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View Full Version : Cenralised Load Control (CLC) at Servisair Regional Stations


opsmaster
20th Apr 2004, 19:57
Yes Servisair Management do it again.......................

Wave your jobs goodbye, people who work in Servisair Operations Departments at UK Regional Stations. You are going to loose your jobs to support Servisair staff at MAN when they take over CLC in May/June. Nice to see people will gain work at MAN (the station which loose the most money for servisair) while others loose there jobs around the UK.

Here we go, another cost cutting joke by Servisair Management.

WHICH BRIGHTSPARK THOUGHT OF THIS ONE THEN?

Does anyone know how this is going to work then? Will flight deck crews have to phone MAN to give flight details? Will someone be manning a ground to air radio in MAN to take calls from flight decks O/B an A/C or will it be someone will sit in an office with a head piece strapped to there head connected to someone in MAN who has got about 20 loadsheets to do in 10 mins? Is this where the errors and mistakes be made?

Does anyone work for a handling agent which has a simular sort of operation in action at present?

Through this again, Servisair will loose more experianced staff around the country which it cannot afford to do.

When will Servisair Management wake up and look at what there doing to our company. Most of you couldnt run a childrens play party!

Ask your Manager staff at - LPL, BFS, MME, CWL, LBA, JER cause your jobs are going sooner than you think. When are you going to be big enough to tell us then managers? The last minute, as usual, you dont care as long as you keep your job safe. YOU BUNCH OF COWARDS!

SERVISAIR SENIOR COMPANY MANAGEMENT, I HAVE 3 IDEAS OF HOW TO SAVE MONEY:

1) GET RID OF THOSE LOAD OF S**T WASTE OF MONEY POSTER BOARDS, GOD KNOWS HOW MUCH THEY COST TO BUY AND HOW MUCH THE POSTERS COST TO PUT IN THEM - A COMPLETE LOAD OF S**T!

2) STOP WASTING MONEY ON SOMEONE SAT IN HEAD OFFICE AT MAN CHANGING THE COMPANY WEBSITE EVERY 2 SECS

3) GET RID OF STATION MANAGERS AND THEIR COMPANY CARS, THEY ARE A WASTE OF TIME, MONEY AND EFFORT GOD KNOWS WHAT THEY DO OR WHY THEY EXIST (all of them) CANT DUTY MANGERS RUN A SITE?

And there was 3 ideas without even thinking!

Your pleasure Our business, Your business, Our pleasure, why not try looking after your staff as well as customers, they are important too. WHO WILL THEN PICK UP ALL THE PIECES WHEN THIS ALL ENDS IN DISASTER OR A MAJOR MIS-LOAD INCIDENT?

DONT FORGET NOW ALL OF YOU OUT THERE WHO WORK AS LOAD CONTROL IN SERVISAIR OPS DEPARTMENTS, ASK YOUR MANAGER HOW SAFE YOUR JOB IS NEXT TIME YOU SEE THEM! BECAUSE BELIEVE ME YOU WILL BE DOWN THE JOB CENTRE NEXT WEEK!

But never mind, we will all sleep well knowing that Servisair satation mangers will be safe playing on their computers in their warm office drinking coffee.............................. doing jack S**T! as normal, thinking of ways to lay off other staff................

Approach_plate
20th Apr 2004, 21:54
The system you refer to seem's to work well at some of the larger station but I cant see it working at the smaller regional stations.

IceHouse
20th Apr 2004, 22:15
OPSMASTER

CLC sounds like a good idea to me and good business sense, are you saying that its more cost effective having F/T loadcontrollers sat at MME/CWL doing a few loadsheets a day compared to guys at MAN doing this and other stations work and in effect saving the company money.
Gate dispatchers at these small stations will telex CLC with individual flight details, fuel figures, loading details etc, and will then get the loadsheet sent to gate in similar way to other CLC operations.

kasper_oz
21st Apr 2004, 10:52
opsmaster,

The implementation of Centralised (or Regionalised) Load Control is always a sensitive issue due to the possible loss of jobs at the airports where load control is being removed. This needs to be handled carefully by the organisations concerned.

From a procedural and safety perspective however, the concept is sound and, if implemented properly, does work and works well.

For what it is worth, the airlines that want to do CLC "properly" and not just to cut costs, spend a great deal of time and effort into making sure that their procedures have "checks and balances" in place to make sure that he processes are safe and robust. This specifically relates to communication issues requiring information to be passed by fax or telex, and having all phone/VHF conversations recorded for audit and investigation purposes.

