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Dispatcher voiced concern regarding lack of staffing during IFR weather conditions; noting management's reluctance to call out overtime.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 911435 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201009 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | No Aircraft |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Dispatcher |
| Qualification | Dispatch Dispatcher |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
The dsc will observe the weather/operations and if they anticipate possible irregular operations they would advise management. Management has the task of ensuring enough qualified dispatchers are at the dispatch center to [provide] proper operational control of each flight. Upon review [of]enroute weather and destination weather throughout the east coast I noticed that the national weather service was forecasting low IFR condition and thunderstorms for the greater part of the day from tpa/mco/atl/myr/dca/acy/lga/bos and throughout northern fl; GA; thru ny; ma. With our current staffing; dispatch has [a] problem flight following our aircraft and updating our flights with weather that may affect the safety of flight. On VFR days we are adequately staffed; we need help to properly maintain operational control [during low weather operations]. Suggestion: the night shift coordinator should request an additional dispatcher due to possible irregular operation because of forecasted low IFR conditions and thunderstorms. Nothing was done from management except to wait for an irregular to happen. We need proper written guidance from management/FAA/dispatch group on when we call out for an additional dispatcher without considering overtime vs safety of flight and flight following.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Dispatcher voiced concern regarding lack of staffing during IFR weather conditions; noting management's reluctance to call out overtime.
Narrative: The DSC will observe the weather/operations and if they anticipate possible irregular operations they would advise management. Management has the task of ensuring enough qualified dispatchers are at the dispatch center to [provide] proper operational control of each flight. Upon review [of]enroute weather and destination weather throughout the East Coast I noticed that the National Weather Service was forecasting low IFR condition and thunderstorms for the greater part of the day from TPA/MCO/ATL/MYR/DCA/ACY/LGA/BOS and throughout Northern FL; GA; thru NY; MA. With our current staffing; Dispatch has [a] problem flight following our aircraft and updating our flights with weather that may affect the safety of flight. On VFR days we are adequately staffed; we need help to properly maintain Operational Control [during low weather operations]. Suggestion: the night shift coordinator should request an additional dispatcher due to possible irregular operation because of forecasted low IFR conditions and thunderstorms. Nothing was done from Management except to wait for an irregular to happen. We need proper written guidance from management/FAA/Dispatch Group on when we call out for an additional dispatcher without considering overtime vs safety of flight and flight following.
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.