Background

National Air Traffic Services Ltd (NATS), the preferred provider of air traffic services in the UK, has chosen Business Systems UK Ltd to supply the NiceLog and Nice Call recording solutions for their air traffic control operations. The new system has been undergoing operational trials at Gatwick, Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports, three of the thirteen major UK airports controlled by NATS. NATS required a reliable call-recording solution that would satisfy the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) regulatory requirements. The organisation chose to migrate to digital technology as their analogue recorder was manpower intensive, and parts were getting scarce.

Solution

This implementation is the first ‘digital’ air traffic control recording solution in the UK. The key requirements that NATS were looking for was for a system that would offer sufficient storage capacity and an appropriate redundancy option. The new system needed to be completely dependable in an emergency, yet cost effective both in terms of the initial outlay and then maintenance during the system’s operational life. ICAO regulations also needed to be complied with, whereby all operational traffic instructions, whether radio or telephone, have to be recorded and kept for a period of thirty days. NATS evaluated five different systems before selecting Business Systems’ recording solution.

“The quality of recordings is far better than our previous systems. The software itself is superb; it is very flexible; all recordings are instantly available for retrieval.” commented a Senior NATS Systems Engineer.

The NiceLog system digitally records up to 128 channels and integrates into NATS’ Schmid and RDCE / BT Fulcrum Adeks switches. With two loggers on each site – one main and one standby – the system can provide sufficient channels for day-to-day activity as well as backup channels in case of an emergency. It is also a requirement of the SRG (Security Regulation Group) to record and playback a time signal channel plus three other channels simultaneously, in order to ensure a true representation of events. Gatwick Airport also uses the remote supervisory system for management to monitor air traffic controllers in real-time.

“Business Systems have supplied, installed and trained all the users on the system. The product has truly met our expectations,” added a Senior NATS Systems Engineer.

View Case Study