Ladies and Gents,
The thread was started to garner opinion on whether we in the airline industry are putting profit before safety.
It was asked with relevance to Flight and Duty time limitations and the rostering of a single crew for a full days flying. There are a number of issues raised as side lines in the replies we have seen so far but the inital question still hasn't been answered.
The originator was referring to the easyJet system currently prevailing with a number of individual crew members changing in and out of the crew during a multisector day. The Carmen system is supposed to be an all singing, all dancing rostering system it is supposedly successfully used by a number of airlines around the world. The rostering software is not the subject of the question however, the swapping of crew members and excessive positioning is.
Quote:
"However the said system rosters people on a four sector days to change crews four times"
First and foremost, SAFETY: We are all highly trained, and at eJ the training is as good and better than anywhere else, to operate as a crew within our respective roles. It should make no difference to a crews operational effectiveness if members are changed in or out during the day, as long as there is sufficient time to meet the requirements of airmanship and safety regarding crew briefing, flight preparation, TAFs, Fuel load, Wx, NOTAMS, Cabin Prep, Pax safety etc. If this cannot be achieved within a 20 minute turnaround scheduled then so be it.. that means DONT RUSH .. it means do your job properly and to hell with the schedule, this is the only point at which crew changing becomes a safety issue and that issue is immediately resolved with a conscientous approach to your duties. Our prime responsibility is to our passengers safety, airmanship, flying discipline, operational effectiveness etc etc etc. lowest of all priorities is on time performance. If management want to try a system like this then give it a shot, do your best to meet the targets .. just do you job properly and if the OTP falls away then let management address it.
Quote:
"positions crews all over the network and generally causes delays and longer hours because half a crew is waiting for the other half who are arriving on a delayed service."
The issue of positioning crews all over the place is a whole different kettle of fish. What we on the ground see as ridiculous and unnecessary {and often the view from way up on the management mountain is so blurred we may well be correct} but the guts of it is that we are paid to fly (operate machines) and that involves positioning, unsocial hours, no public holidays, few free weekends, broken appointments, unexpected nights away etc etc. If the Company chooses to move people around everywhere, and as long as issues such as personal safety and comfort are adequately addressed, ie you don't send people on trains, busses, ferries etc then there should not be a problem. If these moves mean delays and disruption then it is up to the company to recognise and fix it. Sure it's a drag and quite demotivating to sit in a cab for 2 hours on the M1, but if it is burning duty time and the company is happy with that then that is their call,they are paying the bills. We are employees = tools to be used when and as the company sees fit, within the law. The issue of reasonable working hours is one for unions to negotiate as each company has different requirements of their employees, this however will only be achieved if unions are supported and are able to negotiate effectively.
The only really objectionable thing here is the use of maximum flying duty hours without regard for the time taken to position home etc but this is a result of the 'committee'approach to JAA (remember the camel) and the formulation of what is, in many opinions, a loosley worded, weak and unwieldy set of 'guidelines' = CAP371 without regard for circadian rythym, normal and reasonable lifestyles etc. What other shift worker (let alone one involved in a multitude of highly complex and challenging tasks) you can name works the ridiculous sorts of hours permitted under these guidelines. Who else would accept a 6 day duty period starting with 3 cinsecutive 0330 getups, then a 1720 sign on for an 8 hour duty period and back and to cap it all off (no pun
) to finish with a split duty starting at 1940 and knocking off at 0700? Now go and enjoy your days off.. yeah right.. snore snore snore!
And I am sure there is much worse out there.
Bottom Line: we have FTLs laid down in law, both in CAP371 and each JAA compliant Company Operations Manual but most importantly you are again governed by your obligations to your professional status. This means that if you are too fatigued then DON'T FLY! Use your judgement and to hell with anyone elses opinion.
You alone are the only person qualified to determine your fitness for duty. The conformation of an assigned duty period with the law is irrelevant.
Quote:
"On top of this, crew integrity is compromised because half the time the pilots do not know who the cabin crew are , and vice versa, because we are chopping and changig all the time."
With all due respect, my personal opinion is that this does not affect operational effectiveness or 'crew integrity' whatever that may be, perhaps the writer means cohesivness? While it is all well and good to be on first name terms with everyone, when it comes down to it that is not relevant to your performance of your assigned duties. CRM is about optmization of information flow throughout the crew, eg teaching F/Os to be assertive when appropriate, teaching Cabin Staff to speak up when necessary and Captains to listen and make good decisions. Names are not critical to this process although it makes a much more pleasant working environment and everyone I work with prefers it that way.
I am sure that some of the things I have written here are contentious but they are my opinions and freely expressed so spare me a flame war and just post a reasoned answer, preferably only from Pilots, Cabin Crew or those actively involved in rostering. Are we putting profit before safety? I don't believe so.
Edited for my lousy typo's
