Narrative:

I was working LC4 and an A380 was inbound to runway xxl. We have written procedures for this arrival and I asked the flm to clarify them so we were on the same page. He told me that the A380 would land runway xxl; roll to the end; then back taxi down runway xxr to mxx and then into ramp xs. The briefing I got in team training stated that he should not stop because when he started up he would blow debris all over the runway and taxiways. That flm took a break and flm number 2 was working tss and a new LC3 sat down. Flm number 2 placed the stop sign down in front of LC3 to stop his departures because the A380 would be taxiing on runway xxr; so I thought. The A380 rolled to the end and I coordinated on the landline with LC3 and ask him to use his runway to back taxi. He said no; he was rolling one more departure. Flm number 2 said to hold the A380 short of runway xxr and switch his frequency to LC3. It appeared from my viewpoint that he was clear of runway left. I thought the coordination was for me to turn the A380 onto runway xxr. I'm really glad that I asked first; my long ATC experience kicking in. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Not only do we routinely deviate from a written procedure; each flm/OM has a different interpretation. I can't count how many times one flm tells you to do something and another flm comes up behind you immediately tells you to do something different. I understand that in a busy facility we have to constantly change and adapt to situations; but this is getting crazy. Pick one person to be in charge! And heaven help you if you ask a question; you mean you can't read the flm's mind? Totally unacceptable.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Local Controller described a runway incursion event when the various operational instructions from Front Line Managers (FLM's) were not in sync.

Narrative: I was working LC4 and an A380 was inbound to Runway XXL. We have written procedures for this arrival and I asked the FLM to clarify them so we were on the same page. He told me that the A380 would land Runway XXL; roll to the end; then back taxi down Runway XXR to MXX and then into Ramp XS. The briefing I got in team training stated that he should not stop because when he started up he would blow debris all over the runway and taxiways. That FLM took a break and FLM Number 2 was working TSS and a new LC3 sat down. FLM Number 2 placed the stop sign down in front of LC3 to stop his departures because the A380 would be taxiing on Runway XXR; so I thought. The A380 rolled to the end and I coordinated on the landline with LC3 and ask him to use his runway to back taxi. He said no; he was rolling one more departure. FLM Number 2 said to hold the A380 short of Runway XXR and switch his frequency to LC3. It appeared from my viewpoint that he was clear of Runway L. I thought the coordination was for me to turn the A380 onto Runway XXR. I'm really glad that I asked first; my long ATC experience kicking in. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Not only do we routinely deviate from a written procedure; each FLM/OM has a different interpretation. I can't count how many times one FLM tells you to do something and another FLM comes up behind you immediately tells you to do something different. I understand that in a busy facility we have to constantly change and adapt to situations; but this is getting crazy. Pick one person to be in charge! And heaven help you if you ask a question; you mean you can't read the FLM's mind? Totally unacceptable.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.