The process works if done properly and should not be criticised when/if it is used "unwisely" by airlines or handling agents.

jimbols6
21st Apr 2004, 12:46
opsmaster:

when is this happening for sure?? i tell you it will not work especial at LBA we are too busy now to be chasing loadsheets, flightplans etc.. that we require from another station im sure MAN have plenty to deal with at the mo never mind all the crap from another station. What happens when a captain wants a new loadsheet 5 mins before departure on a busy sat afternoon, do we telex MAN wait for the Load control to notice the telex, then get a response 15mins after the STD because they have no bloody staff at CLC. This system is not going to work!!!

opsmaster
21st Apr 2004, 13:38
jimbols6 - It is coming in very soon!

Dont know how this is going to be cost effective - In many regional stations, Load Control is one of the areas where time is less spent on. By the time someone would have sent a telex to MAN, they would have had the loadsheet (with a lot less hassel) completed themselves.

So what costs are involved here:

1) The Telephone Call/Telex to MAN
2) An office in MAN for the CLC
3) A member of staff being paid in MAN to do the Loadsheets
4) Someone's time telexing MAN
5) Sita charges for the Loadsheet to be sent to the Station
6) Time spent chasing the loadsheet because the person in MAN is up to their eyes in fuel figures

Is this really cost effective? cant the load control task be given to someone else to add to there duties?

nibor
21st Apr 2004, 14:54
I think that there is 1 small bit of information that the 'Big Bosses' are missing.
At regional stations there is far less time spent by loadcontrol staff on loadplanning and loadsheets than there is on the rest of the admin work.
How many regional stations have more than 1 loadcontroller on shift at a time? I doubt there are many. So where will the saving come from? Regardless of who actually does the loadcontrol function there still has to be someone to answer the phone.

The main reason that i dislike the idea is on the ground of safety.
At the moment if there is any confusion over loading then anyone can ring loadcontrol for verification.
How many loaders or dispatchers have access to an outside landline??? How are they going to resolve the problem???
Quite simply they won't, they probably will just hope that it works out fine.
I forsee several miss-loads and probably some lost contracts in the future.



ICEHOUSE

If the gate dispatcher has the equipment and time to telex CLC with all the load and fuel details then why bother, it would be far quicker and less time consuming (therefore cheaper) for them to close the flight and produce a loadsheet themselves.

jimbols6
21st Apr 2004, 15:16
opsmaster:
ur just winding me and my collegues up arnt you, you dnt actual no when its happening or if is happening at all its just bull****, arnt you the person that started this thread last time. And if this was happening why was the april's load control course advertised to all station then??? YOUR AN IDIOT!!!


Nibor: I agree with everything youve said cheers!!

capt.sparrow
21st Apr 2004, 16:49
I have experience in CLC and it works a treat. The airline that operate it still do as far as i know - from bangkok. Basically each memeber of the turnround is responsible for their small little bit and enter figures to a central computer system. ie the flight engineer/fueller enters fuel on board figures, the loaders enter number of bags and position, the gate staff enter boarded passengers etc. When all fields are completed the loadsheet auto generates and is printed directly to the flightdeck via ACARS link. This means servisair that you cant fudge arrival and depature times either as this is sent on push back and wheels up to airline ops direct from the flight deck!

Oh and as far as loading goes this is auto planned by the system based on booked passengers, expected cargo, mail etc to ideal trim the aircraft and is printed via telex for the loaders to follow. Never once did i have a problem with trim / load.

IceHouse
21st Apr 2004, 19:00
Jimbols6

Opsmaster is correct in saying that this project is going ahead, if your in any doubt contact the guys at manch, its due to start in about 3 weeks time and I think job advertisments are being advertised through the servisair/globeground network this week for CLC loadcontrollers.
As opsmaster said before, its a cost saving exercise and it would mean that no loadcontrol qualified staff would be required at the smaller stations LBA, MME,CWL etc so saving money in the long term, I suspect eventually that the company intends to abolish the role of dispatcher and have Pax handling staff run the turnaround and simply bring pax and loadsheet to aircraft when requiured. I think the company also believes that it will improve service to some airlines when they operate A/C to the smaller stations and loadsheets are sent from CLC at MAN with no need for manual loadsheets to be completed for airlines such as BY, FCA, MYT etc

tallseabird
21st Apr 2004, 20:24
Capt.sparrow - what happens if you don't have acars?

opsmaster
21st Apr 2004, 22:20
jimbols6 - I will await an apology for being called an idiot within a month. Believe me, I wish I was messing around here, but can assure you im not! My job is on the line, I dont make jokes when its that serious!

Capt sparrow - You are talking too far advance in technology for Servisair. The process Servisair is implying is that someone phones/telexs MAN with the loadsheet details then they send the loadsheet to the relevent gate printer. No ACAS available where Servisair is involved!

Yes a job advertisment has gone out for CLC Load Controllers, 2 F/T and 3 P/T looking for 2 years dispatch and 1 years DCS load contol experience behind them.

I just cannot understand why if someone at a Station needs to be in the office to contol the operation, why cant they do the Load Control? Its not very time consuming, as I said before, more time is taken up in other functions than load control, If someones got to be there, why cant they just spend a little time completing the load control?

