Effects of Task Switching in Baggage Screeners 

ITEA members will receive credit towards CPE’s. If you are currently not a member the cost to attend is $25. Please call 951-219-4817 to register if you are not a member. If you would like to become one, please visit our online store. 

Abstract:
Passengers at domestic airports undergo screening of their person and property before boarding an aircraft. Passengers can have different levels of screening applied to them based on their risk classification. In many cases, passengers with different risk classifications are placed into their own dedicated screening lanes. One consequence of these dedicated lanes is the additional space and staff required to maintain each lane. One alternative method of screening passengers with different levels of risk, could include a single mixed risk lane. All passengers would enter the same lane. Baggage screeners would switch screening protocols based on the risk classification of the passenger being screened. Using a simulated baggage screening task, we investigated the consequences of this method on baggage screener performance. Like the general population, baggage screeners perform best when there was no task switching as shown by a high sustained and fast decision time. Although baggage screeners continue to improve throughout the task, task switching results in decay of the memory for the current screening protocol.

Kevin Zish, PhD
Global Systems Technologies

Register Now! (Members Only)

Did you miss our previous Lunch & Learns? Members can still view the recording under Education> Recorded webinars.

Become a member now to access these recordings.

For a complete list of ALL upcoming Lunch & Learns as well as events visit our Event Calendar.