Airport and Ground Handling Resource Management Systems

GS RealTime and GS Communications have been in use at Finnair’s handling subsidiary Northport’s base at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport since 2001. The system covers four separate handling units where it allocates a total of 760 staff members at Gate Services, Ramp Handling, Check-In and Baggage Handling.

Since 2006 Northport has been successfully using a new technology that was incorporated into most of its mobile phones in the passenger services and loading departments. In cooperation with INFORM, IBM developed a mobile solution that was integrated with NFC (RFID enabled) mobile phones. This enables staff to check in by scanning their name tag, receive and confirm checkin, boarding or loading tasks by scanning tags that are installed in specific areas, such as a reporting location or check-in counter, using the RFID reader and tag integrated in the mobile phone. This information is automatically passed on to GS RealTime which manages the deployment of staff and distribution of tasks and the result is automatically transferred to the mobile phones of the relevant staff.

In this way staff can easily and quickly receive information and communicate the status of tasks. In comparison with other communications options such as telephone calls or GS VoiceTouch (a digital system where, in order to get task details, staff would dial in and interact with voice menus and listen to voice input), this solution reduces transaction time and means that task information can always be re-viewed as it is displayed on the mobile phones. The allocators also benefit from the solution as they can better control the location of their staff.

In March this year, the RFID software was enhanced to better use the potential of the new NFC phones with bigger displays and faster processing times as well as a functionality that allows to confirm, start and finish tasks with a push of a button as alternative to using the RFID stickers.

“The RFID solution has brought down transaction time, facilitated the work of our staff and further increased transparency,” says Tero Laitinen, Manager Resource Planning Northport Oy.