Dash 8-400
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Troubleshooting; Time Pressure; Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural MEL / CDL; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Aircraft; Human Factors; MEL
Reference Q400 MEL 28-XX-XX:The table needs to be more explicit and the pilots need instructions as to how to utilize the table. It is extremely confusing.After a call to the [Chief Pilot] (and 20 minutes of discussion with him; my First Officer; and a maintainer) we determined the fuel from the nacelle (refuel/defuel) panel for the inoperative/malfunctioning gauge should be written in 'A'; and the fuel from the operative gauge should be listed in 'B'. The table can be misinterpreted as written and can lead to operating a flight with less than required fuel. Small mistakes can lead to fuel starvation in flight. Write detailed instructions on exactly what needs to be written in each block.
DH8-400 Captain reported difficulty understanding the MEL procedure and the need for instruction.