Load Control Semi-permanent Data
Following on from Parttimers comments.
IATA (bless their Technical Groups), have stressed the importance of the distribution of Load Control semi-permanent data for automated Weight and Balance for a very long time. Unless it has changed recently there is a section in the Airport Handling manual on this subject with pro-formas.
What IATA cannot do is actually force Airlines to put in place good practises to ensure this is done accurately and in a timely manner.
The data flow in summary should be:
Airline Weight Engineer or other responsible (and accountable) Section defines the Change and effective date (this may be immediate, or hopefully around 7 days)
the information is promulgated internally to the relevant sections.
Including the one responsible for updating the Stations
The airlines Ground Operations Support Section (or equivalent), then should distribute the information to all Handling Agencies.
Stressing both the effective date and requesting acknowledge of receipt and action.
At the handling agency level, the information should be internally distributed to both Load Control Support (probably one person) and DCS/Load Control System data administration (again probably one person). Load Control Support as the Accountable Section need to ensure the data is updated both in a timely manner (immediately would do) and accurately.
The chain is short and the error level should be very low!
However this assumes the staff throughout the chain, understand the importance of the information and are responsible and accountable for their involvement in the timely distribution and/or accurate update of the supplied information.
Unfortunately it does appear that due to cultural, training and other changes which have been going on for the last decade
a large number Airlines and Handling agencies have reduced both the status and the emphasis of their support sections, in some cases reducing them to purely clerical admin sections with little or no understanding of what passes through their hands.
In which case basic information is not distributed in a timely manner, or is updated inaccurately (with no oversight check)
and then parttimer and colleagues get it in the neck!
It takes time (and some money) to build competent professional support sections and 10 Minutes and some instant money savings to destroy them
Rant over!
DIH