air commerce and fulfilling the requirements of national defense; controlling the use of the navigable airspace ensuring safety and efficiency; promoting, encouraging, and developing civil aeronautics; and consolidating research and development with respect to air navigation facilities. The FAA is comprised of four lines of business and 11 staff offices that are vested with fulfillment of this mission. The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is FAA's largest line of business and is responsible for operating the National Airspace System (NAS). The ATO's mission is to "improve continuously the safety and efficiency of aviation, while being responsible to our customers and accountable to the public." The ATO has four operational service units including the ATO terminal program which has responsibility to provide terminal air traffic control services in the national airspace. The terminal environment includes airport surface operations such as take-offs and landings managed by an airport's air traffic control tower and terminal area operations managed by a terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facility for operations up to approximately 18,000 feet and within 40 miles of an airport.

Evidence: Federal Aviation Act (P.L. 85-726), Title 49 USC, Subtitle 7, Part A, Section 40103 "Sovereignty and use of airspace"; Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-176); Executive Order 13180; Executive Order 13264; FAA Order 1100.126; FAA Order 1100.163; FAA Order 7210.3.

Does the program address a specific and existing problem, interest, or need?

Explanation: The FAA's sole responsibility is to operate and regulate the air traffic system to ensure the safe and efficient flow of air traffic. The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is the operating element of the FAA that oversees the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace. The ATO is comprised of four operating units and five support offices. The provision of air traffic control services occur through the collaborative efforts of the four ATO operating units (i.e., Terminal Services, En Route & Oceanic Services, System Operations Services, Technical Operations Services). As one of the four operating units in the ATO, the Terminal program provides air traffic control services for airport surface operations and operations up to approximately 18,000 feet and within 40 miles of an airport.

Evidence: Federal Aviation Act (P.L. 85-726), Title 49 USC, Subtitle 7, Part A, Section 40103 "Sovereignty and use of airspace"; Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-176); Executive Order 13180; Executive Order 13264.

Is the program designed so that it is not redundant or duplicative of any other Federal, state, local or private effort?

Explanation: There is no overlap between the FAA's management of the national airspace (NAS) and any other entity. Public Law (49 U.S.C.A. § 106) charges the FAA with "controlling the use of the navigable airspace of the United States by regulating both civil and military operations in that airspace in the interest of safety and efficiency." While other entities provide air traffic control services (e.g., Department of Defense and Contract Towers), they do so only under the authority and oversight of the FAA. These arrangements are documented through agreements, Executive Orders, and Executive Policy. The specific responsibility to operate the NAS is carried out through the ATO, with ATO-Terminal managing airport and arrival/departure operations near the airport. Any activities involving other parties are coordinated and carried out under the auspices of the FAA and governed by advisory circulars for establishment of airport services. ATO-Terminal coordinates air traffic services with the other ATO operating units (i.e., En Route & Oceanic Services, System Operations Services, and Technical Operations Services). Terminal provides air traffic control service in and around the airport, En Route & Oceanic provides air traffic control service between both domestic and international airports, System Operations coordinates the overall efficiency of the NAS, and Technical Operations ensures the services and equipment needed by the three operating units are available.

Evidence: Federal Aviation Act (P.L. 85-726), Title 49 USC, Subtitle 7, Part A, Section 40103 "Sovereignty and use of airspace"; Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-176); Airport Planning Standard; Advisory Circular 150/5300-13; Federal Contract Tower Contract Example; Executive Orders 13180 and 13264; Presidential Decision Directive 39 - Synopsis.

Is the program design free of major flaws that would limit the program's effectiveness or efficiency?

Explanation: The design and structure of the FAA and ATO clearly allocates primary responsibility for operation of air traffic services within the national airspace (NAS) to four operational service units, based on physical segments of the NAS (e.g. en route and terminal environments) and supporting operations (e.g. technical and system operations). The ATO-Terminal program works in concert with the other operational units within the ATO to provide safe and efficient air traffic control services in the terminal environment. The design of the terminal program for air traffic control - based on direct communications between pilots and air traffic controllers - is free of major flaws that limit the program's efficiency and effectiveness. The Terminal program and FAA need to continue to implement NextGen programs that increase the efficiency and capacity of the air traffic control system, for example, by adopting more automated communication systems, more precise navigation, and predictive traffic management capability.

