Airport Integration of Operational Systems, Passenger Processing & Baggage Systems

Building Systems Integration for British Airports Authority

Terminal 5 has a capacity of over 30 million passengers a year, it was opened in March 2008. It comprises a main building, linked to car parks and transport links, with two satellites. Passengers are transported to the satellites via a tracked transit system. The terminal has a very small footprint compared to conventional modern terminal buildings and this poses particular architectural and structural challenges. It is constructed on a series of levels and has the highest number of lifts of any building in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as the world's longest escalator drop.

Scope of Supply

Ultra's scope as First Tier supplier for Systems Integration covers a wide variety of functions. There are several streams of work under our direct control identified below: these impact on many other work streams. This is a seven (7) year contract, with Ultra responsible for over £30 million budget.

Building Systems Integration (BSI)

The new terminal is designed to be an integrated facility, monitored through a central Terminal Service Centre (TSC) with mobile devices provided to staff. A common user interface will allow staff to access heating, ventilation, lighting, fire, lifts, CCTV, security and other systems, centralising alarm management and automating interaction between systems. The System is based on an off-the-shelf SCADA product using open industry standards to provide flexibility for future expansion and further integration. Ultra are also responsible for the design and fit-out of the TSC, including its ergonomic design and human factors analysis.

The drivers for this approach were:

• Risk minimisation
• Requirements fulfilment
• Keeping pace with industry developments
• Alignment with BAA strategic policy

Risk Minimisation

A proactive approach was taken to minimising risks on the project by:

• Keeping the number of interfaces to a minimum
• Scoping each interface to allow minimum information
• Keeping the focus on the operation on day one of the terminal
• Adopting only tried and tested technology

Requirements Fulfilment

Ultra had been involved in the requirements capture and specification for this aspect of the terminal, and it was therefore straightforward to carry this through to being sure of fulfilling those requirements. Ultra focussed on the flexibility of operation brought about by the use of BSI in an airport terminal. Simple maintenance was a priority and is achieved by the use of an off the shelf, easily configurable product. Simple and standard operation and configuration was achieved in the same way. The Iconics platform as implemented by Ultra provides better information to the users than any previously designed model, allowing the terminal operators to respond more quickly to changes and situations.

Industry Developments

It was important to BAA to keep pace with industry developments in its implementation of BSI and other SCADA packages. This was achieved by Ultra's implementation by the application of open and industry-IT standards. Ultra carried out a careful market evaluation before tendering for the core package, and managed the selection process under which the Iconics product was selected as best of breed and most appropriate for this requirement.

Strategic Alignment

BAA's clear strategy in all of the T5 project has been to conform to a structured and well thought out integration framework. BAA and Ultra has never lost sight of the absolute requirements to deliver value for money, and the selection process was based on this premise. One final extremely important feature had to be taken into account from the first, and this was to deliver future flexibility in both technical and operational spheres. During the selection process this was one strong driver for Ultra's selection of Iconics as the core of the BSI. Iconics is one of the world's largest suppliers of controls software front end packages, and has a defined development path and road maps designed to keep their product at the forefront of the market.