A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/766656
A large amount of time and energy was wasted during the program office's blaming the vendor for the issues. During this time NATCA was asking the engineers involved to scour through the specific database and look for something different compared to other sites. It was discovered that some background photographs on the pages were much larger than anticipated and this unconventional size was causing extra memory and processing power to be used, thus slowing down the system to the point of freezing. New pictures were sent to SCT for installation. The latest and last IOC (Initial Operational Capacity) for NIDS was achieved during the week of December 12, 2016. This did not go as smoothly as anticipated and, at this point, the CMH/DAY network is considering falling back to their previous IDS-5 system. It's easy to blame the program office for the issues encountered at the site but at least some of the blame can be attributed to the fact that this is the one (and only) IDS-5 to NIDS transition in the waterfall. The plan for the network IOC was, in retrospect, poorly placed in the workweek (Thursday morning) and close to the moratoriums and holiday. 2017 will be a quiet year for NIDS as the installation waterfall is complete and all that is left is Operational Readiness Decisions and the associated removal of the old IDS systems. Software updates and testing will continue and should be a focus in the upcoming year. OSHA Mike Odryna (ZBW) is the Chairman of NATCA's OSHA Committee. He has provided an update for the membership: New Orleans Lakefront Tower Mold Issues The first stage had included removal of failed caulking and the application of an exterior sealant. This process will take several weeks depending on weather. Weekly Air Monitoring continues to show interior mold levels at acceptable levels. To date the contractor has not been able to fix all the leaks in the facility, and has actually caused more. The project to seal the exterior of the Base Building will continue. Once completed a project to remove all areas affected by mold in the interior of the building will begin. POC: (Mike Odryna, Geoff Bacci, Nichol Bell, Lawrence Pharr) Dallas Love (DAL) Tower Mold Issues An ongoing water intrusion issue is being investigated at DAL Tower. Several employees had voiced concerns about the IAQ at the facility that is caused by areas within the facility that have been showing signs of water Intrusion for many years. The Agency hired an independent Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) to investigate. The CIH found an area within the Breakroom that showed signs of mold. Also, areas in the stairwell that appear to have been moist in the past. They also identified areas outside the tower where the chalk is failing and must be repaired. The Agency is working on a plan to move forward. POC: (Shannon Smith, Mike Odryna) Great Falls (GTF) Tower/TRACON Mold Issues Shawn Kramer received reports of water continuously infiltrating the first and second floors of the facility at Fort Smith. It turned out that TechOps was aware of the problem and allowed it to continue with plans to fix it in the next fiscal year. The