Evidence: ATO 2004 Annual Report; ATO 2005 Annual Report; FY2006 FAA Performance & Accountability Report Highlights; FAA Flight Plan Scorecards (2004 - 2006); NextGen Financing Reform Act of 2007.

Is the program design effectively targeted so that resources will address the program's purpose directly and will reach intended beneficiaries?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal directly supports the FAA's operational functions, which in turn supports the flying public. ATO-Terminal services are delivered directly to the consumers of aviation services via interaction with pilots. No intermediaries are involved in the actual delivery of air traffic control services. Program resources are being used directly and effectively to meet the program's purpose, as evidenced by the fact that more than 90 percent of the funding used by the program directly supports the provision of terminal air traffic control services. Terminal air traffic services have achieved several of their performance goals for reducing operational errors and runway incursions, and improving the capacity of the national air space and the rate of on-time arrivals. This is evidence that the program is reaching the intended beneficiaries. The program is not subsidizing activities that would have occurred without the program.

Evidence: Terminal Services Monthly Financial Report (12/06); SMP Finance Metrics - Service Unit Level (12/06); Controller Workforce Plan; ATO-Terminal FY2006 End of Year Financial Report; FY2006 Total Obligations = $1,847,258,638 & FY2006 Service Delivery Point Labor Obligations $1,673,112,183

Does the program have a limited number of specific long-term performance measures that focus on outcomes and meaningfully reflect the purpose of the program?

Explanation: The ATO-Terminal program has specific long-term performance measures, tied to specific programs and projects, which support accomplishment of long-term Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA goals. Four of the DOT performance measures identified in the FAA Flight Plan serve as the long-term performance measures for the ATO-Terminal program (two safety goals -- reducing the commercial air carrier and general aviation fatal accident rates and two reduced congestion goals -- increase reliability and on-time performance of scheduled carriers and increase capacity for the 35 Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) airports to meet projected demand and reduce congestion). The OEP airports are the 35 largest, capacity-constrained airports in the U.S. These four long-term performance measures are focused on the FAA outcomes of safety, capacity, and efficiency of the NAS. The ATO-Terminal program also manages two supplemental safety measures that directly relate to the FAA Flight Plan safety measures and are tracked against the 524 airports for which ATO-Terminal is responsible: 1) reducing the rate of runway incursions and 2) reducing the rate of operational errors. These supplemental safety goals are ATO-Terminal's leading indicators of safety performance. Together there are six long-term performance measures used by ATO-Terminal to measure progress towards the DOT and FAA Flight Plan safety and capacity goals. The first two (reducing the commercial air carrier and general aviation fatal accident rates) are also used by other ATO and FAA programs as indications of the outcome of aviation safety.

Evidence: Flight Plan 2007-2011; FAA Strategic Planning Process-Guidance for Developing Business Plans; FAA Strategic Planning Process - Business Plan Responsibility Alignment Matrix; ATO/ATO-Terminal Strategy Map & Performance Measures; Diagram of DOT-FAA-ATO-ATO-Terminal Goal Linkages; Quarterly FAA Flight Plan Performance Reports.

Does the program have ambitious targets and timeframes for its long-term measures?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal's long-term measures are ambitious and are mapped to multi-year objectives, which facilitates tracking progress through the establishment of annual milestones. The FAA Flight Plan is the strategic plan containing long term performance goals. The targets and timeframes in the Flight Plan are consistent with the Department of Transportation's goals established for the FAA. Baselines have been established for the measures based on historical performance and specific, quantified targets have been set to increase performance to sufficient levels to meet the expected demand for services in the future. The ATO-Terminal program goals (identified in response to 2.1) have ambitious targets that promote continued improvement. The targets and timeframes are consistent with the FAA Flight Plan.

Evidence: Flight Plan 2007-2011; FAA Strategic Planning Process - Business Plan Responsibility Alignment Matrix; FY2006 FAA Performance & Accountability Report Highlights; Source & Accuracy Statements for Performance Measures; FAA FY2008 Performance Budget Exhibit IV-1 & IV-2; FY2008 CJ - Org. Excellence; FY2008 CJ - Reduced Congestion; FY2008 CJ - Safety.

