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ZMP controller voiced concerns regarding the functionality of eram equipment.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1017628 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201206 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZMP.ARTCC |
| State Reference | MN |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-46 Malibu Meridian |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
A meridian departed en route to lbf. There was a line of severe precipitation extending from hys to the northeast. ZMP is running eram. The meridian asked about the line of weather; and I told him the line extended to around hys. He advised that they would deviate to there and then turn to lbf; and I cleared him to do that. I tried a track pick reroute; using a point south of hys; and then direct lbf; but I was unable to complete the entry. After several attempts; I realized the pick part of the entry wasn't working. I instead made the entry by entering a hys radial and DME fix instead; and called for an eram subject matter expert (sme). He began documenting the problem. According to one of our eram cadre; this was a known problem. Apparently the trackball pick functionality doesn't work in that area. He told the sme that he didn't need to write up the bug as it was already a known issue. However; I was under the impression that we were supposed to be documenting all bugs we experienced in eram. Dealing with this bug and helping document it was a big distraction to me. Also; it's another case where there was a known bug that controllers weren't advised of. Eram bugs need to be fixed; and controllers need to be briefed on all known bugs.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZMP Controller voiced concerns regarding the functionality of ERAM equipment.
Narrative: A Meridian departed en route to LBF. There was a line of severe precipitation extending from HYS to the Northeast. ZMP is running ERAM. The Meridian asked about the line of weather; and I told him the line extended to around HYS. He advised that they would deviate to there and then turn to LBF; and I cleared him to do that. I tried a track pick reroute; using a point south of HYS; and then direct LBF; but I was unable to complete the entry. After several attempts; I realized the pick part of the entry wasn't working. I instead made the entry by entering a HYS radial and DME fix instead; and called for an ERAM Subject Matter Expert (SME). He began documenting the problem. According to one of our ERAM cadre; this was a known problem. Apparently the trackball pick functionality doesn't work in that area. He told the SME that he didn't need to write up the bug as it was already a known issue. However; I was under the impression that we were supposed to be documenting all bugs we experienced in ERAM. Dealing with this bug and helping document it was a big distraction to me. Also; it's another case where there was a known bug that controllers weren't advised of. ERAM bugs need to be fixed; and controllers need to be briefed on all known bugs.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.