Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Workload; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; Environment - Non Weather Related; Company Policy; Weather
This report is not intended to be specific to this particular flight; but to our operations in general.  I believe the company's continuous and increasing use of ACARS to report system anomalies not related to flying the aircraft is causing a safety hazard.  It began with the first flight of the day aircraft condition reports that are now mandatory via ACARS; and has now become a major distraction with delay reports.  It is unreasonable for the company to insist that pilots report delays; especially when they are well known; while in flight.  Yesterday was a prime example: we were ground stopped due to TSTMS and were given a 2 hour delay EDCT.  The flight back was very challenging with an amended RNAV departure in mountainous terrain; a radical ATC change to our flight plan; and a lot of weather to deviate around for the last half of the flight.  The ACARS was continuously chirping (making loud ACARS noise) enroute while we were busy trying to manage our fuel and deviate around weather.  It wanted to know why we were 2 hours late.  This requirement; combined with the other non-flight related ACARS prompts are causing distraction and are increasing pilot workload.  Considering that our workload has already dramatically increased of late due to all the various and ever-changing RNAV arrivals; these non flight related ACARS functions should be immediately discontinued.
An EMB-145 Captain described the safety hazards; distractions and increased flight crew workload because of the Company requirement to ACARS non flight related anomalies even when the causes are well known.