Does the program have a limited number of specific annual performance measures that can demonstrate progress toward achieving the program's long-term goals?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal has seven, discrete, quantifiable, annual performance measures that demonstrate progress toward achieving the program's long-term goals and outcomes. Progress toward these goals is measured monthly and reported in the FAA Flight Plan goals. The implementation of the Flight Plan occurs through development and execution of an annual business plan by each of FAA's lines of business. The ATO business plan contains annual performance measures and identifies the specific subset of activities to be undertaken in a given year. The annual performance measures and activities of ATO-Terminal are represented in the business plan. The annual performance measures have baselines and targets that have been established through 2012. ATO-Terminal's business plan shows the linkage of the Flight Plan performance measures, the Terminal Program's activity and activity target, and the associated funding to be used to accomplish the activity. Seven performance measures have been established within the program to measure safety, capacity and efficiency from additional perspectives. Two measures are tracked against a specific set of airports: 1) average daily capacity for seven metropolitan areas, and 2) adjusted equipment availability at the 35 OEP airports. Three other measures are tracked against all airports for which ATO-Terminal is responsible: 3) unit cost, 4) productivity and 5) direct/in-direct staffing ratios. Two measures are tracked for Capital Acquisition Programs: 6) critical acquisitions on budget and 7) critical acquisitions on schedule. The six long-term outcome measures and seven additional output measures are focused on the outcomes of safety, efficiency, and capacity of the national airspace and provide a well-balanced view of progress towards accomplishment of the Flight Plan goals.

Evidence: FY2007 ATO Business Plan, FY2007 ATO-Terminal Business Plan, Quarterly FAA Flight Plan Performance Reports, Diagram to show flow of measures through documents; Source & Accuracy Statements for Performance Measures; ATO/ATO-Terminal Strategy Map & Performance Measures.

Does the program have baselines and ambitious targets for its annual measures?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal, in conjunction with sponsors and partners, develops baselines and specific, quantified targets for all of its annual measures. Targets are developed through 2012. Each measure is constructed from baselines established using 3-5 years of historical data. A target is then calculated annually, allowing room for improvement within the measurement while pushing the organization to achieve maximum productivity. In general, the annual targets for the program are ambitious, however the targets for the system acquisition measures are no longer ambitious (based on actual performance) and do not provide meaningful review.

Evidence: Flight Plan 2007-2011; FY2007 ATO Business Plan; FY2007 ATO-Terminal Business Plan; ATO/ATO-Terminal Strategy Map & Performance Measures; Source & Accuracy Statements for Performance Measures; FAA Flight Plan Scorecards (2004 - 2006).

Do all partners (including grantees, sub-grantees, contractors, cost-sharing partners, and other government partners) commit to and work toward the annual and/or long-term goals of the program?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal partners include the other operational units in the ATO (e.g. En Route, System Operations, etc), other governmental agencies (e.g. DOD), and contractors. Partners in the other ATO service units and elsewhere in the FAA commit to the ATO-Terminal annual and long-term program goals through the FAA business planning process. Alignment of the FAA lines of business and alignment of individual ATO service units in support of the FAA Flight Plan occurs through the development of individual business plans. Regularly scheduled reviews are conducted to ensure compliance and progress. The business planning process ensures that all the necessary organizations are engaged in the planning and execution process and measure and report on their performance as it relates to accomplishing the initiative. Other governmental agencies commit to and work toward ATO-Terminal goals through MOUs. Contracts include provisions to ensure appropriate controls, such as the use of earned value management reporting, or specific deliverables - cost, quality and schedule parameters that commit contractors to ATO Terminal goals.

Evidence: ATO Service Unit Business Plans (Other than ATO-T -- ATO-E, ATO-R, ATO-W, ATO-P, ATO-F, ATO-S, ATO-C, ATO-A); FAA Strategic Planning Process - Business Plan Responsibility Alignment Matrix; Initiative Profile Forms and Associated Guidance - Appendix D; FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS); Federal Contract Tower Contract Example; JPDO FY2008 Investment Guidance Direction.

Are independent evaluations of sufficient scope and quality conducted on a regular basis or as needed to support program improvements and evaluate effectiveness and relevance to the problem, interest, or need?

