Time for a nap

Probably a few of you have noticed the recent firestorm surrounding the actions of a few air traffic controllers of late (or more appropriately, the non-actions). As is typical, our friends in the media tend to bloviate without any understanding on what is really going on, as well as tend to jump on the "lets find any dirt we can on them as long as we're looking" bandwagon. Keep in mind, there have always been a few who screw up, in this case 3 or 4 controllers out of some 7000 nationwide. Some of you probably wonder what I think of all of this...

I'll tell you after my nap... ;-)

Seriously, the media is turning this into a circus (but hey, that's their job). The fact is that on a midnight shift, there are long periods of extreme boredom. Because of our short staffing, many facility managers have made the choice to reduce staffing on the midnight shifts in order to have more controllers on duty during the busy day and evening shifts. That's fine, except if you're one of the mid shifters who is stuck in the control room alone. (Thankfully, I don't work many mids, since I've the seniority to pick a better schedule most of the time)

Here's the recipe for the scandal, though. A few years back, one administrator or another, (who likely never worked a minute past his 6:00 pm work-day end), decided that the control room was filled with too many distractions on the midnight shift. Yes, the lone controller often brought a radio into the control room, perhaps he brought a crossword puzzle book to work on between flights through his sectors, maybe there was a chess set set up on the supervisor's desk for an adjacent area controller to swap moves with. Said this administrator, "BAD DOG, No biscuit! Get all distractions out of the control room". Now, the lone controller gets to sit in a semi-dark room, staring at empty radar screens, for hours at a time. Nobody to talk to, because the facility manager stripped the mid crew of staffing to avoid paying overtime on the day shift. No planes for dozens of minutes at a time. Absolute. Utter. Boredom.

Now, you stay awake at 2:00 am, during your second shift of the day.
Really! I mean it. Stay awake!
NOW! Stay awake, dammit.
Okay, your turn for a break, here's your relief. You have one hour before your next turn in the control room. Go ahead, watch tv. Read. But, DONT take a NAP, the public will see you sleeping while you're on the job. That will make the administrator look bad!
Back into the control room. Still no traffic. Stay awake some more. WOnder how long the coffee will keep you alert.
Repeat all night until the morning crew shows up at 6:00 am.

And that's in the center, where we staff 2 controllers for the shift, allowing them to alternate breaks. The small towers often only schedule 1 person all by themselves for the entire night. No breaks. No allowed distractions in the control room. Did I mention no breaks?

A few years back, we had three controllers working the mid shift here each night. Two would be in the control room at all times. That extra person isn't so much to handle the busy workload, instead he was there to help you stay awake.

There are logical solutions out there. Sleep experts will tell you that a power nap would make all the difference, pilots are allowed to alternate short naps while they are flying, so long as one of the flight crew up front is in charge of the plane. Firefighters don't sit up all night playing cards while waiting for an alarm, they have beds and they use them. Returning to an extra person on the mid shift would do wonders as well, having a second person in the control room at all times would pretty much eliminate controllers falling asleep at the sector.

Shame the administrators put a higher value on saving money rather than flying safety.

Anyway... This firestorm of media attention is, as usual, annoying, but in the words of my louisiana born and raised supervisor, "It don't mean a thang..." We'll keep grinding through the heavy traffic during the day with 33 percent fewer controllers than we really need, and the mid shifters will grind away at the boredom as best they can.

Otherwise, the country will stop flying.

Clear skies,
Jim