IceHouse
22nd Apr 2004, 07:53
ACARS loadsheets are now being sent to Brit 763 aircraft at MAN FYI, think this is a trial period.

Little Blue
22nd Apr 2004, 11:29
Just a little note..
We tried CLC..or CLP as we called it....
with 2 CLP centres, ...
.
We don't do it anymore.....
;)

jimbols6
22nd Apr 2004, 12:07
spoke to my op manager and station manager, they have spk to the regional manager and there are to be no changes to the OPS Load control at Leeds, weve got that ad up in or office to!! the changes are at MAN only nothing to do with any other stations.
Plus we dnt want any other station doing are loadsheets we have plenty of problems as it stands without having to chase loadsheets, flight docs etc.. from another Station especially MAN cos im sure ur busy enough as it is.

cheers!!
:p

IceHouse
22nd Apr 2004, 13:01
Jimbols6
Your info source is inaccurate, have been told LBA are included in this CLC, along with MME,LPL,CWL and possibly one more, there is no other reason to advertise the jobs if this isn't going ahead, lets wait and see.

jimbols6
22nd Apr 2004, 14:28
right so the regional manager of SERVISAIR is wrong then?? i dnt think so!! The management at LEEDS have done the forcasting for the summer if this was taking place at Leeds they would have not just sent someone on the Load control course. Can you private message me a name a contact number of a senior person at MAN that has the info regarding LBA, or could you get them to contact the ops or station manager at Leeds then!!:suspect:

SWS_airwales
22nd Apr 2004, 15:13
Well we have been told today that CWL Load control is going to MAN on 24th May. Look out other stations it seems its on the cards for alot of other stations too.

jimbols6
22nd Apr 2004, 16:26
:suspect: :suspect: :suspect: :suspect:

SWS_airwales: do you do manual loadsheets at the mo or do u use codeco for Weight and Balance??

Approach_plate
22nd Apr 2004, 19:42
jimbols6

We use CODECO to create all load sheets except Ryanair.

That could explain why all the dispatchers at CWL are being trained to complete manual loadsheets............. To cover the cock ups that this system will cause. So to all the captains reading this, be prepared for quite a few delays untill Servisair realise that they have made a mistake by doing this. Well done to that bright spark who thought of it.

I just love the fact that many people will find out via this website and NOT through the company itself. Seems like management couldnt give a **** about their staff. I wonder what they will blame this cost cutting exercise on. 9/11??? Three numbers that seem to allow airline industry bosses to get rid of people.

redfield
22nd Apr 2004, 21:40
The load control is only being centralised in June for smaller stations that only produce comparatively few loadsheets every day, ergo Cardiff, Inverness etc....

SWS_airwales
22nd Apr 2004, 22:02
Yes we use Codeco at CWL to prepare loadsheets. MAN take over our load control on 24 May, the day Ops Staff at CWL get made redundant.

The company seem to think that 90% of our time is taken up by load control. WRONG. At CWL ops staff are also passenger handling supervisors, baggage agents and just about anything else you can think of. Yes, Load control is the most important thing that we do, but probably only takes 10% of our time. It is also pretty sad that we have to find out though a forums web site that we are about to loose our jobs. Thanks Servisair!!

Servisair issued a memo about cenralised load control today, saying it 'works very well for major airlines from a central operation'. maybe it is for an airline, but what about a ground handling agent? It is easier for an airline to do it as they do the flight planning so know the fuel load and then use there own inhouse system to produce a loadsheet. Yes, simple.

So what happens when the flightdeck crew cant get through to MAN? are they going to have to try and give there load details to a passenger services agent over the check-in desk?

If there is no operations staff, who is going to take calls from the airlines, man the VHF radio, co-ordinate staff etc?

CWL was re-structured 18 months ago, and we were cut from 14 full time staff to 6. we are now going to loose another 4. how are we meant to run a safe and efficent operation with hardly no staff?

Look out staff at other regional stations, we may be the test bate for this outragous move, but believe me, it will effect all soon.

Well, I get my P45 on 24 May, Then a trip to the job centre is due. Cheers the french/globeground, all you have done is ruin Servisair. you carry on like this and everyone will be out of a job!

I hope this completely goes tits up for the management, which i think it will.

speedbird_heavy
23rd Apr 2004, 09:49
Just been reading this post and I have to say that in all fairness, what servisair are doing is a load of s**t. I really cant see this working.

What will happen if the captain decides to uplift more fuel??? The DOI is out??? A group of pax are off loaded and the cptn wants a new load sheet -5min STD??? By the time we have telexed/phoned MAN with the new figures (if we can get an outside line), they have created the new LS (whilst creating and sending another flight's LS), sent the LS etc........we will be using delay codes.

