Commercial Fixed Wing
Dispatch Dispatcher
Distraction; Communication Breakdown; Workload
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Environment - Non Weather Related; Company Policy; Equipment / Tooling; Staffing; Procedure; Human Factors
Something to consider about workload. Nine times out of ten when we're busy with weather; reroutes; ATC; [Maintenance]; we find the crews unknowingly increase our workload. Often times it is difficult getting our work done with their actions. - bypass the Dispatcher and call Maintenance Control directly leaving the Dispatcher out of the loop and left with surprises; continual disregard finding their dispatchers phone number. Pilots say they never know how to look up a dispatcher's phone number. Many just dial the one number in their cell phone. When your Dispatcher is at 1 out of 16 desks; they are likely disturbing another Dispatcher who has their own issues. We only have two phone lines. When we have one call going and one on hold; our lines roll over [to] another Dispatcher busy with their flights. Continual disregard to learning how to find their dispatchers desk number on their release and knowing how to dial them on Telesis. When we are called at a desk that is across the room; we are forced to leave our desk and all our tools to talk to the crew; let alone disturbing and tying up another dispatcher's radio and desk/computer. While busy with ATC; reroutes; weather; sending icing and turbulence PIREPs and SIGMETs and Convective SIGMETs to our planes in the air; we are interrupted with an ACARS from a crew asking to keep their aircraft. We don't assign the aircraft nor do we intentionally make them swap. Most crews demand answers to non-safety related requests when we're busy and don't think twice that we're working safety related issues. Same with asking us to get hotel vans and calling stations and crew scheduling for requests that are not Dispatch items. It is as if many crews start delegating items to Dispatch to make their jobs easier. Often times when they get a reroute they send misspelled fixes and Navaids and expect the Dispatcher to guess at what the real fix is.If on the ground; some follow-up with a phone call thinking they will get faster service when they are only slowing us down.... I've also had times when the crews will ACARS; [and] then have the station call me; and then call me themselves. Now I have two lines tied up which keeps me from working the reroute. I need a third phone line to call ATC! Other times crews don't realize we are working up to 20-25 flights at a time and that they need to give us a reasonable amount of time to get to their request. Often times when crews get a reroute they fail to give us their nearest Navaid for us to run numbers. After many repeated attempts telling them that our software does not understand PPS or 150 NM from a Navaid; we are taking away time by sending messages back and forth with the crew. Some crews refuse to give us their nearest Navaid saying we should be able to see them. If we had the time to drop everything and get info they can easily give us; we certainly would. Many crews; not all; do not or cannot read the weather and know if they need an alternate; how to figure alternate minimums; or how to read NOTAMs. Most often they leave this responsibility to the Dispatcher; neglecting their duties; increasing our workload. Several want closer alternates but do not or will not take the time to see if the cities even have alternate minimums; while the Dispatcher has already looked at these cities. Quite a few complain about the fuel; alternates; etc; after they are off the ground. So then they expect us to tell them why we did what we did over ACARS when we need to be helping our other flights. It's my understanding that when they sign the release and turn it into the station they are agreeing to everything on the release. We have a number of crews that ACARS ahead of time requesting to land with 2;500 or 2;700 lbs.... I've seen several crews divert to teach us a lesson for their dissatisfaction with the company fuel. Diversions increase our workload big time as I'm sure with the crew; especially when it's to a station that is not [our company]....We get calls from crews at hotel wanting to wait until the last minute to show up at airport if flight delayed and/or want an early weather brief. If [there is] bad weather we're usually up in our eyeballs with current flights getting ready to go into the weather or are already flying in and around it.... One note on ATC side which not only increases our workload but seems to violate an FAR of routing aircraft around weather. ATC tells us not to file Coded Departure Routes (CDR) routes; to file normal routes through the weather; but have fuel for CDR routes. Our crews call us accusing us of sending them into weather.
Air Carrier Dispatcher chronicles a list of alleged flight crew actions resulting in increased Dispatcher workload.