A-CDM and Optimisation of Airport Processes and Terminal Resources

Company INFORM GmbH
Date 03.04.2014

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) implemented INFORM’s GroundStar resourceplanning and real-time allocation modules GS Planning and GS RealTime in June 2013 and reports increase in efficiency right from the beginning.

Sea-Tac plans and controls their common use gates, check-in counters and baggage claim carousels with the system including a data feed to the airport FIDS. The official cutover of the system took place in June 2013 and the Go Live went extremely smooth with no operational disruptions experienced and no system issues reported. The users were extremely pleased and satisfied with how quickly they could perform their daily tasks while using GroundStar. Benjamin Leischner, Airport Duty Manager at Sea-Tac Airport, sums up:

“Since the initial deployment of GroundStar in May of 2013, the Port of Seattle has observed an increased efficiency in the allocation and utilization of over 300 ramp resources and 60 terminal resources currently managed by GroundStar. Real-time allocation and operationis managed by a staff of 19 senior operations controllers in Sea-Tac’s Airport Communication Center (ACC). The senior operations controllers are responsible for operating multiple systems required to manage the overall airport operation and appreciate the simple layout and click-and-drag features of GroundStar’s graphical user interface. Current airport resources being managed by GroundStar include aircraft parking stands, passenger hold rooms and loading bridges, ticket counters and bag claim devices. The airport looks forward to expanding Groundstar to include additional tasks and resources including baggage make-up space for airlines, busing operations and ADA lift trucks to support remote hardstand passenger operations.”

GS Planning and GS RealTime support the planning and allocation of stands, gates and terminal resources with long-, medium- and short-term plan and within a scope encompassing the day of operation and the subsequent days. In a real-time critical environment the validity of the resource allocation, initially based on master tactical plans, is constantly controlled. Automatically entered flight schedule changes and operational irregularities trigger alerts and generate changes to the plan aimed at eliminating conflicts and avoid or minimize delays.

The port owns and operates Sea-Tac- the nation’s 15th busiest– handling more than 33.2 million passengers in 2012. Twenty-six airlines use its 81 gates to serve 75 non-stop domestic destinations and 21 international cities.

Contact