Honeywell has unveiled Honeywell Forge PerfSITA has launched its airport management tool, the SITA Airport Operations Total Optimizer, during the Passenger Terminal Expo 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Total Optimizer harnesses AI and the principles of Total Airport Management to optimise holistically, across a variety of airport functions.
Over the past decade, airports have managed to optimize individual airport functions. However, these individual optimisations are not well synchronised with each other.
Teams, systems, procedures and KPIs all conflict with one another and significantly reduce efficiencies, costing airports millions of dollars per year.
Airport staff in a modern Airport Operations Centre take many things into account when making decisions. The problem today, is that the tools used have a static configuration.
This prevents the team from dynamically adapting their plans, to consider changes or priorities in the airport environment.
Total Optimizer allows airport teams to dynamically set the relative priority of different aspects, such as Operational performance, Capacity provision, Revenue generation, Cost efficiency, Passenger experience and Sustainability.
“This is one of the biggest innovations yet in the sphere of total airport management,” says Stefan Schaffner, VP of Airports at SITA, citing the platform’s impressive ability to leverage AI and data analytics.
SITA has been closely studying the challenges airports face in achieving Total Airport Management, with the help of leading airports like GTAA. Referencing the importance of valuable industry collaboration, Schaffner says: “We regularly interview our customers and other industry stakeholders to find solutions to the complex challenges they face now and in the future.
“In this respect, our new SITA Airport Operations Total Optimizer is a giant step forward to addressing the needs of our airport customers of different sizes and from countries the world over.”
The unveiling of the SITA Airport Operations Total Optimizer comes at a time when passenger numbers are continuing to grow at pace. Meeting this demand not only requires that the industry harnesses smarter digital solutions to ensure greater efficiencies and to streamline operations, but that sustainable business practices are successfully integrated across the ecosystem.
SITA’s 2023 Air Transport IT Insights research highlights increased IT spending as a current CIO imperative, alongside ongoing digitalisation efforts and a drive to deliver on sustainability commitments.
Getting this balance right requires a technology partner who is invested in the industry and is recognised as a leader in leveraging smart technologies to create strong and relevant airport management solutions.
“SITA offers the expertise and technologies needed to reinvent the processes that will underpin tomorrow’s journey, along with the operations that keep the wheels of our industry in motion,” said SITA Schaffner.
SITA partnered with the Toronto Pearson Airport to deploy a prototype of Total Optimizer that was integrated with GTAA data sources. GTAA staff were able to dynamically optimise stand allocation plans, simply by setting the relative priorities of the airport.
The predicted savings, operational efficiencies, and additional revenues were then demonstrated to the Toronto Pearson team.
At PTE this year, Toronto Pearson Airport will be speaking to explain the challenges they face and to share their coherent plans to tackle them.
Within this story, they described the positive results of Total Optimizer demonstration and how this service could be key to achieving their ambitions.
The SITA Airports Operations Total Optimizer is the latest in a series of powerful solutions to optimise airport operations by leveraging accurate, reliable, shared real-time data.
Already, more than 240 airports and 50 off-airport sites use SITA’s Airport Management Solution (AMS) and SITA’s Airport-Collaborative Decision-Making (A-CDM).
ormance+ for Aerospace, a cloud-based platform that utilises AI and machine learning (ML) to help commercial aerospace manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities modernise production and lower operational costs through digitalisation.
This addition to the Honeywell Forge suite further supports Honeywell’s alignment with the megatrends of advancing automation and the future of aviation.
“During a time of increasing workplace complexity and operating costs, operators need to be able to leverage data to inform critical decision making and embrace automation,” said Karen Miller, general manager, Honeywell Connected Aerospace.
“As the aviation industry grapples with issues such as aging fleets, higher maintenance costs and ongoing supply chain challenges, Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can help organisations achieve key outcomes such as quicker turnarounds, increased asset utilisation and decreased maintenance times.”
Aerospace manufacturing and MRO operations face several challenges regarding operations and workforces. Many of these organisations need to increase operational awareness and improve asset management, such as quickly locating assets across a site, while also lowering operational costs.
Organisations also have siloed data that cannot be effectively utilised in managing their businesses due to complex assets, facilities and workforces.
“Today’s aerospace companies need to improve their operational efficiency and gain better visibility into their assets, but disconnected and manual processes hold them back,” said Michael Rowe, Vice President Aerospace and Defense at Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm.
“A smaller MRO team may have more than 1,200 open maintenance actions to tackle. Instead of focusing initially on work that seems easiest to complete, software solutions such as Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can enable companies to first address those tasks with the highest impact on operations that improve productivity and decrease costly downtime.”
First published by FINN: www.wearefinn.com
Apr 17, 2024 – 5:22 pm
