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Old 21st Sep 2006, 17:53
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Inverness Radar

Can anyone from the Highlands let us know if there is anything people can do to stop this malaise that appears to be at the heart of this thread? Is it really as bad as the picture that is being painted? Surely someone from HIAL Management must be reading this thread? Are they all just keeping their head in the sand or just not interested in their staff? Surely the ATC staff must be finding it hard to carry on as normal with so much happening or are they nearly all keeping their heads down???
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Old 21st Sep 2006, 20:30
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Angry

The picture's every bit as bad as being painted. Controllers who've been with HIAL for years, been through the bad times before and stuck with them, are now looking to leave. Sadly HIAL Head Office Management's heads are collectively in the sand. If they are interested in their staff they've an odd way of communicating this. ATC staff are finding it hard to carry on as normal with all the unrest within the company. The regulator is only too aware of this - low morale does not engender a good safety culture. One ATCO is leaving HIAL at the end of this month, a few have job offers in hand and others have job interviews pending. Before the year end it's likely airports will have to shut for periods due to staff shortages. The remaining staff will receive flak from the travelling public and press for this and what little morale is left will go. Unlike the BCB they don't have a PR guru to make them look good.

HIAL ATC staff are not alone in suffering, the company's Airport Fire Service is similarly affected by the malaise and are losing staff rapidly.

As far as Inverness Radar is concerned HIAL Head Office Management stubbornly purport it'll be in place by 31 March 2007. Not a chance.

Last edited by SRG fan club; 22nd Sep 2006 at 12:18. Reason: Spelling
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Old 22nd Sep 2006, 12:41
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Inverness Radar

Hi Lifes2Good, thanks for your concern and in answer to your questions,
Originally Posted by Lifes2good
Can anyone from the Highlands let us know if there is anything people can do to stop this malaise that appears to be at the heart of this thread? What can we do when the main man is the root of the problem and his is flame proof?
It doesn't matter how many times he abuses his position of authority or intimidates the minions, if we, the so called staff 'rebels' dare to voice our opinions, BCB arranges 'private consultations' with us so that it will always be a case of 'our word against his'! Once summoned to the inner sanctum we are told to put up, shut up or ELSE!! I'm afraid most of us still need to pay the mortgage!!!
Is it really as bad as the picture that is being painted? Unfortunately the only way morale in the company can be ressurected is by getting rid of the rotten apple and his hangers on!! We are all waiting for the moment he trips up and makes one enemy too many.
Surely someone from HIAL Management must be reading this thread? But do they care? Yes, but only about preserving their own heads.
Are they all just keeping their head in the sand or just not interested in their staff? Some have never taken their heads out of the sand and many of the ones who actually showed signs of caring about the staff have already left.
Surely the ATC staff must be finding it hard to carry on as normal with so much happening or are they nearly all keeping their heads down???
It is VERY hard and BCB has made it more difficult by falling out with the regulators!! ATS used to have a good rapport with CAA SRG but the Monty Python Sqdn Leader recently banned us from having any direct communications with SRG.
However the light at the end of the tunnel is that the CAA and other government agencies are beginning to see through the ! Bring on the Showdown!!!!
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Old 26th Sep 2006, 09:36
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Originally Posted by falcon777
Hi Lifes2Good, thanks for your concern and in answer to your questions, It is VERY hard and BCB has made it more difficult by falling out with the regulators!! ATS used to have a good rapport with CAA SRG but the Monty Python Sqdn Leader recently banned us from having any direct communications with SRG.
However the light at the end of the tunnel is that the CAA and other government agencies are beginning to see through the ! Bring on the Showdown!!!!
Fabulous! Well said falcon777 I couldn't have made a better summary.
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Old 26th Sep 2006, 20:15
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Couple of tips for you:
1. NEVER attend an "interview" alone.......it is your right to be accompanied.
2. You have an absolute right to contact the regulator.....your licence is issued by CAA and not by your employer.
By the way...what on earth is the union doing?....if anything?
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Old 27th Sep 2006, 16:43
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Angry Inverness Radar

Well said 055166k surely the powers that be SRG must be very concerned about these state of affairs.
I'm sure all the HIAL ATCO's are reading this thread with great interest, perhaps firemen too. The advice given by 011166k is not to be ignored.

