Narrative:

This event occurred approximately 5 hours into my shift; and by this time I had already spent more than 4.5 hours staffing operational radar positions. Under a mandate from ZJX facility management; controllers must spend at least 5.5 hours on position during their shift. Due to this mandate; all positions remain open and staffed regardless of staffing or traffic conditions. In addition controllers from other areas are assigned to monitor positions in other areas within the facility solely as to not be on break and help reach the 5.5 hour quota. When this event occurred; I had already worked 2 sessions of just under 2 hours each and I was feeling fatigued and unable to concentrate. There was also a multitude of distraction occurring due to the amount of non-essential personnel within the area. At this time; there were approximately 19 people in the area which consisted of 6 radar controllers; 6 radar associates controllers; 2 ojti controllers; 3 people monitoring positions; and 2 front-line supervisors. Fatigue combined with the unusually high noise level made simple concentration difficult. While working my sector at relatively low traffic volume (5 aircraft); I failed to detect two aircraft both at FL340 on converging routes that would put them in conflict just outside my airspace in another sector within my area. This is a typical situation and not one I would normally miss. The receiving controller issued evasive instructions to prevent the conflict. I believe that the ZJX facility management mandate of 5.5 minimum hours on position is causing controllers to become more fatigues more rapidly and will lead to many more situations where safety is compromised.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZJX Controller described near loss of separation event; listing fatigue induced as a result of recent facility efforts to maximize controllers time on position as a contributing factor.

Narrative: This event occurred approximately 5 hours into my shift; and by this time I had already spent more than 4.5 hours staffing operational radar positions. Under a mandate from ZJX facility management; Controllers MUST spend at least 5.5 hours on position during their shift. Due to this mandate; all positions remain open and staffed regardless of staffing or traffic conditions. In addition Controllers from other areas are assigned to monitor positions in other areas within the facility solely as to not be on break and help reach the 5.5 hour quota. When this event occurred; I had already worked 2 sessions of just under 2 hours each and I was feeling fatigued and unable to concentrate. There was also a multitude of distraction occurring due to the amount of non-essential personnel within the area. At this time; there were approximately 19 people in the area which consisted of 6 Radar Controllers; 6 Radar Associates Controllers; 2 OJTI Controllers; 3 people monitoring positions; and 2 front-line Supervisors. Fatigue combined with the unusually high noise level made simple concentration difficult. While working my sector at relatively low traffic volume (5 aircraft); I failed to detect two aircraft both at FL340 on converging routes that would put them in conflict just outside my airspace in another sector within my area. This is a typical situation and not one I would normally miss. The receiving Controller issued evasive instructions to prevent the conflict. I believe that the ZJX facility management mandate of 5.5 minimum hours on position is causing Controllers to become more fatigues more rapidly and will lead to many more situations where safety is compromised.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.