Schedule feedback
We’re now in Week 2 of having our new basic-watch schedule, which was obviously a big change from previous years due to the new fatigue-mitigation rules.
After being on my new schedule for one day last week, it was obvious to me how drastic a change it is for our end-of-the-swing changeover to the mid.
I’m currently working on what we can do to adjust our end-of-the-swing staffing so that we’re not so short on the back end. Please expect to hear more from me about this near future after I’ve had a chance to speak with management.
In the meantime, please let me know what feedback you have with the schedule and/or any issues you’ve run into.
TMIs for short-staffing situations
Section 6 of NATCA’s fatigue MOU with the agency states the following: “If implementation of the provisions contained in this Agreement results in a reduction of available staffing during a shift, the Agency commits to ensuring traffic is mitigated to address the staffing reduction. In any facility where the Union believes the Agency has violated this Section, the NATCA Regional Vice President and the Service Area Director, or their designees, shall meet to review the data and if necessary, develop a plan to address the issue”
Given our staffing situation, I can’t imagine a world in which we’re not going to need to use TMIs at some point this year. For a long time, attempts have been to create a local CWG that would meet and come up with TMIs to help each sector at Seattle Center. However, I don’t anticipate this happening before we’re going to need TMIs to help us when we end up really short as a result of the new fatigue rules.
I intend for us to come up with a list of TMIs for each A area sector and have them ready in the near future. I would really like your ideas and feedback. Please let me know what TMIs you’d like to see implemented in the event that we have short staffing in the A area.
C area meeting
Dearest Matt Coughlin, myself, and Jared Simpach (our airspace supe) met with our C area counterparts to review our airspace and procedures with them.
Among the things we discussed:
We are working toward an agreement for us to take airspace from Sector 9 and create a shelf over YKM between FL200-230 so that we don’t have to point out airplanes to them incessantly during north-flow operations.
We’re working to streamline procedures for airplanes landing southwest of Seattle (we want them all crossing our boundary at FL240), as well as CLS landers (we also want them to cross the A area boundary at FL240).
We also discussed low-performing jets and the possibility of them crossing the boundary at FL240 and stacking the Seattle-area airplanes above (provided they don’t stack an LPJ with another LPJ).
And we agreed to make permanent the trial period for airplanes that don’t have a metering delay to be given PD to FL240 instead of crossing the metering fixes at FL260. I want to recognize that opinions on this change have been mixed — some like it a lot, and some don’t. My rationale in agreeing to it is that I believe it’s the right thing to not force the airplanes down early.
I asked Amanda Crumbley to reiterate to the C area controllers to use caution about sequencing an airplane with a delay in front of an airplane with no delay and the fact that they need to descend and slow the second airplane in that scenario.
End-of-mid splitting of sectors
I received feedback recently about our end-of-the-mid changeover to the day shift, and the possibility of having a procedure that states that the first person who gets there should split off a second sector instead of getting the mid person out, and then the second person who gets there gets the mid person out.
Now that our day-shift people can get here at 5 p.m. — and have been arriving at that hour — I think the need is significantly less than it was last year when it would routinely get busy between 5 and 5:30 p.m.
That being said, I would like feedback from you all about whether we should make this change, or continue to operate as we have (with us splitting it off first on an as-needed basis). Please let me know what you think.
Certification
Congrats to Bryan Murphy for getting certified on D1/31!
In solidarity,
Dan Rasmussen
801-860-3821