SWIM, properly the identify that’s, was born within the early morning on a misty February day in a lodge room in Luxemburg. It was 1998.The abbreviation of System Wide Information Management, SWIM has now grow to be an integral aspect of each SESAR and NextGen, the air visitors administration growth tasks in Europe and the USA, respectively. Getting right here was not straightforward.
Following the publication of the primary problems with the European ATM Operational Concept Document (OCD) and the ATM Strategy for 2000+ it was felt that the wide-ranging and casual discussions that may happen at a workshop would generate beneficial extra info to feed subsequent editions of these paperwork. The workshop came about in February 1998 in Luxemburg.
The air was pregnant with the necessity to do one thing in regards to the horribly inefficient method the ocean of data generated by and consumed in air visitors administration was being dealt with.
As early as 1994, on the EATMS User Requirements Workshop, 40 % of the captured necessities had been instantly expressed by way of info administration wants. This confirmed clearly that there was an issue with info administration within the ATM system. Curiously, hardly anybody observed this on the time…
A yr later in 1995 the “Invariant Process Model” was developed in assist of the OCD growth. In this info administration was recognized as one of many key enabling assist processes for ATM.
The ATM2000+ Workshop in February 1998 was a 5 day affair, with the primary half focused at determination makers within the aviation group and concerned displays on the Revised EUROCONTROL Convention, the function of the European Commission and the content material of the idea and technique paperwork. This was adopted by break-out periods on professional stage (additionally attended by the choice makers) to debate numerous topics of relevance to the methods.
A separate dialogue group was fashioned to cope with “Information and integration”.
I used to be working for IATA in Brussels on the time and we got here to the workshop armed with the outcomes of earlier discussions, all of which pointed to the inescapable want to handle info administration or danger full failure of the ATM system as demand rose within the coming years.
The theme of my presentation was “aircraft flying in a sea of information”.
I had a small function to play within the “Information and integration” group and I can nonetheless recall how nice the discussions had been and the way rapidly it was potential to construct consensus on an important features of data administration as it will be practiced sooner or later. Hartmut, an outdated buddy and a very long time apostle of data administration was additionally on board and my happiness about how issues had been progressing had been in all probability exceeded solely by his.
Happiness or not, it was a protracted and tiring day. Nevertheless, after dinner and with many of the different delegates having fun with a beer someplace in Luxemburg, we retired to Hartmut’s room to write down the report for subsequent day’s plenary session.
Report writing is the artwork of placing on paper not what individuals mentioned however what they thought they mentioned… Having had consensus didn’t make the duty any simpler. After all, we needed to write up issues reflecting precisely what individuals thought that they had agreed to.
The report was coming collectively slowly however we had been additionally feeling more and more worn down. Outside it was quiet with the mist depositing little droplets of water on the window panes. The good people of Luxemburg had been asleep, blissfully unaware that historical past was about to be made.
It was round two thirty within the morning when Hartmut out of the blue mentioned: swim! Then once more SWIM!
I appeared across the place… Yes, we had been nonetheless within the lodge room and there was no water speeding from the lavatory or via the doorways. Not desirous to be not noted, I repeated after him: SWIM! But why???
“I have the name for this thing” – Hartmut mentioned – “System Wide Information Management! SWIM. Your presentation about aircraft flying in a sea of information… SWIM!”
And so was the legend born. Next day our report was accepted with none drawback and the brand new time period SWIM began its journey into fame.
Afterwards, the idea of data administration languished for a number of years. As a end result, an entire new era of flight information processing programs had been constructed with out being foreseen with SWIM kind info administration.
When we reserve an airline ticket or lodge room, once we selected our seat or once we make a cash switch from the consolation of our den at residence, we’re working towards SWIM applied by the journey business and the banks. There, industrial pressures had been sufficient to power the transfer. In air visitors administration, 10 years had been misplaced for no good cause in any respect.
SWIM is without doubt one of the widest recognized abbreviations in ATM circles in Europe in addition to the US. Its precise that means is being progressively refined and the primary tasks aimed toward early implementation are with us.
The sea of data is larger than ever and the variety of swimmers is rising on a regular basis…
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