More and more handlers are starting to invest in GSE tracking technology, systems that can allow them to monitor and record the whereabouts, availability and even performance of equipment on the ramp. Airside talks to some of them, and an airport authority pushing the benefits of this technology, about the value of GSE tracking systems
Menzies is among those handlers that has equipped some part of its GSE fleet with tracking technology. Right now, it only has such systems on its powered GSE and the system currently used by Menzies – mainly for tracking and GSE utilisation monitoring – is a German one that has thrown up a few technical issues that the handler is currently working through. Indeed, Menzies is yet to decide whether or not to go forward with this system.
There are undoubtedly quite a number of systems available on the market, and it can be difficult to choose the right one. “Some airports want to make the use of a GPS tracking system mandatory, so we are waiting to see what system they may choose and we will align to that,” explains Paul Drever, manager technical standards and compliance at Menzies Aviation. Menzies’ GSE tracking system is currently employed at London Heathrow, where use of such technology is mandatory, and at London Gatwick.
Heathrow is also one of the stations at which Dubai-headquartered dnata (the aviation services provider that forms part of the Emirates Group) uses GSE fitted with tracking technology. As with Menzies: “At Heathrow, we are required to provide vehicle tracking by the airport authority, as they are keen to understand vehicle movements undertaken by all airside operators (upwards of 30 different agencies),” explains Ross Marino, senior vice president, international airport operations at dnata. “Our motorised fleet (there) is equipped with tracking technology and in due course, we may expand this to non-motorised equipment,” he says.
Beyond its UAE home stations, dnata also operates GSE fitted with a tracking system at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Here, where dnata operates as a freighter ramp handler and maintains a cargo warehouse, it recently began trials to track both motorised and non-motorised equipment. “Thus far, these trials are proving very successful and are enabling us to track cargo movements right up to the point of loading onto a departing aircraft,” Marino says. “Elsewhere on our international network, we are in the process of evaluating potential suppliers to determine the right solution for each airport environment.”
dnata operates around 400 individual items of motorised equipment in its international airport businesses (ie, beyond its home in the UAE). “Our GSE equipment is currently deployed in the UAE, at Heathrow and at Amsterdam, and we are making evaluations at a number of other locations. The key drivers for tracking technology are fleet size and large airfield operations where GSE may be spread across a wide area,” Marino informs.
CLEAR BENEFITS
The potential benefits of using tracking systems are many. Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is another handler to have perceived the value of this technology. According to WFS vice president – Asia & Middle East Justin Jaques, “The tracking of GSE equipment at airports has been an increasing trend over recent years and there are a number of identified benefits for operators in terms of understanding and tracking more information about particular vehicles’ whereabouts, mileage covered and other key data.”
There are a number of options that can be added as part of core tracking systems that offer various additional benefits to their users. For example, the technology currently used by Menzies can provide maintenance schedule warnings, engine fluid levels, fuel use, and so on.
According to Drever, Menzies sees the benefits of a tracking system lying primarily in offering data on:
GSE location – with specific information on GSE location at its fingertips, a handler can best employ equipment for ongoing handling operations;
GSE fleet numbers – the technology can be used to demonstrate how much GSE is currently available and how much is out of service;
GSE utilisation – a handler can have too much GSE out in the field or not enough. A tracking system will give such a service provider an indication of both. Some GSE may be used more than others of the same type, just because of where it is and how it performs. Utilisation can be monitored on an hourly use basis, plus it is possible for a handler to ‘rotate’ GSE so that equipment is used evenly across the types;
And GSE misuse and damage – misuse and damage to equipment can be traced because any GSE operator may have to use his airside pass or an access system that records his identity to work the equipment.
These potential returns have to be offset against the transponder’s installation costs, swipe card costs, damage sensor installation costs and monthly tracking fees. For Menzies: “We would only fit the tracking system in large operations. You certainly have more advantage using a tracking system in a large busy airport than you would in a small regional airport,” Drever notes.
Moreover, he says, while GSE tracking offers significant benefits, it also has to be managed correctly. Appointing the right people to manage the system on a daily basis has proved to be a challenge in some cases.
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
It is clear that, while handlers are convinced of the potential benefits of GSE tracking technology, there remains some doubt as to the overall cost/benefit trade-off and the merits of each of the systems that have only comparatively recently been brought to market – some of which may still have teething troubles.
