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The State Of The...Your Job!

Everything that would not belong anywhere else.
 

ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 13 Jul 19, 01:05Post
On three separate occasions this week, I've heard gunfire over the facility's main radio channel. In my line of work, that's never a good thing especially when you consider the facility at which I perform my duties.

Through a combination of the dispatch console, duty roster, and knowledge that this month's training involves weapon quals at the range, it was determined that all these incidents were actually cases of someone who can't A) turn their radio off and B) can't be bothered to change to the Training talkgroup on said radio should it inadvertently get switched on.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Mark 17 Jul 19, 01:50Post
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CentrelinePhoto 18 Jul 19, 09:07Post
So, after 32 years of working for the same two guys (at two different companies), since the age of 16, I've finally decided to move on. I'll be doing the same job but with slightly fewer responsibilities and in a much less shit city.

Not a big move for most folks I guess, but, after this long, it actually feels huge.
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
mhodgson (ATC & Photo Quality Screener & Founding Member) 18 Jul 19, 11:37Post
Good stuff Chris - still in the North East or completely changing your scenery?
There's the right way, the wrong way and the railway.
CentrelinePhoto 18 Jul 19, 12:33Post
mhodgson wrote:Good stuff Chris - still in the North East or completely changing your scenery?

Thanks Martin... my new job will be in Durham city centre, an infinitely more agreeable place than Sunderland :)
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
mhodgson (ATC & Photo Quality Screener & Founding Member) 18 Jul 19, 12:41Post
Yeah, no competition really!
There's the right way, the wrong way and the railway.
airtrainer 18 Jul 19, 18:47Post
Congrats Chris, all the best for your new job {thumbsup}
Grounded...
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 18 Jul 19, 23:29Post
CentrelinePhoto wrote:my new job will be in Durham city centre, an infinitely more agreeable place than Sunderland :)


I have arranged a busker of questionable ability, just to make you feel at home {duck}

Congratulations, sometimes a change is long overdue {thumbsup}
A million great ideas...
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 19 Jul 19, 00:26Post
New toy at work. I received some preliminary training on it today, including the use of the headset. It's interesting to note that the headset will pick up a conversation from across the room. Not sure why it has to be so sensitive.

MCC7500.jpg
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Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 25 Sep 19, 00:07Post
So, after a few months using the console, I give it a big thumbs up. It's reassuring to know that when I key up, the air is mine. That comes in handy (read necessary) when I need to direct responding personnel to an emergency. No more dreaded BOOOOP when I'm trying to transmit and others are as well.

Radio discipline is good where I work, but there are plenty of areas that can be improved upon.

It's also nice that I can hear the traffic I'm walking on, just in case that traffic is important as well. Most of the time it isn't, though.

I just wish I knew more about it's inner workings. I've been able to piece together a bit, and I know that it is tied directly into the radio network via IP and not just a PC running software and connected to a transmitter.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 26 Sep 19, 13:06Post
Colleague brings me his personal laptop. It has shat the bed, and his nearly-completed PhD thesis is buried in it. He might have backed it up to a stick six months ago, maybe, but if he did he isn't sure where the stick is. {bored}

Two evenings of blasphemy and random hackery before plugging an HDMI cable in unbuggers it enough to get a command prompt (how? why?!). Pull a copy of his thesis onto a stick, immediately make another copy to the cloud, and hand him a stick and a freshly-reinstalled Windows.

My reward? Come in the next morning and find that our main imager's computer has shat the bed. {bored}

The difference is that I have a backup of the imager config...
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 13 Oct 19, 23:21Post
The annual Shift Bid at work is nearly upon us. Once again, the Admin Droids have proven that simple tasks are way beyond their capabilities.

Our seniority list is rather simple and movement is largely contained to the bottom third. Since last year, there have only been six changes: four additions and two deletions. Both deletions have been removed, one of the additions isn't included and another was randomly placed four spots too high. Admin was advised of the needed corrections, but has decided that posting a revised list is too much trouble.

Supervisors bid for their schedules this past Wednesday (9th). We were promised that their selections would be posted by the end of business that day. As of Friday (11th), no Supervisor roster.

The post and shift I have listed as my first choice has two positions available, a primary and a "floater." The floater would be used in other areas as needed to cover breaks, vacancies (sick, vacation, etc) and could be reassigned as needed to cover job vacancies (transfer, resignations, terminations). There has been no word how the primary & floater will be chosen. In the past, the "floater" has been a new-hire that was brought into the agency without any other posting available; basically an extra staff member. It's also possible that one of the two available will be "held vacant" which means that even though you can bid for it, you can't bid for it. Yes, you read that right.

Simple things that can easily and quickly clarified and/or corrected, but won't be because those responsible for making those clarifications and corrections aren't directly affected by such ambiguities and inaccuracies.