Guys its going to be a tough summer....................Good luck and all the best to the people this effects. You will all be missed.

BEST L/CONTROLLER
23rd Apr 2004, 15:11
I can understand this happening at smaller stations like someone said earlier for stations who don't produce that many loadsheets, such as CWL, I under stand that CWL have lost the contract for Air Wales and BMI Baby, I checked out CWL DF in codeco yesterday, and if you were to take out AW & WW your left with a DF of 4 flts thats why it's happening in CWL and also can understand HUY & MME doing it too, but John Mullin one of the northern regional managers which cover LBA,LPL,MME does not know anything about this happening at these stations under him, the job oppurtunities that are up regarding CLC at MAN is just for MAN and maybe to do L/sheets for CWL or the other smaller stations, but we have too many flts at LBA and so do LPL for other stations to be doing our work coz like nibor said if they're doing it for cost cutting reasons then they're cutting their nose off to spite they're face coz your still gonna need a load controller to answer phones, use the ground to air radio, use the ground handling system, and to send the MVT/LDM msgs, and phone MAN every to pissing minutes,

No I think LBA & LPL are safe for quite some time yet, but if it happens I'll be on here again no doubt slating the blasted thing when we are all in a Dole que, but I think we are safe.

CHEERS!!!!:ok:

P.s my operations manager at LBA came into the office yesterday to ask us who we would send on the Load control course which is happening biginning of May now if LBA are gonna send 2 people on that course then that tells you that LBA are safe, I'm sorry for you guys in CWL and we'll all be in the same boat if it happens to us all, but good luck to all at this time.

:ok: :ok:

cabbott1
25th Apr 2004, 07:52
Hey Guys

Good Luck to you all when it happens. Operational wise it will depend from station to station how it works.

I'm in my 6th year and a ex pat working in CPH for Servisair. A very nice company over here with a VERY different set of goal posts. Servisair have had crazy ideas, they always have. I wont stop to say that only a small % of the "Thinkers and Idea makers" have the necessary experience to provide realistic ideas, the majority try to find new finical beneficial ideas but rarely stop to think about the workers.

Jut out of curiosity how many systems do you guys in the Uk work in? IN EDI it was 2, EI and Codeco. Here in CPH the dispatchers are the loadcontrolers, you are in complete control from the gate. The systems we have been trained on are of course Codeco, Gateon, FinCat, BA Babs and Swiss DCS. That's a lot of loadcontrol systems and entry's to remember.

I think we are one of only a few Servisair stations in Europe handling British Airways flights. We use CLC for these flights and its MUCH better than doing it yourself. If your station is setup well and your time limits are not tight it will work.

Good Luck to all you guys out there, I hope it works out for you. I cant see it working as Servisair is a mad dash last minute everything company compared to say a *Real* Airline

jimbols6
25th Apr 2004, 13:01
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

BEST L/CONTROLLER
25th Apr 2004, 15:29
Whats all that about JIMBO!!

Why the face:(

opsmaster
25th Apr 2004, 16:30
Does anyone know how much the salary is for a F/T Load controller in the CLC? Is the CLC in the airport or in offices outside the airport?

Stand 22
25th Apr 2004, 16:43
The CLC offices will be at MIOC which is some way from the airport close to Heald Green. (where they hold (or did) the codeco courses at MAN and where DCS support is located) so not one for the spotters thinking of going for it!

This has been on the cards for at least 5 years and came close to happening just before I left Servisair MAN nearly 3 years ago. If I remember correctly it was put off due to costs.

IceHouse
25th Apr 2004, 22:26
Stand 22
Was originally going to be located at MIOC but has been changed to commonwealth house next to the railway station at MAN and is then due to be moved to Atlas business park (head office) in a year or so if the project's a success, not sure about the pay though.

Awyrennwr
26th Apr 2004, 14:45
BEST L/CONTROLLER - at CWL during the summer DF will include 8-12 flights a day requiring CODECO loadsheets. (6G and WW don't use CODECO loadsheets anyway so the loss of that contract is irrelevant). 2 of CWl's dispatchers where sent on CODECO load control courses in JAN/FEB there is speculation that this was actually in preparation for the move (i.e backup load controllers to support the DM's), so looks like LBA are going down the same road.

At Cardiff there are many remote stands and no ramp car - an aircraft can frequently be 5 mins walk from a computer terminal. (CWL have no ramp cars, lots of security doors and not many (working) computer terminals)

Lets do the maths-

-60 Report to A/C & get figures
-55 Send figures to MAN (& send arrival)
-50 Return to A/C to dispatch
-45 Co-ordinate loading, boarding, fuelling etc.....
-30 Go to collect load sheet
-25 Collect loadsheet and print other paperwork
-20 Present loadsheet to captain
-15 Captain rejects loadsheet - return to terminal
-10 Call MAN and tell them
-5 New LS arrives
STD Present new LS
+5 Captain finishes his Rant - doors closed
+10 Push back

hmmmm - not much room for error.
Time spent actually dispatching aircraft 15 mins
Baggage offload required = Delay
Any irregularity whatsoever = Delay

Question - Since CODECO cannot produce a load plan for containerized aircraft - who's is going to produce the manual one at -60 such that the loadsheet when produced 120 miles away at STD-30 will trim?? I still can't see how this will work. (CWL will have between 2 and 5 containerized flights a day.)

