Narrative:

I am a fpl and having been put in this uncomfortable position; I feel this is a potentially unsafe situation; especially since it goes against our SOP. The weather was approximately BKN007 [and] 3 SM [visibility] and had been at or around that for most of the shift. As I remember; I was told to open up the 3LC position (runway 32L and it's intersection T10) as we had previously been working a configuration suited to the weather; IFR west flow in which we land 27L and 27R; depart 22L; and land and depart on runway 28. Our SOP states that for minimums ceiling 1;500 ft or less and visibility 5 SM or less that we will not depart 32L. The supervisor told me to depart T10. That approach would give us 10 miles between the 27R arrivals and I should 'shoot the gaps.' this isn't the first time the 'modified' configuration has been used; but the first time I'd been placed in that position. I feel it does not leave the 27R missed approach many outs. The north satellite restriction also came on which meant that our departures and missed approaches would have limited options in the case of a missed approach. Recommendation; do not allow supervisors to implement operational configurations that are not allowed per the SOP; specifically 32L operation when landing runway 27R in less than 1500/5.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ORD controllers indicated that supervisors and management personnel failed to comply with published SOP standards regarding weather and runway operational procedures and directed controllers to operate contrary to the SOP.

Narrative: I am a FPL and having been put in this uncomfortable position; I feel this is a potentially unsafe situation; especially since it goes against our SOP. The weather was approximately BKN007 [and] 3 SM [visibility] and had been at or around that for most of the shift. As I remember; I was told to open up the 3LC position (Runway 32L and it's intersection T10) as we had previously been working a configuration suited to the weather; IFR west flow in which we land 27L and 27R; depart 22L; and land and depart on Runway 28. Our SOP states that for minimums ceiling 1;500 FT or less and visibility 5 SM or less that we will not depart 32L. The Supervisor told me to depart T10. That approach would give us 10 miles between the 27R arrivals and I should 'shoot the gaps.' This isn't the first time the 'modified' configuration has been used; but the first time I'd been placed in that position. I feel it does not leave the 27R missed approach many outs. The North satellite restriction also came on which meant that our departures and missed approaches would have limited options in the case of a missed approach. Recommendation; do not allow supervisors to implement operational configurations that are not allowed per the SOP; specifically 32L operation when landing Runway 27R in less than 1500/5.

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.