Author Archives: ProDIGIQ

The Future of Airports and Smart Technology

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The future has regularly been imagined as a place of flying cars, hoverboards, and stylish steel furniture – but the future is arriving faster and more subtly than some would expect.

We have glasses that can record video, read news, browse the internet and check the weather without touching a thing. Systems to identify you just by staring into a camera, putting your finger on a pad, or waving your hand through a machine. The devices of the future are what we have today.

A lot of convenient smart devices have been manufactured over the years, and the wearable devices may soon rise in popularity alongside smartphones. Google Glass and the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch are among the top recognized of the wearable devices. Other similar products have been released, but they haven’t been nearly as much in the spotlight as these two.

A variety of biometric identification has also been developed over the recent years. Complex facial recognition software and systems have been developed, along with the traditionally imagined retina and fingerprint scanners of the future. These systems can be used to speed up and simplify all the processes that are part of taking a flight. Retina scanners will allow you to check in and pass security; fingerprint scanners let you check in your luggage and shop as you wait; facial recognition cameras to track your travels through the airport and make sure you arrive on time – sending messages straight to your smart devices telling you where you need to go and when.

Even more complex and unique systems are being designed to identify people – Everything from wristbands that measure a person’s unique Electro Cardiogram signature, to systems that scan the veins in a person’s palm. As these technologies advance, the public use of them may increase due to the ease of use that many of them can grant. The possibilities are nearly limitless once the technology and infrastructure are in place.

What do these technologies mean for passengers and airports?

Passengers soon won’t have to worry about many items if biometrics and smart devices are utilized properly. Boarding passes can already be held on a smartphone, and soon will be able to be put on smart watches as well. Facial recognition software could recognize people already classified as threats, or let the average traveler breeze through checkpoints. Security and ease of use would be the ultimate goals of these technologies.

Some airports have already set up Bluetooth technology to guide travelers through the airports with alerts – informing them where and when their baggage will be dropped off and how long it will take for them to get there. They can also for targeted advertising. Someone walking past a store in an airport will get an alert on sales going on inside the store, and there are even more possibilities with devices constantly being released.

This technology and similar ones could be used to guide and alert staff as well. If there’s an accident that needs tending to, the closest employee can be directed to it without disrupting the flow of work for other employees. Both passenger and staff applications for technologies that ease the flow of travel and work will be great

As devices are refined and introduced into daily life, they could be applied to many aspects of airport and aviation operations.

Worries about security and the flow of private information

There are a number of concerns that people have with this growth of biometrics – images of criminal investigation TV, spy movies and dystopian futures distorting the use of appliances like this with the fantasy of films. But there are legitimate concerns with any new method of data collection and identification.

Security is the goal of biometrics – finding a unique way for someone to identify themselves readily. But what if a way is found to fake the inputs? What if a device of yours is stolen with this unique data inside? A concrete way of defending this data from ill use is paramount to biometric identification becoming a true future.

Even when the security is top of the line, there is a worry of how this personal data will be used. Individuals will want to know who will have access to what information on them. Transparency is key to allowing this information to be used and ease the fears that people may have.

Aside from these worries, the prospects of new smart technology and biometrics are looking bright and brighter, becoming the future we’ve imagined in the past. Watches that act as phones and monitor our exercise and movement for the day, tap out messages to send away, and glasses that grant us access to the Internet. The future is truly approaching at fast speeds.

Part 121 Air Carriers will now need a Safety Management System

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This final ruling by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires all authorized Part 121 air carriers to create and put into place a safety management system (SMS).

The rule came into effect on March 9th, 2015 and requires Part 121 Air Carriers to begin the process of planning and implementing an SMS. Within six months of the date, air carriers will need to submit their implementation plan to the FAA; then within three years of the same date, have it operating.

The FAA put this ruling into place as part of a concerted effort to improve the safety of air transportation and change the industry’s reactive attitude towards safety into a proactive one.

According to the FAA, the commercial air carrier accident rate has decreased by a great amount in the United States over the past decade – but the FAA discovered a trend of what could have been preventable hazards and accidents. Spurred on by this, part 121 air carrier’s must submit an implementation plan within six months of the final ruling, and implement the SMS proposed by the end of this three-year period.

What goes into a Safety Management System?:

The Safety Management System must have the four major components: safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. These four parts must be fulfilled in order to have a functioning and proper SMS.

Safety Policy requires the air carrier to define safety objectives and commit towards reaching them. It also calls for the designation of an accountable executive who is responsible for the safety performance and management of its operations. This executive and a sufficient management staff will be responsible for the organization, integration, implementation and maintenance of the safety management system.

