airports


Optimizing movements of staff and ground resources


management through the exchange of simple status messages without the need for high bandwidths. XML and Java can be used with appropriate middleware solutions to customize applications to the TETRA environment and the information display and capture limitations of terminals.”


Baggage handling – one of many airport processes co-ordinated by radio (picture: SITA)


M


ore than 90 international airlines operate from Madrid-Barajas Airport, the largest in Spain and a major European hub. In 2009,


the airport processed more than 48 million passengers. Helping to manage its vehicle operations on the ground is a fleet


management system developed by Telvent, which employs the airport’s TETRA network for secure exchange of data. Vehicles are equipped with an on-board unit and touch-screen PC connected to a TETRA terminal, which gives the vehicle operator GPS location/navigation capabilities and access to corporate applications. Seven modules make up the TelMMA platform:


n TelMMA Map: the on-board unit displays the vehicle’s position on a geo- referenced map with the real-time location of other vehicles in the same fleet and/or other fleets, as permitted by the user profile. A navigation function helps optimize the vehicle’s route to the desired destination.


n TelMMA Incident: drivers can register incidents and events with the system and track relevant information.


n TelMMA Report: this provides tailor-made reports and summaries. All information stored in the database can be cross-referenced.


n TelMMA Work: this exchanges work orders and work requests between the control room and on-board units.


n TelMMA Comm: this enables the control room to establish TETRA communication with the mobile units.


n TelMMA App: this allows two-way access to the airport operator’s information systems. Drivers can view weather or flight information and report incidents.


n TelMMA Admin: this module is used to manage users’ profiles, permissions and general settings.


Using this system, Telvent explains, operators can optimize the


management of many airport processes, improving the quality of services they provide to airport customers. The system also reduces operational costs – particularly fuel costs – and supports the co-ordination of emergency operations staff. Because of the interoperability of TETRA systems, it can be implemented


at any airport equipped with a TETRA network, regardless of the infrastructure brand or manufacturer. The solution is adaptable and modular, allowing integration with other applications.


22


Decision-making Interestingly, TETRA’s capabilities are also now being seen as contributing to increasing the capacity of the physical airways themselves to carry more flights. As John Evans, business development director at the airport mobile communications specialist AirRadio explains, “Eurocontrol – the European organization responsible for the safety of air navigation – is currently running a series of trial projects under its Airport Collaborative Decision Making initiative, tying into the EC’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme aimed at creating a unified Air Traffic Control environment. “In this context, TETRA’s ability to gather real-time data about the progress – or not – of all the processes involved in turning aircraft around on the ground provides the information needed by both ATC controllers and the destination airport to refine their own schedules as conditions change. Air-Radio is currently running just such a trial at Manchester Airport in the UK. “Even without this wider integration, the ability to gather data about events means that all the different service companies involved can now start to measure performance efficiencies in easily quantifiable ways and continue to improve their quality of service.”


‘


The ability to gather data about events means that all the different service companies involved can now start to measure performance efficiencies


Security and safety TETRA’s public safety roots also find a resonance these days in the airport environment with the continuing focus on security and employee safety. Many vendors emphasize the technology’s continued resilience while public wireless networks may crash or overload in the event of an emergency. Of particular relevance here is the support that TETRA


’


provides for GPS location data. While obviously useful in day-to-day operations such as tracking refuelling tankers, GPS can also ensure that security patrols go where and when they are supposed to – and that when equipped with movement detector ‘man down’ sensors, can rapidly and automatically get help to where it’s needed. In this context, it’s interesting to see that a number of vendors are now also supporting Bluetooth-based positioning solutions such as those supplied by companies such as Zonith, which will work indoors where GPS signals are blocked.


TE TRA TODAY Issue 1 November 2010 - February 2011


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