INCOSE delegates are invited to visit a world leading state-of-the-art air traffic management system at Airservices Australia's Melbourne Centre facilities during site visits on Thursday, 5 July.

Airservices Australia is a $550m a year business wholly owned by the Australian Government and which, provides air traffic management, air navigation support services and aviation rescue and firefighting.

Airservices' "The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System" (TAAATS) heralded a new era in the provision of air traffic control services when it was commissioned in March 2000.

It is the world's most advanced, integrated air traffic management system and confirms Australia's standing as a world leader in safe, efficient and cost-effective airspace management and air traffic control. TAAATS is the largest aviation infrastructure project in Australia's history.

Your Melbourne visit will be to one of two identical en route centres with the other located in Brisbane. In Melbourne, terminal services are provided for Melbourne and Canberra and en route services throughout Southern Australia and the Indian and Southern Oceans.

Airservices is responsible for airspace equivalent to 56 million square kilometres or 11 percent of the earth's surface. The Australian Flight Information Region stretches from Indonesia to the South Pole and from halfway to New Zealand to half way to Africa.

TAAATS integrates advanced flight data processing with modern radar and Automatic Dependence Surveillance (ADS) processing to provide air traffic controllers with graphical displays of aircraft position and flight information.

It provides more efficient use of controllers' time in managing air traffic, facilitating enhanced interaction, coordination and communications. The system encourages better and faster decisions providing customers with a more efficient product.

TAAATS provides datalinks for the delivery of Pre-Departure Clearances (PDCs) to aircraft before the aircraft taxis. These are either routed to a small screen in the cockpit by a Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) or to a departure gate printer for presentation to flight crew. When sent directly to the flight deck the pilot no longer has to transcribe the clearance from a voice broadcast and minimises the possibility of errors.

To assist in meeting the challenge of efficient management of air traffic, Airservices has introduced Maestro, a flow management tool used to optimise traffic flow. Maestro allows minor adjustments to speed or routing to be made to avoid costly holding sequences. It was commissioned in preparation for last September's Olympic Games in Sydney.

The challenge ahead for Airservices is to further capitalise on the technology and sophistication of TAAATS, to continually seek efficiencies, such as flexible tracking, to deliver value to our customers.

Airservices' achievements to date have included awards in the fields of air traffic management, engineering and information technology excellence, project management, design and building construction awards. In 1999, the International Air Transport Association named Airservices Australia the best air traffic provider in the world.

The tour will be from 1200H to 1500H. Aim is to pack a box lunch to have in the bus on the way to the Airport. Visit is max 90 minutes and then back at the Crest in time for the closing plenary.