Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

WHAT IS THE TAC?

The role of the TAC is defined in the EUROCAE constitution and further detailed in the EUROCAE Handbook. In addition to giving advice to the Council on technical, operational and, on request, policy matters, it provides recommendations on the creation and modification of standardisation activities, namely through Working Groups.  

The TAC is composed of 12 subjects’ matter experts, representing the different domains of interest of the whole EUROCAE membership. All TAC members, including the Chair and Vice-Chair, are appointed by the Council for a three year, renewable, term. The Director General is a permanent member of the TAC.

WHAT DOES THE TAC DO IN PRACTICE?

The TAC meets four times a year, in synchronisation with the Council meetings to allow a fast flow of information and decision; if needed, ad hoc meetings are organised to address specific matters. During its meetings, the progress of the Working Groups is monitored and the evolution of the international regulation, standardisation and R&D activities (e.g., RTCA, EASA, SESAR, ICAO) is analysed. This work is done in close cooperation with the Secretariat, but to establish a more direct and personal interaction with the WGs, WG leaders are often invited in TAC meetings.
Most intense debates happen at the start of new WGs, or follow-up work for existing WGs, making sure the proposed initiatives align with the activities of other bodies (especially our Associate Members RTCA and SAE) and with the needs of European and global aviation community. It is also paramount to avoid gaps and duplications, and to make best use of scarce resources of members.
Once a year, the collective expertise of TAC members is brought into the EUROCAE Technical Work Programme (TWP). This programme captures the scope of EUROCAE work into 10 Domains (e.g., on-board avionics, ATM, airport) and considers the development in each Domain to plan possible future work for EUROCAE (three to five years in advance). The TWP is approved by the Council and then provides the basis for future activities. The public version of the latest TWP is available here.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON EUROCAE?

The TAC is quite a unique concept in Standard Developing Organisations (SDOs). At EUROCAE, the technical expertise of its various aeronautical industry stakeholders is bundled in TAC. This has its merits, as TAC ensures from the outset that prospective work is aligned with EUROCAE members’ interests. An additional benefit is having representatives of key European aviation organisations in TAC (e.g., SJU, EASA, EUROCONTROL) to align work with SES-development in Europe. Via the Director General and direct contact with RTCA, SAE and ICAO, the transatlantic alignment of work can be assured as well. Close coordination between Secretariat, TAC and Council leads to an efficient and well-balanced operation of the organisation.
In a nutshell, the strength of TAC for EUROCAE is to focus standardisation work on the interests and usefulness for its stakeholders, in coordination with external forces and regulatory bodies. Above that, a high-quality level of output is assured by thorough discussion in TAC and finding resolutions in consensus.

 

TAC MEMBERS (SINCE OCTOBER 2023)

Chairperson: Eric Bouchard  
Vice-Chairperson: Roy Posern

Each TAC member represents a specific area of expertise:

Hette Hoekema, EASA	Regulatory Authority
Sasho Neshevski, EUROCONTROL	European ATM Organisation
Laurent Azoulai, Airbus	Aircraft Manufacturers - Commercial aviation
Eric Bouchard, Dassault Aviation	Aircraft Manufacturers - Business aviation
Denis Ricaud, Thales Group	Equipment manufacturers - Avionics
Jean-Luc Faillot, SAFRAN Landing Systems	Equipment manufacturers - Aircraft Non-Avionic
Pascal Rohault, Thales LAS France	Equipment manufacturers - Ground Equipment
Siegfried Schäfer, DFS	Air Navigation Service Providers
Jaime del Molino Blanco, IATA	Airlines or Airspace Users
Luca Crecco, SESAR JU	European R&D community
Roy Posern, Fraport	Airports
Sergiu Marzac, The Boeing Company	Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Anna von Groote	EUROCAE