Explanation: External evaluations and reviews of the FAA and ATO occur on a frequent basis by entities like the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Transportation Inspector General (DOT IG), FAA Office of Safety, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These evaluations have covered sufficient scope of the ATO-terminal program and have been of high quality. The GAO and the DOT IG have conducted several reviews of different elements of the Terminal program operation such as terminal automation (Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System - STARS). The National Transportation Safety Board investigates civil aviation accidents. NTSB investigations, including the recent Lexington, Kentucky, accident often lead to recommendations for improvement of FAA and ATO operations. Independent internal audits are also performed on a recurring basis by the FAA's Office of Safety to ensure the operational services units are complying with established policies, orders, directives, and guidance. These periodic assessments are conducted on a site-by-site basis to ensure adherence at all levels of the organization. Internal reviews are conducted for each FAA-staffed facility once a year, at a minimum. Facility evaluations of the FAA's federal contract staffed towers are conducted biennially. The review criteria are defined in FAA's Air Traffic Control Quality Assurance and Air Traffic Facility Evaluation orders. Additionally, periodic audits are conducted by ICAO to ensure that NAS operations are compliant with international treaties and agreements. These structured audits evaluate the ATO's compliance with international agreements for providing air traffic services. The latest ICAO review is being conducted in three phases. The first phase was completed in April 2007. The next phase will begin during the summer of 2007. Sites visits to terminal facilities are scheduled for fall of 2007.

Evidence: GAO Reports (e.g., GAO-06-738T, GAO-06-378, GAO-05-485T); DOT IG Reports (e.g., AV-2007-032); FAA Order 7210.56 - Facility Evaluation and Quality Assurance; FAA Order 7110.1 Air Traffic Evaluations; ICAO Audit Description Document; FY2006 Performance & Accountability Report.

Are Budget requests explicitly tied to accomplishment of the annual and long-term performance goals, and are the resource needs presented in a complete and transparent manner in the program's budget?

Explanation: ATO Terminal's budget request ties requested funds and the associated programs to desired performance levels in support of FAA strategic goals. The budget presents the resources (direct and indirect) required for the accomplishment of annual and long-term goals. The budget request shows the impact of funding and legislative decisions on expected performance and includes the marginal performance impact resulting from a change in funding. ATO budget requests are linked to the accomplishment of the performance goals. For example, for FY2008 ATO-Terminal has requested $2.059 billion to establish and provide air traffic control to airplanes before take-off, contributing to the commercial aviation safety goal of reducing air carrier fatal accident rate to fewer than 0.010 fatal accidents per 100,000 departures. Also, ATO-Terminal requested $377.3 million to support the average daily airport capacity goal and the system availability goal for the 35 OEP airports. Funds requested for ATO in the FAA budget are tied methodically and specifically to DOT performance targets. If a specific appropriated resource contributes primarily to a particular target, it is assigned solely to that target, with the performance budget totals conforming to regular appropriations totals. Since FY2004, FAA has submitted a performance budget alongside the regular budget materials to Congress. This budget ties dollar requests to the DOT strategic goals, making explicit the specific funding needs of each FAA line of business in order to achieve its annual performance targets. In FY2008, the FAA established a new account structure within its budget that identified ATO as a dedicated account improving the planning and budgeting integration across ATO.

Evidence: FAA FY2008 Performance Budget Exhibit IV-1 & IV-2; Zero-based Budget Build-Up/Build-Down Tables within ATO that support FY2008 OMB Budget Submission; Capital Investment Plan Narrative Examples for ASDE-X & ITWS; ATO-Terminal Program Definition Chart; FY2008 CJ - Org. Excellence; FY2008 CJ - Reduced Congestion; FY2008 CJ - Safety.

Has the program taken meaningful steps to correct its strategic planning deficiencies?

Explanation: Historical planning deficiencies, such as the lack of efficiency measures and lack of planning to accommodate the pending controller retirement bubble, have been addressed through implementation of the FAA business planning process. ATO-Terminal participates annually in the business planning process and is benefiting from the improvements that have been made since FY 2003. In February 2003, the FAA Administrator undertook a strategic planning effort to clearly outline FAA goals, priorities, and major initiatives. The result was the FAA Flight Plan for 2004-2008, which embodied the strategic direction, goals, performance targets, and initiatives of the FAA through FY 2008. In the fall of 2003, as part of the Flight Plan development effort, the planning team coordinated the development of FY 2004 business plans for five lines of business and 12 staff offices. The creation of FY 2004 business plans was the first agency-wide effort to standardize the business planning process, which linked each organization directly to the Flight Plan goals and objectives. The business planning process has been enhanced over time. Now ATO-Terminal updates to the Flight Plan include estimated costs for 100 percent of ATO-Terminal's budget and activities in their plan. Through the multi-year business plans, ATO-Terminal identifies major initiatives, programs, and activities with an additional emphasis on measurement and well-coordinated strategic initiatives. These process improvements are reinforced by ongoing performance reviews such as the ATO's daily operational performance meetings focused on developing and adjusting tactical plans, monthly Flight Plan performance reviews to adjust actions to achieve annual performance targets, and annual Flight Plan updates to adjust long-term plans to ensure alignment with the demand for services.

