Capt. Groper;
To achieve an ONTIME departure there has to be a certain degree of short cuts.
We complain at times about management's parsimony in terms of safety but here is an area where we can have direct effect on ensuring an appropriate level of safety commensurate with commercial considerations. I say again,
"On time" is not a flight safety priority; "Ready" is. I am fully cognizant of all the issues, distractions, demands upon attention which are stated by
heavy.airbourne. BTDT many, many times but it is not an excuse for error, it is a reason for error.
I am fully aware of the demands made upon us by all and sundry during departure preps and have had to deal with most if not all of the issues outlined in the post at one time or another in a 35-year career starting with the DC9 and ending eight types later on the A330/A340. I am fully aware of calls from one's superiors about a late departure and the pressure to push back from everyone. But that certainly isn't the point here - the captain is the captain and can manage and direct actions, resources and priorities.
The point is, a sterile cockpit is a legal requirement after pushback; what about considering such during another critical phase of flight, cockpit preparation?
The only resistance to this idea seems to come from those who still put up with all the demands made by others in their cockpit and who consider on-time performance a mandatory requirement, when in fact it is not - it is a commercial requirement.
That doesn't mean one beligerantly ignores one's commercial responsibilities towards one's employer, nothing of the sort - this is a rational call for an examination of the question, including the question about why FMS entries continue to be a source of potential takeoff accidents.
PJ2