The safety risk management component is fairly straightforward. It requires air carriers to develop a process of analyzing existing and potential systems, and identify hazards that might impact operations. Once they’re identified, the risk and the possibility is analyzed to determine if it’s an acceptable safety risk or not. If it is not, then methods of risk control must be implemented.

Safety assurance is the method through which “the air carrier will develop and implement processes to monitor the safety performance of its aviation operations,” according to the FAA. It is designed to be a way to monitor and audit operational processes, investigate incidents and accidents, and allow for confidential reporting of hazards and new safety improvements.

Safety promotion is the training of employees and managers to develop the tools needed to communicate necessary safety information. Involvement of employees is vital to the success of an air carrier’s safety management system. Employees must know their responsibilities and duties, and be trained in everything relevant to the safety performance of the air carrier. They must also be made aware of any information resulting from various safety management system analyzes.

The cost of implementing the rule is estimated to be $135.1 million dollars over ten years, but the benefits could be anywhere from $104.9 to $241.9 million dollars across the decade. The benefits depend heavily on the mitigation costs, but they are difficult to quantify.

The FAA has adopted the final rule with a number of minor modifications based on comments. Some of the important changes are as follows:

Scalability:

Scalability was addressed – though the rule was not limited as suggested. The FAA recognized the impact that the rule could make on small businesses. The FAA designed the requirements to be applicable to all air carriers, making sure that all sizes, scopes, complexities and types were covered. 14 CFR 5.3 was revised in order to fit these changes.

Scope:

A number of entities asserted that the rule was too broad and would reach beyond the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight authority. Commenters suggested that the rule be revised in such a way to limit SMS to areas that would only directly affect aviation activities. The FAA took the comments into account and limited it as such.

The FAA acknowledged that some airports may only use their safety management systems on the narrow range where it is required, and others may expand it beyond that. If an air carrier decides to expand, the FAA will continue to only oversee SMS related activities in accordance with the provision.

Protection of Information under FOIA:

Sixteen organizations raised concerns about SMS data not being protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The consequence would be that the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight would be compromised because of the lack of data being submitted to them. Commenters said that the protection of data is vital to ensuring the free-flow of information with the FAA.

The FAA noted that there are already protections afforded to voluntarily submitted reports, data and such under Public Law 112-95 (the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012) – as long as it has been produced or collected to develop and implement a safety management system.

Enforcement:

The FAA was asked to publish its plan for compliance and enforcement. The FAA stated that each SMS would be uniquely designed to meet the needs and wants of each air carrier. Determining compliance will depend on what is needed in each case – meaning discretion will be exercised in deciding how to enact enforcement.

The FAA also acknowledged that a fundamental concept of safety management system is for the air carriers to identify and correct their own noncompliance – which is not a new concept with FAA policy.

There are many more items that were discussed and addressed in the comments and by the FAA – so if these are of interest or affect you, read on in the full final ruling on the topic issued by the FAA here. (January 2015)

Resource Library: SMS Collection 3

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ACRP Synthesis 37:

The Airport Cooperative Research Program’s (ACRP) Synthesis 37 is a collection of lessons learned from Airport Safety Management System (SMS) Pilot Studies.

The goal of the synthesis was to provide U.S. Part 139 airport operators with data and experiences that were learned through the pilot studies, but the lessons could certainly be applied to airports that are safety-minded.

The synthesis covered the management of the pilot program, all findings related to the components of SMS and lessons learned from them, along with challenges and benefits to an SMS with conclusions and trends.

For more information, read the ACRP Synthesis 37. (March 2012)

FAA Office of Airports SMS Desk Reference:

In 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Airports released the Safety Management Systems (SMS) Desk Reference. It’s a massive collection of all the information pertinent to SMS as of 2012.

The Desk Reference is written as a supplement to FAA Order 5200.11 by bringing to light the necessary requirements needed to implement an airport SMS. The reference mostly covers the procedures needed to bring all the components of SMS in line with Safety Risk Management (SRM).

There are a number of sections on general SMS guidance, one on the FAA, airport and state roles and responsibilities when implementing SMS, FAA Airport (ARP) specific implementation of SRM, funding for ARP SRM activities, a description of the ARP SRM Tracking System (SRMTS), and a description of ARP SMS Safety Assurance and Promotion.

For more information, read the FAA Office of Airports Safety Management System (SMS) Desk Reference. (June 2012)

Resource Library: SMS Collection 2

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ACRP Report I, Volume II:

The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report I, Volume II is aimed towards airport operators and others responsible for organizing any Safety Management Systems (SMS) at an airport.