Evidence: FAA Strategic Planning Process-Guidance for Developing Business Plans; Daily Operational Performance Review Summary Sheets; Monthly Flight Plan Performance Scorecard & Meeting Minutes.

Does the agency regularly collect timely and credible performance information, including information from key program partners, and use it to manage the program and improve performance?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal collects performance information, such as data on runway incursions, airport capacity, and capital acquisitions, through the FAA reporting mechanisms on a daily, monthly and annual basis from internal and external data sources. This information is collected from ATO-Terminal programs as well as from program partners such as contractors. Performance information is used to assess and improve current performance and develop future plans. The program has baseline performance data and uses this to set meaningful and ambitious targets for future performance. The FAA verifies and validates the accuracy of these data through reviews or preliminary and final reports. Operational and acquisition performance data is collected and analyzed by independent quality assurance staff offices. These staff offices operate following FAA policy and orders with defined criteria for frequency, timeliness, accuracy, and completeness. Performance information is provided to FAA managers in daily, monthly and annual reports. ATO-Terminal participates in a daily review of its operational performance and collaborates to establish a tactical operating plan for the day. ATO-Terminal works in coordination with the other operating units to make daily tactical adjustments to address issues, such as weather constraints, by implementing the necessary traffic flow restrictions to ensure safe and efficient operations. ATO-Terminal conducts internal reviews of tactical and strategic performance on a monthly basis to support the broader reviews. Adjustments to plans are made as a result of these monthly reviews. On an annual basis, ATO-Terminal participates in a review of the long-term plans (including FAA Flight Plan goals and objectives). These adjustments are factored into the annual budget submissions. In 2006, ATO-Terminal, working with ATO-En Route & Oceanic and ATO-Safety, was able to coordinate a mid-year realignment of ATO-Safety office personnel. Some of the ATO-Safety staff working on runway incursion reduction was reassigned to operational error prevention once it was observed that the runway incursion targets were being met while performance against the operational error targets was lagging behind.

Evidence: Monthly Flight Plan Performance Scorecard & Meeting Minutes; Monthly ATO-Terminal SMP Performance Review Charts; Daily Operational Performance Review Summary Sheets; FAA Strategic Planning Process-Guidance for Developing Business Plans; Source & Accuracy Statements for Performance Measures; GAO Report - GAO-06-378.

Are Federal managers and program partners (including grantees, sub-grantees, contractors, cost-sharing partners, and other government partners) held accountable for cost, schedule and performance results?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal program managers are held accountable for cost, schedule, and performance results. However, ATO-Terminal needs to do more to hold program partners such as contractors accountable for cost, schedule, and performance results. Currently, 57 percent of ATO-Terminal's major capital acquisition projects are ANSI 748 compliant for Earned Value Management reporting. The goal is to have all major capital acquisition programs ANSI-748 compliant for EVM reporting by FY 2008. Full ANSI-748 compliance would better enable ATO-Terminal to manage its capital acquisitions for performance. In addition, ATO-Terminal needs to work to use Earned Value Management for physical capital investments such as tower and TRACON construction. Clearly defined and quantified performance measures are included in the performance plans and evaluations of ATO-Terminal managers. The FAA Performance Management System provides clear linkages between managers' individual performance plans and their expected accomplishments. The linkages are identified in the service unit business plans and are in support of FAA Flight Plan goals and objectives. Additionally, the executive Short Term Incentive (STI) Program is used to reinforce management accountability for meeting cost and schedule targets throughout ATO. Executive pay and performance bonuses are tied directly to accomplishment of the performance plans and STI's. The FAA uses a performance-based system for compensating most of its employees. Within ATO-Terminal approximately 97 percent of the employees are covered by a performance-based pay plan which directly links employee pay increases and bonuses to the agency's key performance goals.