Has anybody thought of what will happen with Cargo flights - Servisair at Cardiff are expected to produce loadsheets for daily TNT flights - I believe Servisair UK's only 'TNT loadcontrol trainer' (a CWL ops-supervisor/loadcontroller, trained in LGG at great expense only a few months ago) has just been made redundant due to the changes.

Plus – Diversions, large LMC’s, dangerous good’s, AVI’s, last minute rush bags, and other things that frequently change at the captains discretion.

One positive - Duty managers will now have to run operations and phone Manchester load control every 30 seconds. This could mean the station managers will have to take up the slack.

Well I'm off to see when they plan to train CWL dispatchers in manual load control and SITA because they have less than a month to do so.

Then just sit back and wait for the excretion to hit the rotary ventilator!

nibor
26th Apr 2004, 17:01
Just think how difficult it will be for those who handle the tinpot, little, low-cost air lines that can not even supply the correct DOW and DOI information to DCS.
I doubt very much that MAN L/C will bother to work out the correct DOW and DOI when there is a last minute aircraft change or crew config change. They would not have the time to look in the manuals and do all the maths (I did not mean that they just wouldn't bother, incase anyone replies).

Now lets think about the 'manual checkin to DCS loadsheet' problem. Will checkin have to ring MAN after the closure of every flight?

What about the stations that have more than just the codeco DCS system, will they just have do everything manual or are MAN going to look after these also?

Has anyone thought about ad-hoc flights or last minute positioning flights. Are airlines going to be told to send all handling requests to MAN and ring them with any aircraft changes.

Just think about it, when you try and ring a servisair station which number do you usually end up having to ring to get an answer? Load control. Who will answer the phone if they have gone?

Will crew have to call MAN for the EZFW?

CLC does work very well for some airlines, that is a proven fact.
It works because they have a single set of rules and impart a single set of procedures and level of training throughout their network.

It will not work well for a handling agent because each individual airline has it's own requirements and each airport it's own problems to overcome.

I could see it working at the large airports like MAN, LGW and any other where loadcontrol is exclusively that. Provided they stuck to IT traffic or those airlines which follow standard loading for every flight.

I have worked at an airport where a handling agent used CLC, there was an awful lot of ballast loaded at the last minute. Airlines do not like ferrying ballast around.

jimbols6
26th Apr 2004, 18:45
Awyrennwr:it ant gona happen at Leeds we have too many flights look at are DF, and the phone never stops ringing, so we are gona need someone in the ops office anyway. We have a problem with remote stands at leeds to, and its a pain in going back to that printer to get a new bloodly loadsheet had to go back three times for one flight on sunday!!

CHEERS!!!:ok:

LandingFee
26th Apr 2004, 20:38
JIMBOL6

Lets just say that MANCHESTER will be part of the CLC so i have no doubt whatsoever that LBA will not get a second thought. LPL are next and then one by one every single U.K station will follow except LGW. Also i know that just a month ago our Regional Manager (TH) told one of our staff that all jobs at CWL were safe until the end of the summer......Bull****e...... 4 weeks later 4 ops staff are made redundant. JIMBOL YOUR JOB IS NOT SAFE

Approach_plate
26th Apr 2004, 20:42
I can see a lot of manual loadsheets being completed this summer as it will just be a waste of time trying to get in touch with CLC at manchester.

opsmaster
26th Apr 2004, 22:33
JIMBOLS6

I dont think an Employees Opportunites job advertisment has gone out, looking for 2 F/T and 3 P/T load controllers just to take CWL's work. Eventually, in time, they are going to take everyone's work. Servisair hasn't bought this in to just take one or two stations, the lot will go in the end!

Servisair arn't the ones for wasting money! Well, then again, those damn poster boards............................!


:ok: :ok:

IceHouse
26th Apr 2004, 23:42
Awyrennwr
Re the regional stations, as a former MAN L/controller we had about 120 daily summer codeco flts ex MAN couple of yrs back nd managed to keep the operation going ok, I guess it depends on cooperation from out station dispatchers and ability to send loading instructs,fuel figs, dow wts etc in time for this this to work, fully understand though concerns regarding usual trash carriers operating in summer with out of date wt & bal info!

jimbols6
27th Apr 2004, 11:51
in my opinion in a few years there just wont be a servisair, the management will have cut everything back until there is nothing left.
maybe in the long term we will be getting our LS from MAN but it still will not work anyway.