Good luck to all who sail in the Good Ship HIAL.
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Old 29th Sep 2006, 08:15
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Behind the Iron Curtain

Originally Posted by 055166k
Couple of tips for you:
1. NEVER attend an "interview" alone.......it is your right to be accompanied.
In HIAL we no longer have the same 'rights' we used to BCB has ZERO respect for anyone, regardless or rank or experience, we are just mere numbers to him and he takes special delight in trampling the 'rebels' underfoot as his Employment Law Bending Queen covers his .
2. You have an absolute right to contact the regulator.....your licence is issued by CAA and not by your employer.
That is our understanding too, but we know we would be disciplined for disobeying a direct order from a member of the Senior Management Team
By the way...what on earth is the union doing?....if anything?
He has fallen out with them too! They have had numerous complaints, but with his Queen digging him out of the BCB has managed to avoid being caught, so far The Unions are lying in wait and when dinner comes, they will rip BCB to shreds!!!
Also SRG are majorly clamping down! That's why we expect a 'show down'

Meantime his bully tactics and scare mongering means an increased number of valued members of HIAL staff are 'speaking with their feet' and walking! Some haven't even given more than a days notice!

As for having enough qualified personnel to cover the Radar project in early 2007, pigs will fly first!!!
F777
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Old 2nd Oct 2006, 21:21
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What the hell is going on at Inverness???

The latest installment in the tale is that the previously mentioned Squadron Leader in charge of ATS (who banned ATCO's from ever communicating with SRG ) has now, in turn, been banned from doing the same by the MD .......A SOMEWHAT ILL-ADVISED AND DANGEROUS GAME TO PLAY!, watch this space. Messing the Regulators about will not go unnoticed, especially if you are caught trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

Stay tuned, the fireworks are going to be fantastic.
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Old 3rd Oct 2006, 07:01
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Just out of interest, why is he known as the 'Squadron Leader'? A quick look at his internet resume indicates a career starting in 1971 in the in the DTI; I see no military links.

That said, I agree that an individual is licensed by the CAA and therefore has a right to approach the Authority about any issue which is encompassed by the terms, conditions or responsibilities of his/her license.
 
Old 3rd Oct 2006, 18:33
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Is it still safe to fly in and out of HIAL airports? Those in the towers and fire stations will be professional to the end but can they be expected to operate to their full potential with all this going on over their heads? Especially if this is going on hand in hand with (training?) budget cuts. I am concerned this will turn out to be a flight safety issue but everyone is too scared (and I'm not surprised) to report it. Has anyone thought to use the anonymous CHIRP system?
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Old 3rd Oct 2006, 18:52
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Different Guy

LM

I think you must be mixing up the Sqnd Leaders. Ours is definitely an ex RAF man and I believe he used to visit some of the HIAL units during military activations prior to joining the company.

NEWS FLASH Two more HIAL personnel resigned within the last 24 hours. Another ATCO and the Company Fire Officer! Both have found an alternative to the current HIAL drudgery and I know I am not alone in thinking " I wish it was me!!" Also, I believe the staffing situation over in the 'west' is reaching crisis point and guess what management are doing? Sweet because BCB is on AL

BTW, SRG ARE aware of what's going on

F777
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Old 3rd Oct 2006, 19:37
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NEWS FLASH Two more HIAL personnel resigned within the last 24 hours. Another ATCO and the Company Fire Officer! Both have found an alternative to the current HIAL drudgery and I know I am not alone in thinking " I wish it was me!!" Also, I believe the staffing situation over in the 'west' is reaching crisis point and guess what management are doing? Sweet because BCB is on AL
Ho Ho! Would the last person to leave HIAL please leave the lights on a 15 minute timer switch!