Evidence: Performance Management System Guidance & Documentation; ATO Senior Executive Service Short-Term Incentives; Organizational Success Increase documentation; Core Compensation Plan Documentation.

Are funds (Federal and partners') obligated in a timely manner, spent for the intended purpose and accurately reported?

Explanation: The ATO-Terminal program has an annual spending plan that corresponds to the resource needs of the program. The ATO-Terminal financial staff monitor and control expenditures for field organizations at service delivery points. Quarterly budget performance reviews are held to assess service unit execution against program plans and budgets. ATO-Terminal has a funds certification process that is coordinated by ATO-Terminal's comptroller office with ATO-Finance. The process validates that the funds are being spent for the intended purpose before the expenditures are authorized. Procedures exist to take timely and appropriate action to correct any single audit findings if funds are not spent as intended. A limited amount of unobligated funds remain at the end of the fiscal year. Program awards are reported promptly and accurately. In addition, there is a review process for all acquisition and service contracts exceeding $10 million. This review requires preparation of a detailed business case, independent government cost estimate, competition approach, contract type and deliverables. Proposed acquisitions are submitted by service unit vice presidents and reviewed by the appropriate FAA staff offices before approval by the CFO to proceed with the procurement request. Any acquisition exceeding $1 million in life cycle expenses must also be approved by the ATO Executive Council. In addition to these reviews, acquisition programs must comply with the FAA's Acquisition Management System (AMS) policy and guidance. Additional controls have been put in place to manage the modernization and replacement of towers and TRACONs. The ATO-Terminal program has established a detailed requirements process consistent with the FAA's AMS. For example, any reprogramming of funds in the Tower Replacement account is coordinated through the ATO Executive Council, FAA's CFO and DOT prior to submission to Congress for final approval. Cost estimating is being improved and standard designs have been adopted. A Facility Master Plan, spanning multiple years, is maintained and shared with Congress to document the planned actions that result from these processes.

Evidence: ATO-F Guidance to Service Units on ATO-Finance Website; ATO Organization Charts; Terminal Services Monthly Financial Report (12/06); SMP Finance Metrics - Service Unit Level (12/06); ABA Guidance on Investments exceeding $10M; ATO Guidance on Investments exceeding $1M.

Does the program have procedures (e.g. competitive sourcing/cost comparisons, IT improvements, appropriate incentives) to measure and achieve efficiencies and cost effectiveness in program execution?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal measures organizational efficiency such as the productivity of terminal service delivery points and the unit cost of terminal operations. Measures such as these, with financial data, traffic information, and labor distribution reporting provide insight into progress toward longer term organizational efficiency goals. Baselines and targets for program delivery efficiency have been established (e.g., unit cost, productivity, direct/indirect staffing ratios, LDR compliance). These measures and targets ensure effective delivery of service is maintained. Accurate and timely tracking and reporting of these organizational efficiency measures has enabled ATO-Terminal to identify cost savings within the operating budget. These savings have been used to address facility sustainment needs (e.g., paint, carpet, window repair, etc.). Earned value management reporting is used to ensure efficient delivery of the contracted products or services. ATO-Terminal facility investments are prioritized for investment consideration and defined through the ATO-Terminal facility requirements process. Acquisition and service contracts exceeding $10 million require a detailed business case, independent government cost estimate, competition approach, contract type and deliverables. Proposed acquisitions are reviewed and approved by the ATO executives. These reviews and approval cycles establish the performance and reporting parameters that are to be used by each investment. While other units in the FAA have undergone a competitive sourcing review, ATO-Terminal has not yet developed a competitive sourcing plan for its operations.

Evidence: ATO 2005 Annual Report; ATO/ATO-Terminal Strategy Map & Performance Measures; FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS); ASDE-X EVM Data; ITWS EVM Data; Terminal Facility Master Plan Model Description; Terminal Facility Requirements Process Diagram; List of Major System Acquisitions - Exhibit 300s.

Does the program collaborate and coordinate effectively with related programs?