It's one of the very few times that I don't really like this job.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 18 Oct 19, 23:09Post
The past two weeks:

Hiking season was pretty much over (BTW, if you want to be able to take a summer off, be a bachelor who saves lots of money and has dirt-cheap hobbies and a car that gets good mileage), so it was time to go back to work. My FAA offer came in and was hot garbage, so that was declined by me.

I had also been in negotiations to go back abroad with one company (I refused to go back to crapshow aerodrome, but they picked up other aerodromes in the region, so...), and they'd been going poorly. As an example, the company called me to say that I shouldn't provide my college degree, as the contractors they hire to perform the background checks really tend to struggle in verifying this. (What?) The following events transpired:

1.) Mr. Necessary, we need you to help us verify your DoD employment. Can you provide us with a written release of your records? (Sure thing, boss!)
2.) Yes Mr. Necessary, we were only able to verify 2 months of your employment with the DoD. (What? Why? Why only that much?) This happens a lot with our contractor. Can you please send us your tax returns? (Sure! Done.)
3.) Mr. Necessary, the returns didn't work for verification. Can you get your supervisor to write a certified letter and also send us all of your W2s? (Done and done!)
4.) Yes, Mr. Necessary, we apologize, but that also didn't work. Can you send us your civilian retirement information? That might work. And also your military verification for your time as a military technician? (Note: I was a civilian tech, as my records indicate...and we discussed over the phone. But done and done.)
5.) Mr. Necessary, we encountered some errors in using these techniques to verify your identity. Can you please send us 4 pay stubs for each year of service? 

At this point, I emailed them and told them that I was immediately retracting my willingness to go back to "Central Asia" with them, for a variety of reasons. This did not, however, stop them from continuing to process me as if I were indeed going to stick with them. 

Blessedly, another company called me and verified all of my information DURING THE PHONE CALL, so I immediately agreed to go abroad with them. 

Anyway, it's hard for me to fathom that level of incompetence. {crazy}  
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 06 Nov 19, 20:18Post
No new detention level for "Death Star."

The opposition really didn't understand the issues, kinda like how journalists "understand" aviation.

That's all I'll say as I've said my piece on FB and it just makes me mad.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 09 Nov 19, 18:38Post
When an emergency happens in the facility, one of my duties aside from sending responders to the location is to guard the radio channel and keep in free for emergency traffic.

Most of the time, this is accomplished simply by announcing "Emergency Radio Traffic Only" over said channel. Occasionally, someone will key up and have traffic unrelated to the situation. Mistakes happen, and usually all it takes is for me to say, "Last unit, we're on Emergency Traffic for [location of emergency]. The proper response by that unit is then, well, silence.

The Kitchen Staff is usually the most frequent offender. That's a whole 'nuther discussion for offline. Twice this week, though, they've taken the reminder of Emergency Traffic to mean that they should just repeat their non-emergency traffic.

****

I love our Nurses. Most of them are spectacular in both what they do and how they do it. There are a small selection, though, that frustrate both myself and our agency's Dispatch center.

Most of our radios are assigned to and programmed for a specific individual. So, when they key up, their name displays on our Console (and Dispatch too). Others are "pool" radios and used by multiple people and identified only by the section using them (i.e. Kitchen, Medical).

Scenario One:
Nurse gets a radio from the medical pool, switches it on, and keys up on realizing that somehow it got switched to the dispatch channel. When this happens, our Dispatchers (superheroes really) simply, and gently, remind the user "Last unit, you're on the Dispatch channel." It's not a real big deal, in the grand scheme of things. Planets aren't going to explode, zoo animals aren't going to revolt, and Jeffery Epstein isn't going to rise from the dead. Just change the channel back to where it's supposed to be and move on.

However, some don't do that. When the above situation happens, I try to raise them on our channel to ensure they are ok, and to verify the name of the Nurse so that I can make a mental note correlating the radio ID with the name (a few Nurses call me to tell me their radio number, most do not). No, no, they panic, put the radio back, get themselves another radio, and then don't respond to my radio calls because all I know is the radio number and they've moved on to another radio.

Scenario Two:
Nurse presses the Emergency Button on the radio. Many times its accidental, but each instance has to be treated as a potential emergency until it is verified they are "Code 4," either by themselves or another staff member calling out on their behalf.

When the button is pressed, it sends alert tones both to Dispatch and to Me, along with the radio ID. When I know the Name of the person with the pool radio, it's easy to get them to respond since I'm able to voice the name, rather than radio number over the air. When I don't know the name, all I have to go on is the number. Only a handful of Nurses pay attention to the number they picked that shift (and subsequently report it to me), so the rest won't respond to a number. Dispatch will silence the alert tones, but it's up to me to locate and verify the status of the user in question. Gets kinda stressful when someone doesn't answer. Fortunately, I can send "troopers" in to essentially do a head count.

Aggravating is when an individual hits the "pizza button," panics because they see the display flashing and an unfamiliar voice asking their status (Dispatch), so they put the radio away and get another one. Then don't have the professionalism to admit what they've done.