Another issue that has to be considered is the speed at which this sort of technology is changing. “This is one of the problems with the tracking systems – purchasing a system that is not outdated within a few years,” Drever explains. “Given continuous technology improvements, it is important to choose a system that can be updated.”
As well as technological advances, price changes are also an important consideration. The hope is that prices will drop as the technology behind the tracking systems matures and becomes more commonly available. Of course, as Drever points out, with a tracking system the more you add, the more you pay – and this is likely to continue to be a factor for those looking for the latest smart, all-encompassing technologies.
At the end of the day, the issue might even lie beyond the choice of the handler. It is likely that more and more of the big airport operators will push for GSE tracking technology, to prevent overcrowding of GSE and to support potential pooling strategies.
dnata’s Marino offers a comprehensive list of benefits that a handler such as his can accrue from the judicious use of GSE tracking technology. He describes:
the ability to accurately locate equipment at all times, thus enabling a handler to provide more reliable service delivery to its customers;
the visibility of serviceability and/or technical faults, thus allowing equipment to be returned to service in a timely manner;
the insight provided into the usage patterns of individual items of equipment, enabling overall fleet usage to be balanced
and questions to be asked wherever a particular piece of GSE is used less than similar units;
validation of the peak number of pieces of equipment in use/maintenance at one time to support investment needed for seasonal review or for contract wins or loses;
the consequent ability for a handler to carry out accurate, timely and focussed maintenance planning;
the reduction in equipment down-time due to the scheduling of maintenance when due based on hours of use rather than time periods;
reduced maintenance costs due to maximising time between maintenance service in line with manufacturers’ recommended number of hours;
the resulting ability of a handler to highlight equipment left running while not in use and thereby to reduce unnecessary fuel burn;
and the ability to capture accurate data for billing customers for time-bound services (such as ground power unit use), thereby reducing revenue leakage.
Subsidiary benefits he points to also include:
the ability to ensure that only licensed/trained individuals can operate any equipment;
the power to oversee driver compliance with airport speed limits as well as other good driving behaviour, leading to a reduction in incidents/accidents;
and the support of occurrence investigation following accidents/incidents – GSE tracking systems also allowing review of historic route mapping, speed and time of any impact, etc.
“At dnata, we are seeing some of the above benefits,” Marino says. However: “It is still early days for us in the use of tracking technology and we will require more data before determining the return on investment.”
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HKIA: a case study
Some airport operators are taking a strong stance on GSE tracking. London Heathrow is one such, as mentioned above; another is Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Its operator, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), is now requiring all airside vehicles and ground support equipment to install vehicle tracking systems to improve airfield operational efficiency and safety.
The first phase of implementation began in November, with all motorised airside vehicles and GSE operators required to install the AA’s vehicle tracking system on or before Airside Vehicle Licence renewal, unless they have already installed their own vehicle tracking system on the units. In the latter case, operators are required to feed in the real-time data of vehicle identification, vehicle location and vehicle speed to the AA’s vehicle tracking platform.
“The AA will continue to work with the airport organisations for the ongoing phases of implementation of vehicle tracking system,” a spokesperson for HKIA confirms.
WFS IN THE VANGUARD
WFS has been looking at GSE tracking for its fuelling fleet in Hong Kong for several years, waiting for such time that the cost/benefit ratio made it a desirable solution, notes WFS’s Jaques.
Increasingly, airport authorities – the AA among them – have also become interested in being able to track and monitor GSE equipment on the ramp, he points out. As well as the benefits accruing to the handlers, airport authorities can use the data collected to measure and manage utilisation with a view to understanding and making improvements in relation to equipment usage, traffic management, safety and environmental factors. WFS sees particular benefits in being able to know where its fuelling trucks are at any point, while the tracking system fitted to its fuelling units at HKIA will also be linked to the handler’s flight dispatch system, improving the efficiency of next-flight dispatch.