Explanation: The ATO-Terminal program collaborates and coordinates with several other Federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Commerce. The ATO- Terminal program jointly acquires and operates radars with DOD and has routine information sharing with DOD concerning the National Airspace. A specific acquisition example of this is the joint DOD/FAA acquisition of the ASR-11 radars. ATO-Terminal also jointly acquires and operates NEXRAD weather radars with the Department of Commerce. The ATO-Terminal program coordinates with other member agencies of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Recent examples of additional coordination include plans for satellite-based navigation capability that are based on agreements with JPDO members, identification of a new suite of weather applications to support aviation based on agreements within the JPDO forum, redefined voice switch architecture that expanded the requirements and introduced additional alternatives that will meet the needs of other users such as DOD, and the increased level of coordination with DOD since September 11. ATO- Terminal also collaborates and coordinates with programs within the FAA. In the operational arena Terminal and En Route must continuously coordinate to ensure the safe, effective, and efficient movement of air traffic throughout the NAS. ATO-Terminal must coordinate with other service units to effectively execute acquisition programs. Additional coordination among FAA programs occurs through development of the FAA Flight Plan.

Evidence: MOU's with DoD; FAA Strategic Planning Process-Guidance for Developing Business Plans; FY2007 ATO Business Plan; FAA Strategic Planning Process - Business Plan Responsibility Alignment Matrix; JPDO FY2008 Investment Guidance Direction.

Does the program use strong financial management practices?

Explanation: In 2006, FAA received a qualified opinion on its financial statements. The qualification was related to the accuracy of the Construction in Progress (CIP) account, with a related material weakness for lack of supporting documentation and a need for strengthened policies and procedures in the capitalization process. This material weakness affects several FAA programs, including the ATO-Terminal program. The ATO-Terminal program conducts monthly financial reviews for all appropriations used by the program. The ATO-Terminal comptroller has established procedures and issued guidance to ensure compliance with the ATO-Finance policy/guidance by all members of the ATO-Terminal management team. ATO-Terminal is also subject to monthly and quarterly reviews by ATO-Finance. All fund certifiers must be approved by the ATO-Terminal comptroller. As a result of ATO-Finance's oversight, ATO-Terminal uses improved processes for financial management through adoption of best business practices and contemporary financial management techniques and economic controls, including better up-front planning and the use of Earned Value Management (EVM) for capital acquisitions. FAA uses the DOT DELPHI Financial Management System which has been certified by the Financial Systems Integration Office as meeting all federal accounting requirements, including the US Standard General Ledger.

Evidence: ATO-F Guidance to Service Units on ATO-Finance Website; ATO Organization Charts; Terminal Services Monthly Financial Report (12/06); SMP Finance Metrics - Service Unit Level (12/06); FY2006 Clean Audit Findings (NFRs Status - Executive Summary - 3/15/07); FY2006 FAA Construction in Progress Corrective Action Plan (2/9/07).

Has the program taken meaningful steps to address its management deficiencies?

Explanation: The FAA responded to identified financial management weaknesses by establishing an action plan to remedy the observed deficiency with the Construction in Progress account and to correct the audit material weakness. This action plan identifies senior executive responsibility for correcting the deficiency, establishes a timeline for resolving the issue, and sets up a recurring status interchange with the FAA's Deputy Administrator to ensure the action plan remains on track. FAA is on track to complete this action plan by June 30, 2007. Other issues identified in the FY2006 plan reside with other parts of the FAA for remediation. In order to better manage acquisition costs and schedules, FAA has implemented stringent executive reviews and management controls to oversee its acquisition programs. Major investment programs must successfully complete the ATO-Finance Capital Investment Team (CIT) review process that analyzes the costs, benefits, and methodology of each investment. The ATO Executive Council reviews major investments prior to submitting them to the Joint Resources Council (JRC) for further reviews and approvals. These improvements and better management processes have resulted in significantly improved cost and schedule results for ATO acquisition programs. Steps have also been taken to ensure adequate staffing and hiring plans are in place to manage the expected air traffic controller retirements. In 2004, the ATO released its first Controller Workforce Plan and has updated it twice. The Controller Workforce Plan identifies actions and sets annual performance targets to enable the agency to fill its critical controller positions. It enables measurement of progress towards the stated hiring goals contained in the plan. FAA financial and budgetary needs (including estimates of controller productivity) have also been aligned to account for pending retirements and expected growth in controller hiring.

Evidence: FY2006 FAA Construction in Progress Corrective Action Plan (2/9/07); A Plan For The Future 2007-2016, The Federal Aviation Administration's 10-Year Strategy for the Air Traffic Control Workforce, March 2007.

Has the program demonstrated adequate progress in achieving its long-term performance goals?

