Narrative:

While working sectors combined; weather was building in and around the sector. Sectors were stratified and we were supposed to be getting 15 miles in trail. As the sector started to get busy I asked the supervisor if we are supposed to be getting the posted in trail and if not to increase it and make sure we get it. The supervisor walked over to monitor the situation and did nothing. As the sector got busier; I told the supervisor that this is not working and asked to have the sector split. By the time someone came to split the sector it was too late to split. There was a heavy departure and arrival push with what seemed to be no in trail at all using two different frequencies. I lost command of the frequencies due to pilots stepping over each other requesting deviations. In my estimation I almost had about 3 maybe 4 losses of separation and not sure if any airspace violations. At which point I told my assist to call all the tracons and tell them to terminate all VFR aircraft and spin all aircraft that were airborne and we are not taking any more handoffs until the sector gets under control. My assist was a developmental and was doing the best he could with coordination. The lack of sufficient tmu (traffic management unit) initiatives and enforcement combined with the sectors not being split in a timely fashion led to this event. Why it happened I'm not sure but it is becoming an all too common event.this being the 3rd time this has happened to me; I would recommend revising stratification procedures as there is nothing in place for satellite airports that I am aware of. I would also recommend investigating why tmu and management are not proactive in implementing necessary procedures to facilitate a safe operation. If it is found that the current operational procedures are sufficient to maintaining safety; then perhaps training the workforce how to work high volume traffic with weather deviations with sectors combined and no in trail.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZMA Center Controller reported several near losses of separation and possible airspace violations due to the workload.

Narrative: While working sectors combined; weather was building in and around the sector. Sectors were stratified and we were supposed to be getting 15 miles in trail. As the sector started to get busy I asked the Supervisor if we are supposed to be getting the posted in trail and if not to increase it and make sure we get it. The Supervisor walked over to monitor the situation and did nothing. As the sector got busier; I told the Supervisor that this is not working and asked to have the sector split. By the time someone came to split the sector it was too late to split. There was a heavy departure and arrival push with what seemed to be no in trail at all using two different frequencies. I lost command of the frequencies due to pilots stepping over each other requesting deviations. In my estimation I almost had about 3 maybe 4 losses of separation and not sure if any airspace violations. At which point I told my Assist to call all the TRACONs and tell them to terminate all VFR aircraft and spin all aircraft that were airborne and we are not taking any more handoffs until the sector gets under control. My assist was a developmental and was doing the best he could with coordination. The lack of sufficient TMU (Traffic Management Unit) initiatives and enforcement combined with the sectors not being split in a timely fashion led to this event. Why it happened I'm not sure but it is becoming an all too common event.This being the 3rd time this has happened to me; I would recommend revising stratification procedures as there is nothing in place for satellite airports that I am aware of. I would also recommend investigating why TMU and management are not proactive in implementing necessary procedures to facilitate a safe operation. If it is found that the current operational procedures are sufficient to maintaining safety; then perhaps training the workforce how to work high volume traffic with weather deviations with sectors combined and no in trail.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.