****

Fifteen minutes (max) worth of training for these types of users would go a long way in preventing these types of scenarios. Such training has been done in the past, but was stopped because some people thought it was "boring."
Make Orwell fiction again.
Mark 09 Nov 19, 18:45Post
ShyFlyer wrote:
I love our Nurses. Most of them are spectacular in both what they do and how they do it. There are a small selection, though, that frustrate both myself and our agency's Dispatch center.

Most of our radios are assigned to and programmed for a specific individual. So, when they key up, their name displays on our Console (and Dispatch too). Others are "pool" radios and used by multiple people and identified only by the section using them (i.e. Kitchen, Medical).

Scenario One:
Nurse gets a radio from the medical pool, switches it on, and keys up on realizing that somehow it got switched to the dispatch channel. When this happens, our Dispatchers (superheroes really) simply, and gently, remind the user "Last unit, you're on the Dispatch channel." It's not a real big deal, in the grand scheme of things. Planets aren't going to explode, zoo animals aren't going to revolt, and Jeffery Epstein isn't going to rise from the dead. Just change the channel back to where it's supposed to be and move on.

However, some don't do that. When the above situation happens, I try to raise them on our channel to ensure they are ok, and to verify the name of the Nurse so that I can make a mental note correlating the radio ID with the name (a few Nurses call me to tell me their radio number, most do not). No, no, they panic, put the radio back, get themselves another radio, and then don't respond to my radio calls because all I know is the radio number and they've moved on to another radio.


From my experience, nurses and radios don't mix at all. They become complete bubbleheads when they have to answer the EMS call-into-the-hospital radio base station.
Commercial aircraft flown in: B712 B722 B732 B734 B737 B738 B741 B742 B744 B752 B753 B762 B772 A310 A318 A319 A320 A321 DC91 DC93 DC94 DC1030 DC1040 F100 MD82 MD83 A223 CR2 CR7 E175
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 10 Nov 19, 15:20Post
Mark wrote:nurses and radios don't mix at all

I think in my case it's more of an issue with those people (not just Nurses) that have to carry a radio as part of their job, but just don't care a bit about using it properly.

There are a few Nurses that are quite proficient in the use of the radios and help me find the "wayward" ones.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 17 Dec 19, 17:20Post
3 of the controllers I work with are from the last place I was, now. The newest arrival said that the new folks running it over there aren't doing better than the old folks, so they cut pay to the high 80s per year (slap in the face), and are working mandatory 7 days/week, 12-hours/day. I don't even know how they got that exemption.

The company I am with now is the highest paying (save one) among contractors and has been treating me like gold! They asked if I'd like to go back to the sandbox, but I'm going to wait until after my first vacation, just so that I don't have to suffer the horrid flights over there twice. {crazy} Plus I really like it here and am going to start Project Odin. Anyone have any knowledge of that?
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 17 Dec 19, 18:45Post
Lucas wrote:Anyone have any knowledge of that?

It's a code phrase, that when uttered, makes me black out for a few days.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 17 Dec 19, 20:56Post
ShyFlyer wrote:
Lucas wrote:Anyone have any knowledge of that?

It's a code phrase, that when uttered, makes me black out for a few days.


I have alerted Hillary Clinton that I have discovered another Russian asset. The black helicopter will be along presently to outprocess you to Camp 'Merica.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 17 Dec 19, 21:59Post
Lucas wrote: Plus I really like it here and am going to start Project Odin. Anyone have any knowledge of that?


The code writing course? I know of it but don't have any personal experience to share.
A million great ideas...
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 18 Dec 19, 00:17Post
JLAmber wrote:The code writing course? I know of it but don't have any personal experience to share.


Yes, mister. Allegedly it is free and also helpful. I know nothing currently. Do you think it is a decent option for me?
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 18 Dec 19, 02:19Post
Lucas wrote:I have alerted Hillary Clinton that I have discovered another Russian asset.

Wrong Empire.
Make Orwell fiction again.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 18 Dec 19, 23:19Post
Lucas wrote:
JLAmber wrote:The code writing course? I know of it but don't have any personal experience to share.


Yes, mister. Allegedly it is free and also helpful. I know nothing currently. Do you think it is a decent option for me?


It can't hurt to give it a try. Kids are learning code in junior school so it's probably wise to not be left behind.
A million great ideas...
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 20 Dec 19, 20:40Post
In my line of work, lives depend on me being honorable and trustworthy. My life depends on my coworkers being honorable and trustworthy.

It's a special kind of pain when someone "...has been terminated and no longer allowed in the building." It's doubly painful when that someone is on video having inappropriate physical contact with an Inmate.

Some of you know that I've been in this line of work for quite some time. This isn't the first time I've heard such news. Sadly, it won't be the last time.

It sickens me on a level that's hard to relate to those of you with "normal" jobs.
Make Orwell fiction again.
 

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