fascinating full and frank exchange of views and one that probably not occurred if terms used in Civil Aviation to describe the various functions were clearly defined internationally, or even nationally. Whilst it has got heated I am glad the Moderators haven’t stepped it.
As this thread covers two distinct functions, the rest of the post is divided into two main sections
Operations Control
I have been fortunate to have spend a days at a time monitoring the procedures and processes in Control Centres of three American Airlines with very different company cultures. As is the law these companies were using the Dispatcher System, but above this the level the organisation of the Control Centre and indeed the non-safety related management of the flying programme was very different. What was common to all was the joint responsibility system worked, primarily because that is how all those involved whether Flight Crew or Dispatchers have been not just trained, but 'brought up' and neither Pilots nor Centre staff could conceive of an alternative.. Whilst it works in the US environment and there are some useful lessons that could conceivably be translated to the European Centres, the US Dispatch System is not one I believe should, or indeed could be exported to the UK en-block!
I have also spent a lot of time in various Airline Control Centres across the world using variations on the Operations Control System so familiar to us in the UK. In these centres, the division of responsibility between Controllers and Crews is often vague, in many countries is not enshrined in law and is often overridden by the norms of the national culture, albeit with some in-company modifications (i.e. The Senior Person is always right, even when wrong and don't even think about discussing it).
But in almost every case the training of the operations centre staff is to a high standard (a lot higher than various threads in this forum indicate UK training has in general been).
The recent initiatives from ICAO and the European Authorities will enhance the Training of Operations Control staff (and therefore finally give recognised status) and will clarify their responsibilities, across carriers within the EU. This in turn will slowly ripple out to other countries and their local companies that use an Operations Control System.
I don’t believe the US Dispatch mode of operation will replace the Operations Control type of operation in the UK. Although I firmly believe the ‘new’ Training and Qualifications requirements will enhance the Professional Status of those running the Operation and the Flight Planning Function and at the end of the day improve the relationship between them and the Flight Crew.
Airside Dispatch
The responsibilities and duties of the Airside Dispatcher (Ramp Agent/Redcap/etc) should be (and indeed in my relatively limited experience are) detailed in an Airline Companies Flight Operations Manual - General (probably the same chapter as dealing with Loading and Load Control).
It is often the section of the Flight Operations Manual least referred to by Flight Deck Crew (although the Load Control and Loading Sections do usually show the signs of often ‘hurried’ use).
The problem for the Handling Agents Airside Dispatcher is that he/she never sees that section of any companies manual, although the Handling Brief prepared for the start of the contract may summarize the content of that section, it will not state it is an extract and it will never provide the section numbers etc and these briefs are rarely if ever updated, so no significant change will be notified..
For instance in some airlines the dispatcher has control of the Flight Departure until doors close, this also means they are both responsible and accountable (and it is important to understand that these are NOT just words).
Obviously this still requires that the Dispatcher maintains close liaison with Flight Crew, Engineering and the other elements of the process pre-departure period with as the last job before Doors close being giving the Captain the final update,. In effect handing the Flight over!
The other extreme is ‘Observe and Report’, where the Airside Dispatcher has at least in theory NO control over the departure and is only obliged to advise Control Centre and Crew deviations from the Departure/turnaround timelines. In the rare instances where this is the case, Dispatchers normally manage to influence events by ‘force of personality’.
Load Planning. Load Control, Loading Procedures and Safety
There is a trend towards centralised load planning and loadsheet production. Indeed there is some evidence that a certain UK Airline is going to remove Airside Dispatchers from any direct involvement id the process. Regardless of involvement at Planning/Loadsheet Production stage, an Airside Dispatcher has to be totally conversant in all aspects of the process including Dangerous Goods, Load Spreading, Heavy and Oversized items, AVI, HUM, Tilted Load reporting (hopefully only inbound from some careless station ) Change Control of the Load Plan and Last Minute Changes in Passenger/Baggage Load.
Whilst the Captain does sign it off and should be made aware of dangerous, or other special cargo, he/she is dependent or the Airside Dispatcher, or more rarely these days a Load Control Agent knowing their job.
The training of Airside Dispatchers is another area that I believe has been too long neglected. A knowledge base which covers local knowledge of the capability of sections and time to achieve results and the industry wide knowledge of the main functions such as Passenger Services, Load Planning and Control, Physical Loading constraints,, Dangerous Goods, Airside Safety, etc can be acquired by functional training in each area and long experience, but how often is this the case? A base standard for an Airside Dispatch Qualification is perhaps something that needs to be looked at?
DIH
Last edited by Opssys; 30th May 2006 at 14:15.