Trevor Ryles, Author at ProDIGIQ

Optimization with Gate Management Systems

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Trevor Ryles

With limited gate resources, airport traffic constraints, and dynamic flight schedules, it can be challenging to manage gate availability. When confronting this challenge, more and more airports have switched to a Gate Management System (GMS) as a way to manage their Gate and Aircraft Parking assignment process.

GMS offers an intuitive solution for allocating gates according to flight schedules and arrival times. Not only does the GMS reduce the complexity of managing aircraft parking and gate assignments, but it also detects potential issues, in real-time, by monitoring aircraft scheduling and resource allocation to find conflicts and report discrepancies.

GMS also helps to enhance communication between airports and airlines regarding changed gate assignments as well as alerting of erroneous gate assignment discrepancies. GMS solutions offer automatic alerting capabilities which eliminate back and forth email/phone communication for automated alerts that send in various ways.

By using airlines’ flight schedules to assign equipment and parking space for aircraft effectively, the GMS also automizes the gate assignment process. Using an algorithm to automatically calculate the gates to be scheduled for an aircraft based on size and type of aircraft, the GMS correctly assigns boarding gates and manages gate assignments. Since all flight schedules upload into an airport’s GMS, historical information regarding gate assignments is captured to provide insightful information such as airline gate usage, etc.

With a GMS Airports can significantly increase their operational efficiencies and enhance communication between stakeholders. But more than streamlining the gate assignment process, airports can also improve their passengers’ travel experience and provide airlines with cost savings by minimizing the time aircraft spend taxiing on the runway. As airports are seeing all the benefits of having a GMS, it is becoming more and more a necessary tool needed for the modern day airport.

Critical Aspects of an Effective Safety Management System

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Trevor Ryles

In the Aviation Industry, organization is crucial to FAA compliance. In the past, when tracking information regarding safety issues such as incident documentation, event response, and follow-up procedures, the most common method to capturing this critical information had been through paper and pen.

However, a new alternative has been surfacing. Recently, more and more airports are moving towards an online system to automate their safety management process. For airports, these systems allow them to proactively address safety issues, document and avoid potential hazards, and improve their incident response procedures.

There are 3 key attributes crucial to a Safety Management System (SMS) Solution.

Data Sharing and Documentation

Airports understand that incident documentation is critical to gaining operational insights which can help in the prevention of accidents and incidents. One of the key benefits of using software to manage SMS is the ability to provide various stakeholders with the ability to document safety information anywhere through the use of mobile devices. Airport stakeholders now have the capability to report safety issues, attach images to reports, and alert airport personnel regarding safety events, straight from the field. Not only can they submit reports more efficiently, but the information can be easily distributed and shared to relevant stakeholders. SMS solutions offer automated alerting capabilities that will automatically alert designated personnel of any safety events that have been reported.

Using transaction logs to track development of a report or event provides clarity and organization to a system. From start to finish, transaction logs document the entire progress of a form, enabling the user to view any revisions, additions, or amendments that have occurred.

Configurability

Using a configurable reporting system allows for ease of adaptation to changing events. Reports, submissions, and incidents are always developing, so keeping up with the associated documentation can be challenging. Configurable reporting systems provide a simple solution to this by offering user friendly forms that can adapt to the various changes airports face.

One way to permit dynamic access to the system is by using customizable rules and privileges. In having the ability to create specialized privileges, different access levels can be assigned to users that help divide labor and create a more organized safety management environment.

Queryable Data and Trend Analytics

Having queryable data makes trend analysis easy. By using a queryable system, critical details of an event such as description, causes, and severity can be searched by keywords or phrases that detect the similarities in various safety events. Additionally, this data can be visualized by specific fields to help provide a holistic representation of trends. These trends can be downloaded and shared to bring attention to important events.

Conclusion

As the aviation industry is transitioning to increased digitization, airports are starting to see the benefits that intuitive online solutions provide. These solutions allow a more efficient data gathering process, provide the flexibility to adapt with a constantly evolving airport, and revolutionize the safety management process for the better.

Mobile Apps: The New Solution to Public Demand

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Trevor Ryles

Mobile apps have evolved drastically in use throughout the years. Transitioning in focus from entertainment, to social media, to the current wide range of every-day solutions, mobile apps have become the primary means of access to information and communication for the public.

According to a Pew Research survey, smartphone usage has skyrocketed from a miniscule 35% of Americans owning a smartphone in 2011 to an overwhelming 77% today. Given the surge in need for smart technology, it is no wonder the Aviation industry is scrambling to keep up with the demand.

As reported by the Air Transportation technology company SITA, nearly 90% of airports worldwide are either demoing trials for a mobile app or committing to a mobile app project of their own within the next few years.

Not only is the Aviation industry seeking solutions through mobile apps, but its customers are too. Chances are that if you have ever been an airline passenger, you have experienced flight delays, inaccessibility to amenity information, or unexpected obstructions at an airport. For many passengers, these are all too common occurrences that most wish there was a way to avoid.

There is a solution! An example of an airport joining the forefront of the mobile revolution is T.F. Green (PVD), whose mobile app was released to the public in April 2018 as a way to address these issues and improve the airport experience for the passenger.

Featured on the NBC 10 television station for Rhode Island, the new PVD app was described by T.F. Green’s Chief Technology Officer Randy Costa as an “ease of experience” that makes sure passengers have everything they need while visiting. Seeking to improve the passenger experience, this new mobile app provides parking and amenity information, a flight information tracker, and the capability for airport personnel to post real-time public service announcements.

Using the intuitive parking portal, the user can easily access parking information such as cost and location, making parking easily manageable. With the flight information tracker, the PVD app offers the ability to track a flight’s expected arrival time and find out whether a flight is running late, has departed, or has arrived – all from the palm of your hand. From the amenities screen, information about the Airport’s restaurants, service booths, and gift shops are made easily accessible. Plus, directions to everything are provided to the user precisely from their location to their destination.

Mobile apps are the next generation of connectedness in a technologically changing world, and airports like T.F. Green all across the country are taking steps to improve airline communication, information availability, and ease of travel for the customer.