Ken Okeke
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr Ahmed Umar Farouk, has said the Agency is advancing in digital technologies which is driving operations, processes and procedures in the global aviation industry.
Farouk, said personnel of the Agency therefore have no choice but to brace up for automation which has come to stay in NAMA.
The Managing Director spoke when the Agency held a three-day training workshop on Aeronautical Information Management and collaboration of procedures for top-level management staff of the agency.
With participants drawn from the Aero-Comms and Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) departments of the Agency across the country, the workshop which held in Lagos centred on the collaboration, harmonization and synergy among critical personnel of the agency, highlighting the importance of integrated procedures to enhance seamlessness and efficiency in the collection, processing, storage and dissemination of aeronautical data.
Farouk, noted that the training workshop had become imperative as the Agency and the aviation industry in general had gone digital in most of their operations, processes and procedures.
He therefore charged participants to “brace up for automation which has come to stay in NAMA.”
The NAMA MD who was represented by the Director of Air Traffic Services, Mr John Tayo listed the benefits of collaboration between communication and information services integrated procedures to include ensuring implementation of real-time updates of critical data such as NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) and weather reports; creating protocols for collaboration during emergencies to ensure rapid dissemination of vital information; and conducting joint training programs and simulation exercises to improve coordination and response times.
He listed other benefits to include developing and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that outline the specific roles and responsibilities of communication and information services personnel in various scenarios; ensuring that personnel are cross-trained to understand the workflows and challenges faced by their counterparts; developing automated systems for data transfer to minimize human error and enhance efficiency, among others.
“Aero-Comms and AIS departments are the backbone of information management in NAMA given that without information and data, air traffic controllers cannot function, just as pilots cannot fly. The world has moved from analogue system into digital dissemination of Aeronautical Information hence the need for Aeronautical Information Management system which is strictly the responsibility of the two departments,”Engr Farouk said.