It is a guidebook that expands on the information in ACRP Report I, Volume I, thoroughly detailing the components of the system and presenting all the information needed to perform all the necessary SMS tasks.

The chapters within cover the basics of Airport SMS, how to get started, implementing SMS at an airport, Safety Risk Management, and finally the continuous operation of SMS.

Though the Guidebook was published in 2009, and though the final FAA guidance has not been released and could change, it can still be a good resource for those wanting to learn more.

For more information, read the ACRP Report I, Volume 2: Guidebook. (June 2009)

Roundtable Review Nov. 2011 of Part 139 Implementation Studies:

Through Gap Analysis, a number of airports have begun adopting implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) after the original pilot studies. They began to identify what components needed to be added on top of what had already been in place.

The goal of the Implementation Studies was to determine what methods and policies were best for the adoption of Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management (SRM), Safety Assurance and Safety Promotion.

The fourteen airports that participated in this study applied the changes necessary through a few different methods, but came together and decided on changes that needed to be made before full implementation of SMS at airports.

To read the full study and their conclusions, download the Part 139 Safety Management System (SMS) Implementation Study’s November 2011 Roundtable Meeting Summary. (November 2011)

Big Data in the Aviation Industry

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Information is always flying in and out of our hands in this modern age – but to really take advantage of this flood of big data, it has to be grasped and analyzed so proper decision-making strategies can be used.

Relation to Aviation Industry:

The handling and understanding of big data is of growing importance for the aviation industry. With a growing traveller demographic, airports will have more and more information to deal with. It will be important to know everything from enplanements, revenue streams and maintenance activity to productivity analysis, security and growth drivers on a constant basis.

Understanding of big data will help predict future trends, behaviors, increase efficiency and be ahead of the curve. This knowledge is very important with global air passenger traffic increasing by 4% yearly, and freight traffic increasing by 5.1% per annum for the next 15 years, according to the Airports Council International—meaning there will be 7 billion passengers total and 170 million tons of freight by 2020.

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BIG DATA: Information gathered by Gartner Inc. as posted by the Wall Street Journal on February 10, 2015.

Challenges of “Big Data”:

With a significant growth in airline passengers, the importance of data analysis in solving problems and predicting future events is becoming more and more apparent. Sorting through the flood of information and figuring out what is actually needed is the biggest issue of the modern age.

You need all the proper skills and capabilities, the ability to integrate multiple data sources and bring together big data technology with your existing infrastructure if you want to be able to properly understand what you’re taking in.

To draw conclusions from data you’ve collected, you also need to be very aware of your biases. If you aren’t, the interpretations of the data will be skewed and incorrect – costing precious time and money.

You also need the systems and people in place to handle and interpret the mass of data that will constantly be coming in. There needs to be thought put into what you want to figure out, how and when the information was gathered, and build tools to process the information and lay it out in an understandable manner.

Don’t let important data fly through your hands at inopportune times – learn more about data analysis and figure out how to make your airport more efficient and prepare for the near future.

Resource Library: SMS Collection 1

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This is the beginning of a series of abstracts designed to help you understand important aviation industry documents in a quick and simple way. Read on to understand the Advisory Circular 150/5200-37 and the ACRP Report I, Volume I.

Advisory Circular 150/5200-37:

Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5200-37 was the first introduction of a Safety Management System (SMS) for Airport Operators. Its goal was to outline and define what an SMS is and how to begin the process to putting into effect the guidelines necessary to comply with upcoming rulings and lawmaking.

The plan was to implement the program in a way that complimented existing safety regulations in Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 139, while meeting the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for safety.

This document outlined future goals and plans while putting the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) in charge of providing and putting out information on SMS for airport operators.

Though aimed specifically at Part 139 airports, other civil airports were encouraged to pick up the applicable material in the AC and future documents.

For more information past this abstract, read the Advisory Circular 150/5200-37. (February 2007)

ACRP Report I, Volume I:

The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report I, Volume I details what a Safety Management System (SMS) is and explains the business advantages and safety assurances it can grant. Implementing an SMS not only improves those aspects of an airport, but also encourages an overall change in safety culture.

An airport’s success with implementing a functional and compliant SMS relies on the commitment of top and senior management in order to make things transition smoothly.

This ACRP report is, at its simplest, an overview. It details all the components that make up the system, including the four main segments and the twelve parts which make up the main ideals. It also lists SMS in other industries and parts of the aviation industry, ICAO guidance for airport SMS, SMS implementation in airports outside the United States, and the future visions for airport SMS in the United States.

