SPECIAL REPORT: IT
The case is clear W
ith baggage loading robots in use at Amsterdam Schiphol today and many fully automated baggage handling systems utilising sophisticated sensor technology, it could be argued that we already have a glimpse of what the future holds for the industry.
So rather than predict what the future might hold for airport baggage
handling in this article, I thought it would be better to look at how the key challenges of today shape current airport baggage handling strategies. Top of the list, of course, is cost control. But airports are also faced with
growing passenger numbers and higher baggage peaks. In many regions, staff are also hard to find and retain for what are often heavy manual tasks. Available space for growth is usually limited in existing terminal buildings. And, on top of all this, is the need to improve sustainability, primarily by reducing energy consumption. It’s clear that IT will be a key factor in meeting these future challenges.
Smart controls and automated handling, for example, can help optimise efficiency, speed and the reliability of operations. This, of course, can mean time and cost savings, reduced manual labour requirements, improved working conditions and higher energy-efficiency. With economic system lifetimes of 15 years or more, it’s obvious that
these future needs should already be taken into account in current system design. Even existing systems can in many cases be optimised to take advantage of technology developments. Most of all, baggage handling is changing from a purely serial to a controlled, demand-driven process. That means bags are no longer handled immediately as, and when, they arrive from check-in or transfer. Instead they are managed dynamically and on-demand, as required for flight building (see flow chart below). IT is the essential enabler for this ‘intelligent’ baggage handling process.
IT will be the key enabler for smart baggage handling at airports as rising passenger traffic demands improved operational efficiency, writes Odeke Lenior.
It is important that airports get the optimal balance between
automated and manual handling, and the most economic solution for dealing with peak times. Simulation also helps answer questions like how can a system be
developed/enhanced to handle more bags, in less time, and with fewer baggage handlers in a limited space. Different operational scenarios have been tested for both larger and
regional airports, and have enabled flight build windows (the time needed to complete the loading process) to be shortened significantly. Start times have typically been reduced from three to four hours before
departure to only one to two hours. That translates into a big reduction in the number of make-up points, typically by 20% for regional airports and up to 50% for large airports. The shortening of flight windows has also allowed airports/ground
handing operators to drastically reduce the number of baggage agents needed on a shift. However, baggage flows are not stable and are subject to peaks at busy
times and scaling systems and manpower to match such peaks and troughs isn’t necessarily the best use of resources. Instead, airports should think about introducing dynamic, on-demand
flight make-up operations, which could shave peaks by buffering incoming bags and calling them forward when resources are available, creating a more constant, controlled flow to the make-up locations. Such a system also improves working conditions for baggage agents, with
a more constant working rate instead of alternating periods of downtime and overload. It also cuts the required number of agents, and allows labour costs to be reduced.
Schematic of the on-demand flight make-up process.
Simulation identifies system and labour requirements Current IT developments provide big opportunities to meet the demands outlined above. But it’s not simply a matter of adding intelligent controls to an existing system. The first step is to look at the underlying flows to determine how, for example, flight make-up operations can most cost-effectively be implemented. At this stage, simulation allows system and labour requirements to be
identified, and a range of operational scenarios to be optimised and verified before costly system engineering.
54 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2010 Working conditions are also greatly improved by introducing
make-up on demand in combination with semi-automated loading. Handlers no longer need to load multiple carts or containers, each with 35-40 bags, during simultaneous 15-minute peaks. This reduces risks of injuries and disability caused by heavy, stressful manual handling. Finally, this smart flight make-up process also saves space in terminal
buildings, because fewer make-up chutes are needed. For example, for capacities of up to 2,500 bags per hour and floor areas of up to 2,000 square metres, Vanderlande’s BAXPACE all-in-one solution has a
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