Explanation: ATO-Terminal is achieving most of its long-term goals. While the agency did not meet its interim target for the commercial fatal accident rate for FY2006, the overall trend improved from FY2005 largely because the ATO-Terminal program met the runway incursion and operational error goals set for FY2006. Other long-term goals met include: reduced general aviation fatal accidents and runway incursions. Fewer runway incursions caused by operational errors accounts for most of the improvement. On-time performance goals were met, in part due to traffic flow initiatives like the Airspace Flow Program, which began in 2006.

Evidence: Flight Plan 2007-2011; FY2006 FAA Performance & Accountability Report Highlights.

Does the program (including program partners) achieve its annual performance goals?

Explanation: The ATO-Terminal program achieved the FY2006 annual performance goals for the runway incursions and operational errors. These goals are tracked at all airports for which ATO-Terminal is responsible. ATO-Terminal also achieved the FY2006 annual performance goals for NAS on-time arrival, adjusted equipment availability, and average daily airport capacity, which are tracked at the 35 OEP airports and eight metropolitan areas. The Terminal program missed its targets for 2006 efficiency measures: unit cost, productivity, staffing ratio. The terminal program should consider more ambitious targets or alternate measures for the system acquisition measures since the current targets do not demonstrate improved performance based on 2006 actual performance data.

Evidence: Flight Plan 2007-2011, ATO 2004 Annual Report; ATO 2005 Annual Report; ATO-Terminal FY2006 End of Year Performance Report.

Does the program demonstrate improved efficiencies or cost effectiveness in achieving program goals each year?

Explanation: In FY2006, the ATO consolidated the Air Traffic and Airways Facility Support functions from nine regional offices to three service centers. For the ATO, the consolidation is estimated to save $29.2 million in FY2008 and have an estimated cost savings and avoidance of $347 million over 10 years. Specifically for ATO-Terminal, there were approximately one hundred positions reduced from ATO-Terminal in conjunction with the effort to consolidate the nine service centers to three. Although ATO-Terminal achieved efficiencies through the ATO consolidation, ATO-Terminal did not achieve its 2006 targets for its efficiency measures: unit cost, productivity, and staffing ratio. However, within ATO-Terminal, unit costs have still decreased since FY2004 by approximately 7%. Terminal productivity has increased by approximately 2% consistent with the ATO-wide gains.

Evidence: ATO-Terminal FY2006 End of Year Financial Report; Flight Plan 2007-2011

Does the performance of this program compare favorably to other programs, including government, private, etc., with similar purpose and goals?

Explanation: In the U.S., the FAA is a unique agency created to regulate and operate the National Airspace System. There are other international air traffic control organizations such as NAVCanada in Canada and NATS in the United Kingdom, but there are no evaluations that compare the terminal air services between these organizations. Informal assessments have highlighted the opportunity for international comparisons to be made. Efforts are underway in partnership with international Air Traffic Service providers to define and adopt common measures that will be used to compare performance on a global scale.

Evidence: http://www.eurocontrol.int/prc/gallery/content/public/Docs/PRR_2006.pdf; Flight Plan 2007-2011; FY2006 FAA Performance & Accountability Report Highlights

Do independent evaluations of sufficient scope and quality indicate that the program is effective and achieving results?

Explanation: Both the GAO and the DOT IG have made favorable comments regarding ATO's progress and its results to date. For example, the DOT IG found that FAA has significantly improved its air traffic controller hiring process and has made progress in reducing the time and costs to train new controllers, but still needs to identify the costs associated with its controller hiring plan. The GAO has found FAA has taken several actions to improve its management of current air traffic control modernization efforts, but air traffic modernization remains on the GAO High Risk list. Both controller staffing and air traffic modernization are critical to the success of ATO-Terminal operations. Internationally, the FAA is currently undergoing an ICAO audit as described in Section 2.6 at key terminal locations such as Houston Tower and Dallas/Fort Worth TRACON. Previous ICAO evaluations have found the FAA in compliance with international agreements.

Evidence: GAO 07-649T: "Progress and Challenges in Planning and Implementing the Transformation of the National Airspace System"; DOT IG Report: "FAA's FY 2008 Budget Request: Key Issues Facing the Agency"; GAO Reports (e.g., GAO-06-738T, GAO-06-378, GAO-05-485T); DOT IG Reports (e.g., AV-2007-032); ICAO Audit Description Document;