GBNGH
27th Apr 2004, 12:39
Having been a DCS load control instructor for many years at Servisair the standard of staff that attended from the smaller out stations was very good. However, knowing how other companies run centralised load planning the potential for success is there providing Servisair do it porperly with the right investment in both equipment and staff.

Approach_plate
27th Apr 2004, 15:08
providing Servisair do it porperly with the right investment in both equipment and staff.


Servisair have the staff. What they dont have is proper funding from their french owners to invest in the right equipment. Ask your station manager how much they have had to tighten their belts.

At the end of the day, this WILL NOT work.

Stand 22
27th Apr 2004, 21:13
Was originally going to be located at MIOC but has been changed to commonwealth house next to the railway station at MAN and is then due to be moved to Atlas business park (head office) in a year or so if the project's a success

So they are going to up sticks and move everything just after it gets settled in one place :ooh: Commonwealth is a big improvement over MIOC though!


as a former MAN L/controller

Should I know you?

Cheers.

Approach_plate
26th May 2004, 09:14
Ok the BY460A was the first one to use this system yesterday and I had the honours of dispatching it. The flight was supposed to be used as a training flight to show how the system is going to work. One of my major concerns was that with all the time spent sending the "masks" the dispatcher loses control of the turnaround.

The trainer showing me how to use the masks had to return landside (no outside lines at the gate) so he could call Manchester to find out why the system wasnt working.

Anyhow when he returned he proceeded to show me how to send data, but during this I had to liase with cabin crew, flight deck, co-ordinate and supervise the loading etc etc so I missed most of the masks being sent.

The aircraft departed on time (just) even though the pax and containers we all onboard by -20. Nothing to do with the chap in Manchester who created the loadsheet (he proberbly had a tough time aswell), but the system as a whole prevented a nice early departure. Teething problems some may say but we will soon find out. This system could prove to be Servisair's down fall.

Another query is how will this system work with remotly parked aircraft??? Some stands are fair drive away from a computer terminal and whilst im at a computer who's to know whats happening at the aircraft. 130.6 will be a very hot channel me thinks.

So from the way things went, it looks like we will need two dispatchers per aircraft (one to supervise the turnaround and one to send these masks) or someone in an office who is dedicated to sending the masks (possible the Load Controlers they have made redundant), Dispatchers can no longer meet and greet pax and push wheelchairs (like they are expected to do at the moment) so more pax agents are going to have to be on shift or employed for this. So at the end of the day where are the savings being made???

This system should have been brought in during the winter when there are hardly any flights, not during the busy summer season when we are all rushed off our feet.

speedbird_heavy
28th May 2004, 17:42
Approach_plate


I don't know who you are but I will find out as CWL’s station manager has brought this post to my attention.

Let me clear a few things up here. YOU DID NOT dispatch the flight you refer to. I did. I was pulled up in front of my manager today to explain what "I" had supposedly written on this forum.

Yes there are one or two people who are pissed off about what is happening but guess what, it is happening and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Why do you have to hide behind a pseudonym??? Are you really that gutless that you cant say what you want to yourself ???

Servisair management are aware of this thread and like me are very keen to find out who you are. You obviously work for servisair at CWL and you were present for this flight.

I have also informed the moderators about your post and hopefully they will take action to stop you doing the same thing again. At the end of the day we all have to work together and I would like to keep my job. Hopefully you feel the same way.

IceHouse
28th May 2004, 19:03
Glad to hear things are going well anyway!

JB007
28th May 2004, 19:48
speedbird_heavy

Check your Private Messages!

tallseabird
20th Jun 2004, 11:36
It's getting near the end of June now - who did transfer l/c to Man????

phoenix son
30th Jun 2004, 10:35
Seems to have gone very quiet on the 3rd Floor - What's occurring up there???

PHX

HZ123
1st Jul 2004, 11:24
At BA we have had CLC for about three years with centres at GLA, JNB and downtown JFK., following/mirroring the manner that some of you have stated. BA see the exercise as eventually reducing costs which have already been reflected with many EU stations contracted out and UK stations staff being reduced and eventually reduced in grade. Longhaul has seen staff reductions and in particular the expatriate staff and overseas oportunities non existant. It all adds to compliance and conformance targets and JARops requirements, enabling minimal training and cost reduction. There are also a number of private companies offering this CLC service.

Terror_is_firmer
1st Jul 2004, 18:55
Good to see the circus is treating its staff well. One day Servisair management might just realise that their ground staff are the ones keeping the office staff in a job.