The AA at HKIA has taken the lead on behalf of the airport community to mandate that all GSE ramp equipment be installed with its approved GPS provider, DigiMobi, by the end of 2016. The AA recently held a tender covering all GSE of all operators with a view to guaranteeing the cheapest possible price per vehicle (as the volumes negotiated are higher than any individual or group of companies could achieve), Jaques explains. In addition, the AA is upgrading beacons and tracking equipment on the ramp area, as well as in the baggage hall area (which is underground and requires additional infrastructure to improve the effectiveness of the GPS tracking of vehicles operating there). “We are pleased that the Airport Authority has taken the lead in sourcing a cost-efficient solution based on a mandated requirement for all airside vehicles at HKIA,” he says.
The contract with DigiMobi runs from 2015 to 2020. The GPS system chosen allows for individual companies to add on optional elements at pre-agreed rates as required, including driver management, alerting devices, odometer integration and vehicle fuel level measurement.
The AA is also looking into the possibility of installing GPS trackers on non-motorised equipment, although this option is still under review.
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I.D. Systems shows the way
There are numerous suppliers of various tracking systems employed by handlers around the world, each seeking to offer something a little different – a little better – than their competitors. But they all look to provide their customers with a tool by which they can realise measurable efficiencies.
One such is New Jersey, US-based I.D. Systems, which offers a GSE tracking tool called AvRamp. AvRamp is based on technology that has been in use for almost 20 years in warehousing, manufacturing and distribution. “We have taken all our vehicle management experience in the indoor solution and brought that to an airport-based solution,” explains Larry Terrazas, I.D. Systems’ vice president, aviation services. AvRamp was taken up by American Airlines in 2009 at major hub airports and I.D. Systems is currently working with a second large US-based carrier on a multi-hub project.
AvRamp is actually a vehicle management system that incorporates GSE tracking. It offers access control, impact sensing, electronic safety checklists, true vehicle run-time (breaking out data on idle versus motion on powered vehicles) and speed monitoring. All the data captured is available to the customer via more than 300 possible reports included in the software, which can be customised by the client and set up for automatic emails on a defined schedule.
The product is also able to feed vehicle run-time data to maintenance management software like Maximo or Fleet Focus on a daily basis. This, says Terrazas, allows customers to move away from hour meters and the effort required to gather that data, or from doing preventative maintenance strictly on a calendar basis. “Customers find that some vehicles in the fleet are under-maintained and others are not maintained enough when going purely on a calendar basis,” he warns.
Another feature is that a customer can make any configuration changes to vehicles remotely via the software tool. Those changes can be wirelessly communicated to the vehicles – there is no need to bring them back to the shop and make any physical changes to the hardware.
“The value and return on investment can come in many different forms,” Terrazas explains. “For the vast majority of the customer base, the returns are realised on looking at vehicle utilisation and operator productivity. In many cases, customers find opportunities to right-size their fleet at the same location or are able to move vehicles between airports.
“Other returns are just as valid but harder to quantify – such as improvements in safety as a result of improved driver behaviour. Impact and speed sensors and the associated reporting give managers the tools needed to identify drivers that may need focussed training on safety.
“Our visibility tool can also be used to map potential ‘hot spots’ on the airport, where most impacts are sensed. Those can be environmental (like ramp potholes) or facility-related (such as blind spots); by visualising it on a map, customers can often identify areas that would go unnoticed other than by the drivers. The cost of operator injuries, vehicle and/or facility damage may be known to the customer over the years prior to install and over time the trend should come down. The savings relating to the avoidance of an accident are the part that is hardest to quantify.”
DEPLOYMENT
AvRamp is installed on over 1,000 airport GSE vehicles in several US hub operations. The largest single installation is with American Airlines in Miami, where all of the carrier’s baggage tractors and many other GSE fleet types are equipped with the system.
When it comes to the GSE types that handlers look to track, each customer has approached the issue differently, Terrazas notes, based on where they need more visibility into their operation and whether they are only interested in tracking high-usage or high-value assets. For example, one customer is tracking all baggage tractors for access control and accountability as well as Vestergaard lavatory trucks based on its high value and criticality to the handling operation. Another customer is tracking the use of their pre-conditioned air (PCA) and ground power units (GPUs) in order to “right-size the fleet based on seasonal peaks, especially in hardstand locations”.
AvRamp has been installed on GPUs, PCAs, heaters, pick-up trucks, vans, lavatory vehicles, Powerstow belt loaders, de-icing trucks and towbarless pushback tractors.
