Caglar Ucler

Objective: This work establishes a methodological framework for sources of pilot distraction and interruptions in a structured model that can be used as a tool for cockpit design/procedure assessment. Background: Pilots must complete complex tasks, and distractions can impair performance and lead to errors that can cause aircraft accidents. Although various cockpit distractors are examined individually, there is no integrated approach. Method: Distraction and interruption sources were identified through a literature review and confirmed/extended by interviews with airline pilots. Associated weights were determined through pairwise comparisons, yielding a hierarchical model using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Results: 26 sources of pilot distraction and interruptions were quantified and categorized into four categories: communication, head-down time, responding to abnormal conditions & unexpected situations, and searching for traffic. Conclusion: A taxonomic structure for assessment is achieved with the top 5 sources identified as communications, technical interruptions, experience in type, environmental factors, operational irregularities, and airspace high terrain, accounting for 63.07%. Application: The structured system is a flexible assessment scale that provides a taxonomic framework for airline risk management, supports future research, and cockpit design efforts.

Airlines frequently experience several disruptive events that can substantially deviate operations from planned routines, resulting in significant losses. It's crucial for airlines to develop resources and consistently identify opportunities for adaptation to these unpredictable circumstances. Despite predetermined plans for specific situations often exist, there is often a lack of policy-level guidelines for preparing for unknown circumstances— a concept known as resilience policy. This study delves into the constructs of resilience policy by drawing insights from 10 semi-structured interviews conducted with executives from 6 airline companies in Turkey. The findings pinpoint seven key criteria that offer a roadmap for effective policy development: financial management, flexibility and adaptability, effective risk management, strong leadership and culture, talent management, robust IT infrastructure, and collaborative partnerships. These criteria collectively provide a roadmap for developing policies that enhance an airline's ability to manage unexpected disruptions efficiently.

Emerging electrification technologies in aviation and recent advances drive the increased usage of electrical vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air vehicles. Weight considerations are predominant due to the weaker powertrain and lower payload capacity. Moreover, most systems are automated, and there is no distinction between pilot and passenger seats anymore. Conventional aircraft seating typically exhibits excessive weight, necessitating the development of lightweight troop seats with simple designs and textile seat pans and backrests. This research focuses primarily on the design aspects of these lightweight troop seats. There are already guiding military standards and civilian codes for physical tests for passenger or pilot seats. Nevertheless, there needs to be a comprehensive document combining all of these and explaining how simulation tools can be practically used for the same purpose. Consequently, a generic design was generated based on the troop seat of military helicopters, which was then tested and simulated virtually by finite element analysis according to MIL-S-85510, CS27, and CS29 standards. After finalizing the static tests for forward, rearward, lateral, downward, and upward g forces on a 10-degree floor deformation in the longitudinal axis, implicit dynamic tests were conducted with loading in longitudinal and vertical directions as specified by the MIL-S-85510 standards. Then, hotspot analysis is made for stress interpretation. As a result, a near-optimum design was achieved with stresses 10% lower than the yield stress of the materials, which can be used on board an electrical VTOL.

Aviation is rapidly expanding and recovering from the pandemic impact driven by the experience economy. This is particularly subject to interfaces such as the aircraft seats, which are getting intense attention as a differentiator in the cabin. The focal point of this paper is to assess and convert customer requirements into what must be done for an optimum aircraft seat. To achieve this, a 2-step analytic hierarchy process and quality function deployment (AHP-QFD) methodology was successfully applied, consolidating product quality characteristics. Then, it leverages a novel scoring method of interdependencies to isolate dependable design variables. Consequently, safety, weight, and durability scored maximum, emphasizing backrest design and alternative composite materials, while test infrastructure was determined as a critical investment component. Furthermore, it is shown how AHP-QFD can be used for product strategy and strategic portfolio management of R&D projects.

Today, a significant part of airports' revenues is derived from support services such as retail stores, food and beverage (F&B) services, and entertainment activities. These services are also vital for enhancing passenger experience, which plays a major role as arbiter of airport success. There are different typologies of passengers, and a successful airport must deliver an optimal service mix to satisfy the needs of different passenger typologies. This requires an adequate transformation of the voice of the customer with respect to different profiles. Hence, the first aim of this study is to distinguish the preferences of different passenger profiles at airports by examining their choice of retail stores, F&B services, and entertainment activities. The second aim of the study is to determine the relative importance of factors that affect passengers’ airport purchase behavior and transform them into recommendations for distinct airport strategies.

Banking environment, traditional with an established physically collocated work culture, has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It triggered the evolution of innovation management processes to handle the issues related to spatial spread, fuzziness and collective information development during idea evaluation. In this paper, Vakıfbank Innovation Management System (V-IMS) was exemplified utilizing ICT for virtual collaboration, MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making) methods within stage-gates, transforming knowledge and exploiting collaboration at the fuzzy front end. There, physically collocated work culture was transformed into delocated collaboration with an agile approach utilizing lean information flow, which emphasizes the people exchanging tacit into explicit knowledge on the move rather than long documentations. Moreover, the culture of innovation has been fostered, innovation management metrics were improved significantly and both the number of sessions and ideas presented in the sessions were found to be increased. It was observed that the satisfaction level and innovation commitment of the employees were increased with the new system as well.

Mühendislik sistemlerinin tasarımı ve geliştirilmesi karmaşık bir süreçtir ve birbirine bağlı çok sayıdaki sistem parametresinin en iyi değerlere ulaşması gerekmektedir. Özellikle gaz türbinleri gibi birçok farklı alt sistemlerden oluşan sistemlerin en verimli tasarım noktasını elde etmek farklı disiplinlerden uzmanların ortak çalışmasını gerektirir. Netice olarak, model tabanlı yazılım ortamlarında matematiksel modellerinin geliştirilmesi ve eş-zamanlı mühendislik süreci uygulanabilir. Bu süreç boyunca V-döngülü sistem mühendisliği sayesinde kavramsal tasarımın oluşturulup tartışılması, alt istemlerin detay tasarımların gerçekleştirilip entegrasyonu sonrası test simülasyonları ile optimum tasarım noktasının elde edilmesi mümkündür. Bu tasarım süreçleri, birbirleri ile etkileşimleri ve örnek bir mikro-türbin sisteminin geliştirilme süreci bu yayın içerisinde uygulama örneği olarak ele alınmaktadır.