Last edited by Highland Director; 3rd Oct 2006 at 19:38. Reason: typo
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Old 4th Oct 2006, 12:44
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lights on for 15 mins?

The company would probably try to get a dispensation from the CAA to have the lights switched off after 5 mins.....to save on electricity!
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Old 5th Oct 2006, 22:15
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Direct contact with SRG by HIAL ATCOs has been going on for many years.
When I was with the company, there was so little faith in management that the Head office was bypassed by the ATC staff as a matter of course.

It would appear that, as ever, the head office management are only interested in asking "how high?" when the puppet of a MD says "Mc Jump".

What HIAL really needs is to be put into the private sector, then the taxpayers of the UK (not just Scotland) would really see how much money it costs to run this poorly managed and unnecessary organisation.

But I don't suppose that will ever happen....
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Old 8th Oct 2006, 11:24
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Angel Yea Gods!

I've been following this thread with much interest...

I am definitely looking forward to the fireworks Let's keep our fingers crossed that the brown stuff hits the air conditioning and the de-sanitation team can clean up quickly, without causing TOO much more stress...

P***ing off SRG, let alone everyone else and their dog, is never a good idea.

Well done, that there management!

Hang in there, guys! It can surely only get better... can't it?
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Old 8th Oct 2006, 16:24
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Job vacancies

Just been looking at the HIAL web site and guess what, they have vacancies (plural) for non-radar ATCO's !!!!
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Old 8th Oct 2006, 19:43
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Isn’t this saga sad. No ATCO can take any pleasure from reading such a sorry story of ATCO mis-management, but have we been here before ???

Why do we have continuing stories on pprune of non ATCO managers cocking up the vital management of the only two professions who can close airports (ATC and RFFS).

ATCOs need to be lead not ordered about. Most ATCOs are bright individuals who will respond to good leadership. When will airport managers realise that management of ATCOs is totally different from managing baggage handlers or security staff ??

I despair
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Old 12th Oct 2006, 12:22
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C'mon the crofters!

http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk...pNodeId=149221
I was particularly impressed by the following quote...
"Hial in particular seems to operate in a very cavalier fashion with no regard for the community. In discussions over this matter, and previous dealings with Hial, the arrogance and insensitivity displayed by their management has been incredible."
Sounds like a fair summary to me.
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Old 12th Oct 2006, 13:01
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Radar project update!

A radar project update has been issued.
  • Good progress continues to be made towards the planned Greenfield Radar Operational date of 31 March 2007. Fantastic!
  • The whole Phase 1 project will be reviewed in December 2006 by which time we should have training results available and a clearer picture of where we are - So the picture is unclear and we don't know where we are?
  • it must be recognised that certain aspects have yet to be delivered such as the radar room and radar data. I think that says it all really.
I suppose we shouldn't really fret over such trivial matters. Radar data....? Approach radar room.....? Minor minor details really.....
Can it get any more farcical?
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Old 12th Oct 2006, 19:33
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Originally Posted by Highland Director
Good progress continues to be made towards the planned Greenfield Radar Operational date of 31 March 2007
Surely a mistake? AFAIK they haven't got the money to buy a new radar yet, let alone ordered one. To get one in place and operational by 31-3-07 they'd have to be installing it on site NOW. 31-3-07 is supposed to be the operational date for the feed to a radar room at EGPE, not the new radar.
But in among all this there is also the question, what about controlled airspace? Sure, they won't get CAS until they have radar, but having radar - especially a feed from a head 25nm away - without CAS still leaves a lot to be desired. We now have announcements of yet more new routes - Southampton, NEMA, Belfast City - and CAA stats show Inverness handling more ATMs now than Bournemouth and DTV, both of which have CAS, and almost as many as Prestwick, which got its CAS back in 2003.
NS
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