Enroute controller described a loss of separation event when issuing vectors that were not significa...

Narrative:

Had recently taken over the sector and was initially focused on a traffic situation brought to my attention by the previous controller. I did not see the conflict while receiving the briefing and took the sector over with the hand off and communications of both aircraft. A B737 was northbound on J31 at FL340 and a CRJ2 was southwest bound bgred..mgm landing btr at FL340. My d-side brought my attention to the traffic and I gave both aircraft a 15 degree turn. I determined that this would not be enough and gave additional vectors to the B737. Trainer intervened and assigned additional vectors to both aircraft. Giving the aircraft larger vectors when I initially noticed the conflict would have been the best course of action. Also making sure that I had the complete picture before accepting the sector would have allowed me to resolve the conflict without drastic action.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Enroute Controller described a loss of separation event when issuing vectors that were not significant enough to establish clearance criteria; the reporter listing improved timeliness and improved sector acceptance would have prevented the error.

Narrative: Had recently taken over the sector and was initially focused on a traffic situation brought to my attention by the previous controller. I did not see the conflict while receiving the briefing and took the sector over with the hand off and communications of both aircraft. A B737 was northbound on J31 at FL340 and a CRJ2 was southwest bound BGRED..MGM landing BTR at FL340. My D-Side brought my attention to the traffic and I gave both aircraft a 15 degree turn. I determined that this would not be enough and gave additional vectors to the B737. Trainer intervened and assigned additional vectors to both aircraft. Giving the aircraft larger vectors when I initially noticed the conflict would have been the best course of action. Also making sure that I had the complete picture before accepting the sector would have allowed me to resolve the conflict without drastic action.

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.

Attributes
ACN	985260
Time
Date	201112
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZTL.ARTCC
State Reference	GA
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Enroute
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Developmental
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Enroute controller described a loss of separation event when issuing vectors that were not significant enough to establish clearance criteria; the reporter listing improved timeliness and improved sector acceptance would have prevented the error.