A CRJ First Officer expresses his displeasure with the format and functionality of takeoff data provided by the airline.

Narrative

OAT was -19 degrees Celsius. Limitations require we use APR INOP data on the 3A engine when below 1;000 feet pressure altitude. The TLR remarks section indicated NO REMARKS; therefore we doubted the correction had been applied. No performance hit was visible in the MAX WT chart. Called Dispatch; eventually handed off to a load planner. She indicated the hit is automatically applied at those temps--which is fine; however; the flight crew has no indication of this. Spoke to Chief Pilot; who spoke to Program Manager. All indicated it was included. Great. Again; flight crew has no indication from paperwork that the performance data included the penalty. Our manuals state that Flex data doesn't include APR performance; but Normal thrust DOES; allowing a higher Max Temperature. It indicates that Max Temp Norm includes APR data UNLESS the remarks section lists APR INOP; which was not the case for us. So; again; how does the flight crew verify the performance hit has been taken? This is one of many flaws; in my opinion; with how we use TLR data. Why is the MAX WT (weight) chart not listed first; since we consult it first? Why do I go to the MAX TEMP A/I OFF chart to get V-speeds; when in fact the A/I will be on? Having a lower temp than POAT is okay (but not above!); and having a higher QNH is okay (but not 0.1 below!) Flex thrust is okay; maybe; if you compare MT to OAT to FT. The amount of arcane rules flight crews have to memorize when using this system is staggering. Throw in a morning like we had - ultra cold temps; a frozen lav; confusing/inadequate ramp charts; deicing procedures - and the last thing we need is to be having extended conversations on whether or not our takeoff data is correct. Whoever wrote that TLRs make the process easier and reduce workload on flight crews has got a long; illustrious career ahead of him in Public Relations; but that's not what we see in the real world. But I bet this works great when you have ACARS!