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ZOB center controller reported insufficient staffing resulted in controllers working long periods of time without a break.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1569958 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201808 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZOB.ARTCC |
| State Reference | OH |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 5.0 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
Like almost every other [day] this summer our staffing numbers were short due to sick leave and no one answering for forced overtime outside of the building. As a previously documented problem transition staffing between shifts was very short and instead of being remedied by forced holdover overtime nothing was done. The supervisors were made aware of increased traffic and weather. So they allowed an [8 hour shift] to have an hour of leave on the front of their shift and let another controller go home early. This made the situation worse. My sector went red with traffic; I sat on the radar assist side and worked very hard to help my radar controller who was being overworked and put into a very dangerous situation. My sector and another sector were on position for over 2 hours without being offered a break. The radar controller commented to me that his brain had gone to 'mush' and thank you for telling him what to do towards the end. We stayed busy the rest of the night and lost another person on sick leave; forcing a person to get held over and 3 of us to stay on position until our go home time; which I don't have a problem with because it's safe and necessary. Supervisors should force holdover overtime. Make sure bodies are available.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZOB Center Controller reported insufficient staffing resulted in controllers working long periods of time without a break.
Narrative: Like almost every other [day] this summer our staffing numbers were short due to sick leave and no one answering for forced overtime outside of the building. As a previously documented problem transition staffing between shifts was very short and instead of being remedied by forced holdover overtime nothing was done. The supervisors were made aware of increased traffic and weather. So they allowed an [8 hour shift] to have an hour of leave on the front of their shift and let another controller go home early. This made the situation worse. My sector went red with traffic; I sat on the Radar Assist side and worked very hard to help my radar controller who was being overworked and put into a very dangerous situation. My sector and another sector were on position for over 2 hours without being offered a break. The Radar Controller commented to me that his brain had gone to 'mush' and thank you for telling him what to do towards the end. We stayed busy the rest of the night and lost another person on sick leave; forcing a person to get held over and 3 of us to stay on position until our go home time; which I don't have a problem with because it's safe and necessary. Supervisors should force holdover overtime. Make sure bodies are available.
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.