For more information past this abstract, read the ACRP Report I, Volume 1: Overview. (March 2007)

The Importance of Safety Management Systems at Airports

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Organization and consistency is a large part of having a well-oiled and functional Safety Management System in an airport. Without a consolidated way to gather and organize information, you are left with stacks of paper across many places – making it difficult to solve and prevent safety issues.

This is an issue easily solved by using technology as a solution to the cluttered, disorganized and potentially wasteful systems that rely on paper.

Dallas FW Airport’s Thoughts & Discoveries during their Pilot Study:
In the FAA’s report on the Airport SMS Pilot Study, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) stated that SMS software integration early in the process is the key to success. They developed their own software in-house, and allowed the fields to be filled by staff and management.

DFW also had purchased laptops for field reporting, allowing reporters to include location information using the airport’s GIS technology.

Before the software approach to SMS, DFW reported incidents on paper and in loose forms as “free text” in a database – leading to documentation being stored in a varied of places. The old method was a “cumbersome, labor-intensive, and inconsistent reporting system” according to Julie Schreacke in the FAA’s Pilot Study November 2011 Roundtable Meeting Study.

Advantages of using software for SMS:
Using software as an SMS solution not only allows an airport to cleanly, efficiently and consistently having things reported and organized, but it turns SMS into a green and paperless process.

Having everything streamlined and reported in real time makes sure that issues can be taken care of as soon as possible, lessening the dangers and risks associated with untended problems.

ProDIGIQ’s Airport Safety Management System:
ProDIGIQ’s software solution to the problem, ProSMS, brings together SMS and other safety necessities, systems and modules in airport operations under a single, customizable sign-in portal. This allows easy gathering of information and global visibility across everybody involved in SMS at the airports with the product in action.

ProSMS has various modules, with access split and approved in whatever fashion is best for the airport. Events related to hazards, incidents, accidents and citations can be submitted for monitoring and recording.

There is an Investigation Module designed to allow personnel to record findings and discuss them by adding notes, images and more.

This collection of modules can be assigned to the various employees and staff that would need to access it, allowing everybody to be able to do their part without being confused by extra information that isn’t pertinent to their duties.

In the end, organized software systems are the best way to start and continue the process of implementing a SMS at an airport. Everything is kept in a central database; the information is visualized in many ways; employees and staff get access to only what they need; and it’s a great way to go green and get rid of lots of paper clutter.

Safety Management Systems – A History for Part 139 Airports

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Safety is an ever-important part of the modern world due to our reliance on technology, machinery and other infrastructure built into our cities and towns – This is no different for the aviation industry, given the possible dangers of working with large machinery, many people, and upkeep of various systems.

This is where the International Civil Aviation Organization comes in. They proposed the idea of a required Safety Management System that airport operators must put into action. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated this as a pilot study in May of 2010 for Part 139 certified airports, and it has been worked on since.

The Safety Management System (SMS) is, at its center, a collection of methods and strategies to constantly improve and maintain safety measures in airports and airlines across the United States.

There are four parts that make up a safety management system: Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance and Safety Promotion. Safety Policy is the foundation for the system, outlining the methods and tools necessary to reach safety goals and outlines management responsibility and accountability.

Safety Risk Management is the heart of SMS. It is a set of rules and processes that are used to identify hazards before they become an issue, digest safety risks, and create strategies to keep dangers to a manageable low.

Safety Assurance is the process used to keep meeting safety standards and objectives, as well as constantly improving general safety. This encompasses everything from information gathering and analysis to putting into action preventative and corrective measures for when safety goals are not met.

The final, all-encompassing component of SMS is Safety Promotion. This is what fosters the environment in which safety can be achieved, and is necessary to keep the objectives and goals managed. Promoting a positive safety culture allows employees to understand the SMS in place, communicate effectively, competently manage their responsibilities, continuous training, and share information well.

The idea of a required safety management system first came into being in 2006, proposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO Annex 6, Part 1 directed all member states from January of 2009 and onward to have operators implement a safety management system.

Originally, SMS requirements were aimed at Part 121 Air Carriers. But in May of 2010, the FAA began a process to bring Part 139 airports under the same requirements for their airfield environments.

Fourteen airports participated in the pilot study, and all 14 applied for the Airport Improvement Program assistance, receiving a range of funds from $78,000 to $500,000.

Rulemaking by the FAA for Airport SMS is currently in the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) stage, meaning the rulemaking is still open to comments. The projected date for it to go to OMB is December 15, 2014, and is aimed to go through OMB Clearance by March 15, 2015. The end of the comment period is now aimed for May 20, 2015.

Time will tell what changes will be made for Part 139 Airports in regards to SMS requirements, and prepared airports will be a step ahead of the rest.