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Three NAV CANADA employees recognized with international air traffic awards(Marketwire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 1, 2014) - NAV CANADA is proud to announce that three employees have been presented with awards from the Washington D.C. based Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA). These awards recognize outstanding achievements or contributions that add to the quality, safety or efficiency of the air traffic control system. The awards were presented on September 29, 2014 during the ATCA 59th Annual Conference & Exposition's Awards Luncheon in National Harbor, Maryland. These individuals were bestowed the following awards (Biographies attached below): Karen Walker, Director, Operational Analysis The David J. Hurley Memorial Award for Aviation Traffic Management A Medallion Award presented to an individual working in the field of Aviation Traffic Management for outstanding achievement or contribution in the area of ATC collaborative decision making, balancing air traffic demand and capacity, or maximizing airspace and airport use, which has added to the quality, efficiency and/or safety of the Global Airspace System. Glenn Hamilton, Flight Service Specialist The ATCA Air Traffic Control Specialist of the Year Award The award presented to an individual civilian air traffic control specialist who has during the previous year performed in an exemplary or extraordinary manner in support of ATC. Patrick Bureau, IIDS/EXCDS Systems Engineer ATCA Life Cycle Management Award The award recognizes the individual(s) or group whose design, development, deployment, maintenance or logistical support had a significant positive impact on the performance or operation of an important ATC system in the previous year. "It is a triple honour for NAV CANADA that these three dedicated individuals have been duly recognized for their exemplary performance by ATCA," said John Crichton, NAV CANADA President and CEO. "On behalf of all of us at NAV CANADA, I congratulate Karen, Glenn and Patrick on these well-deserved tributes from this distinguished international association. "We are very proud of the achievements of our ATCA Award recipients," said Rudy Kellar, NAV CANADA Executive Vice President, Service Delivery. "Our three winners have demonstrated consummate professionalism and have gone beyond the call of duty to deliver safety, innovation and cost efficiency." NAV CANADA is the country's private sector civil air navigation services provider. With operations from coast to coast to coast, NAV CANADA provides air traffic control, flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information services, airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation. Biographies: KAREN A. WALKER Director, Operational Analysis, Head Office Among her other duties, Karen Walker plays a central role in supporting major shifts in our Company's technology and customer service direction. Karen combines forward-thinking with a deep knowledge of the Air Navigation System (ANS), and a meticulous approach to the development of business cases that demonstrate cost and GHG emission savings for the Company and our customers. Karen led the business case work on our decision to implement Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance in Hudson Bay, northeastern Canada and in parts of the North Atlantic. She also led the analysis for the shift to Wide Area Multilateration, for multiple airspace reviews, for reduced separation minima in the North Atlantic, for the ENGAGE trials, and for projects such as staffing reviews and the development of consistent and meaningful key performance indicators. Karen`s leadership was critical in assessing the benefits of space-based ADS-B, and in supporting the Company`s decision to invest in the Aireon joint venture. The updated business case now serves as an important tool in further dialogue regarding Aireon's benefits - estimated in the hundreds of millions in annual fuel savings - with airlines and air navigation service providers around the world. Karen and her team consistently provide outstanding analytical support, working closely with colleagues at NAV CANADA and throughout the industry in demonstrating the value of new directions, new technologies and new ways of enhancing safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness. GLENN HAMILTON Flight Service Specialist, Thunder Bay FSS Glenn Hamilton is a dedicated Flight Service Specialist and a pilot with a strong concern for safety and a good eye for detail. Glenn's safety focus paid off recently when he detected a hazard in the provision of aerodrome advisory service to pilots. He was able to uncover this issue through a keen sense of observation combined with a painstaking comparison of data on two different air traffic management systems. The error he uncovered could have resulted in pilots receiving out-dated and potentially incorrect altimeter data. When Glenn brought this issue to management's attention, the Company recognized its potential implications for flight safety. As a result, management in the Winnipeg Flight Information Region (FIR), where Glenn is based, published direction to mitigate the problem and shared this information will all other FIRs across the country. It is impossible to say how long this altimeter issue could have continued to exist without Glenn's keen attention to detail and understanding of how it could potentially impact ANS safety. However, it is clear that his actions resulted in the hazard being identified, communicated and resolved. Through his initiative, Glenn protected pilots, his colleagues, and NAV CANADA from the possible consequences of this error. By first seeing that a problem could occur, then verifying it and bringing it to the Company's attention, he demonstrated through his personal conduct our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest possible standards of safety. PATRICK BUREAU IIDS/EXCDS Systems Engineer, Ottawa TSC Patrick Bureau's project leadership in migrating the Integrated Information Display System (IIDS) platform to Windows 7 has transformed the way we carry out operating-system migrations, software installations and configurations on this platform. Patrick vastly improved process efficiency, reducing the transition time by a total of 935 working days and saving about $750,000 in costs. He achieved a significant increase in PC builds per hour; a decrease in workload; reduced complexity and documentation; reduced training required to install or restore IIDS applications; and fewer installation errors. Patrick's strategy was to implement the new System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) infrastructure by breaking it down into a series of field modifications that could easily be certified and implemented. He then coordinated the development and certification of the required IIDS application. No one in Engineering had experience with this SCCM, so Patrick took it upon himself to learn how to use the technology. He then developed a course to train the Technical Operations trainers, the Engineering Test and Certification Team, and his co-workers in ATC Information Systems Engineering. Patrick then convinced others to accept his novel approach. Over time, each site had implemented special undocumented features within the legacy system. Patrick addressed this patchwork of configurations, ensuring that the functionality remained the same within the newly upgraded operating system. Through his initiative, ingenuity and leadership, Patrick developed and implemented an Engineering solution that is transformative in its impact. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Michelle Bishop Director, Government and Public Affairs (613) 563-7520 Ron Singer Manager, Media Relations (613) 563-7303 Media Information Line 1-888-562-8226 Source: NAV CANADA |