Airport News
Fraport AG ,the operator of Frankfurt Airport, has implemented Quintiq’s platform to speed up its winter service workforce deployment.
The software implementation by Quintiq, is expected to help Fraport reduce costs during winter through real-time, automated workforce and vehicle management.
Frankfurt Airport spans 7.5 million square metres, which is the equivalent of about 1,000 football fields, and its sheer size poses challenges for ground staff, particularly during winter, since the airport’s four-kilometer-long runways need to be cleared of snow within minutes.
Depending on the intensity of the winter weather conditions, up to 200 specially trained employees are needed per shift to operate high-performance equipment.
Prior to the Quintiq software implementation, the allocation of staff was planned and coordinated manually, using Excel spreadsheets and Access databases – a costly, time-consuming process.
Employees were assigned between 14 and 16 hours before deployment, based on data gathered from the German weather service (DWD).
Fraport recognized that it needed a solution that could ensure that certified employees and the right equipment were quickly and accurately assigned while complying with rigorous legal regulations that govern staff deployment.
The Quintiq software went live in November 2014, and enables Fraport’s operations managers to have dashboard views of staffing levels, employee and vehicle statuses in real time, allowing for efficient and scalable fleet management.
Dr. Roland Krieg, chief information officer of Fraport, says: “Manual and time-consuming planning tasks amounted to significant costs in winter.The architecture of Quintiq’s software allowed our requirements to be modelled on the basis of industry-specific functionalities.
“This enables us to be extremely versatile as the solution provides staffing options that can quickly be employed, allowing us to organize our winter support services more efficiently.”
Arjen Heeres, chief operating officer of Quintiq says the solution will make Frankfurt Airport operations more efficient – by reducing time spent planning and this will lead to significant cost savings, in addition to improving the airport’s response time to disruptions.