How things have change since I worked for Servisair. Glad I left now.

jimbols6
3rd Oct 2004, 11:47
theres talk of central load control at leeds for the next summer with a possible trial in winter did MAN ever start the CLC cause this thread went really quite? have any other smaller stations heard anything?

rsutt1
5th Oct 2004, 19:07
CWL and ABZ are CLC already it will happen to LBA as well, It is a pain in the arse and it makes a 2 minute process become a 30 minute process. Have fun LBA

speedbird_heavy
5th Oct 2004, 20:00
Still having fun down there rsutt1???:)

GBNGH
6th Oct 2004, 12:06
As a Load Control Instructor for Servisair in days gone by, I have to say you are all going to talk yourselves out of a job if your not careful!

speedbird_heavy
6th Oct 2004, 12:11
If they don't make people redundent first.......:)

jimbols6
6th Oct 2004, 15:01
rsutt1: could you talks us through an average turn around how it all works, what happens when the capt is not happy with his loadsheet 5 mins befor departure, do you have to ring MAN, who sends the movement message? have CWL and ABZ been able to cut their staffing levels??

speedbird_heavy
6th Oct 2004, 16:01
When I was there, the first thing to do was send the Initial Flight briefing mask accessed by typing E*IF at -75 or as soon as the aircraft arrived on stand. This would ask you for the a/c reg, flight no, your name, date etc, etc. You would then send it to either TCLC01/02. They would send you a mask saying that they have recieved the detals and which printer they are using.

Next mask was E*FF which was the fuel figures mask. Send that when you know the figures

-45 either gate the flight yourself or get the lead agent/DM to do it. I used to send a PW to MAN at this point aswell.

Then you would send the E*DD or Dead Load mask. Basiclly if there was a change in the way the aircraft was loaded e.g two containers moved from positions 4.1.4.2 to 3.1,3.2 etc, There was also a mask for a manual checkin but I cant remeber that one.

-20 Hopefully you should have had a loadsheet through. Check it, countersign it and hand it to God.

If there is a problem at any point just send a 5 field message to the printer address of the load controller.

There will be a message come from MAN telling you which edition L/S to use.

If there are any LMC's, within limits you or the flight crew can LMC the loadsheet.

You can then send the LMC mask via E*LMC. This can be sent once the aircraft has departed.

Things may have changed since I was at CWL but that is the jist of it.

jimbols6
6th Oct 2004, 19:05
sounds like you would be spending alot of time at the computer instead of at the a/c side which is ok at airports where there is computer at every stand, but at leeds there is only one computer that we would be able to use and even then that would only really benift a couple of stands. it would be a nitemare for the dispatcher to keep going from stand 18 up to stand 8 to keep sending messages. It would just be better to leave things as they are. Cheers for the info!!

speedbird_heavy
6th Oct 2004, 21:38
Wait untill the aircraft is on a remote stand. At Cardiff the 3 main stands we used all had a computer terminal but stands 1 and 14 were remote. Stand 1 was a good 5 min walk from a computer and stand 14 could only be accessed by crossing a live taxiway and by car. Servisair don't have a ramp car at Cardiff so those of us with a driving permit used the worlds gipsyish Land Rover untill it died. We then had to try and blag a noddy cart off Airway handling but as is the norm, they were all in use towing baggage trollies. Plenty of times I used a bus just to get back and forth. Twas ok with long haul because there was two of us. One in the building (sending the masks) and one at the a/c.

wb_master
11th Oct 2004, 04:03
Just to keep you informed MW servisair CWL now have a ramp car and have done since the beggining of September. And if you are weight and balance certified then you can do your own l/s from the gate.

rsutt1
11th Oct 2004, 04:08
SpeedBird heavy. Would you believe that during a summer clearout at servisair cardiff we have come across a very special item. It appears to be a radio clic/mic piece exactly the same as the one you accused ICS of nicking. So Speedbird I now wear this item with pride. RGDS

speedbird_heavy
11th Oct 2004, 09:46
Just to keep you informed MW servisair CWL now have a ramp car and have done since the beggining of September.

Thats because they dont have to pay my wages anymore.....;) Have servisair made anymore investments??? GPU's, ASU's ect...?

SpeedBird heavy. Would you believe that during a summer clearout at servisair cardiff we have come across a very special item. It appears to be a radio clic/mic piece exactly the same as the one you accused ICS of nicking. So Speedbird I now wear this item with pride. RGDS

Where did you find that clicky thing to??? I turned that office upside down looking for it............:(

rsutt1
16th Oct 2004, 09:43
MW, 1 new gpu and 1 new PBT, Brand new!!

speedbird_heavy
16th Oct 2004, 20:59
They had a "new" GPU when I was there. And that tug has finally arrived. TBH I wish I was still there. Getting board pressing buttons on a machine. This is (http://www.doncasters.com/content_frame/sites/blaenavon/blaen_prof.htm) where I work now.

witchdoctor
15th Nov 2004, 07:49
NCL about to join the fun and games with CLC kicking off this week.

Announcement went down like a lead balloon with traffic office (as would appear to be the norm elsewhere on this thread), as it also coincides with the intention to begin 20 minute turnarounds on our growing easyjet fleet, and the imminent closure of 3 pier stands, so even more remote aircraft more often. Traffic team still awaiting completion of training and the issue of portable reminders of the process and masks to be used at the gate.

So, should we be worried, or did it all turn out nice in the end? :\

Captain101
17th Nov 2004, 23:58
On the whole the system works well - Apart from:

For short turnarouds on remote stands it is a real pain. You have to go back to the gate once you have the fuel figures send them to CLC and wait 5-10 mins for the loadsheet to come back through, in theory your then supposed to go back to the gate again when sure of the load and send a deadload mask, then wait for the release message before collecting your copy of the LS from the aircraft - in practice this just does not happen with remote stands. (if the actual load is as planned or close enough to LMC, most dispatchers will not bother with the deadload mask.)

Another time it can be problematic is when the load changes and has to be re-planned, I've attempted to do this uing deadload masks and 5 fields but often i find the best way is to give CLC a call and sort it out.

For containerised A/C - a manual LP is faxed from CLC the night before - however there is no dedload mask for containerised A/C so if there is a change in the loading which there ineviatably is with ULD's, then it's very difficult to communicate the change using the system, and again the best way to sort it out - call CLC.

I am not aware of it ever having caused any delays, but it has definatley caused alot of stress at times!

Let everyone know how it goes at NCL, good luck!

witchdoctor
3rd Dec 2004, 13:26
For those curious to know, CLC is a doddle, although when a problem does arise it is slightly more difficult at present to resolve than it was previously when load control was in-house. As mentioned, remote aircraft are a pain in the butt.

The guys at MAN are impressively quick at churning out the required paperwork. Nice one.:ok:

redfield
4th Dec 2004, 01:43
Witchdoctor: So you approve of CLC then???

witchdoctor
4th Dec 2004, 17:13
I have nothing against it (yet :} ). I prefer however, to be much closer to the source as it saves a great deal of trouble when you can actually go into the office, paperwork in hand, if need be to resolve problems. So far, it seems to be working fine, and I'm happy to play along.

redfield
8th Dec 2004, 19:57
I just wonder what the non-load control trained dispatchers at the outstations who might have wanted to become load controllers will think when they're told that they won't/can't be trained because there's no point any more as all the L/C is done elsewhere? L/C used to be the next logical stepping stone upwards from dispatch: as this option is being removed, where do dispatchers go from here? Also, how to the L/C staff (at your station, or any staton) feel about it? I'm fairly sure that there's controllers in various stations around the country who are not happy. I know of some that have moved on already, the start of things to come I fear. Skilled staff won't remain in a place where they can't used their skills! So consider a worst case scenario: all the L/C staff leave the outstations, then there's a power cut in MAN. WHo does the L/C then? Or am I being too pessimistic?

speedbird_heavy
9th Dec 2004, 07:49
Most/all of the ops bods at the out staions will/have been made redundent. I think that they intend to keep one or two l/c trained members of staff just incase things do go tits up. Plus if you are l/c trained I think you can still produce your own loadsheets.

witchdoctor
9th Dec 2004, 10:51
No redundancies at NCL. The LCs are all now Ops Assistants.

FLYING-FODDER
10th Dec 2004, 10:21
WITH REGARDS TO CLC I USED TO WORK FOR BM WHEN THEY DECIDED IT WAS A GOOD IDEA. IN POINT IT ISN'T AND WE WERE ALWAYS HAVING TO CORRECT LOAD PLANS ETC AS INEVITABLY THE NICE PEOPLE HADN'T REALLY SEEN AN A/C IN THEIR LIVES. I BELIEVE AVIANCE IN SOU ARE DOING CLC AT THE MO FOR FLYBE, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF IT NOT WORKING. THERE WERE FAIRLY REGULAR DELAYS DUE TO THIS OF UP TO 20MINS. NOT TO MENTION THE SCREW UPS OF MISSING LARGE AMOUNTS OF FRT OF THE L/S. TO PUT A LONG STORY SHORT BM STOPPED BECAUSE IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE AND INVARIABLY CAUSES DELAYS AND IN MOST PLACES YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE SEND THE INFO TO MAN SO WHY NOT HAVE THEM DO THE L/S MANUAL OR OTHERWISE.

tallseabird
10th Dec 2004, 11:19
What Servisair stations are on CLC and are coming onto it?

speedbird_heavy
10th Dec 2004, 21:38
Eventually all apparently.............

redfield
11th Dec 2004, 20:54
So far ABZ, NCL and CWL - not sure about any others.

FLYING-FODDER
14th Dec 2004, 16:48
Not sure about jersey, they might have to though due to lack of trained staff for ops/load control