One month into 2022, it is easy to imagine that many people have taken stock in their personal and professional lives and established goals for the year. New Year’s resolutions, in their most common form, are opportunities for improvement.
If last year’s goals failed, we may re-attempt them or recalibrate expectations before embarking on our next goals. But the key should be to seek continual improvement.
Benjamin Franklin said: “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.”
These words ring true in aviation, where safety is paramount, and efficiency is crucial for businesses to succeed. In the world of ground handling, industry leaders are seeking constant improvement to achieve fewer workplace accidents, improved turnaround times and other gains in productivity.
The International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) program is a great example of this.
Initially launched in 2014, the IS-BAH program sought to establish standards and best practices with a proactive approach to manage workplace safety with a goal of preventing accidents like hangar rash incidents and injuries to ground personnel. IS-BAH continues to gain traction with FBOs registering and progressing to Stages 2 and 3. Take a look at this month’s Business Buzz section, beginning on page 8 for further evidence, companies are investing in improvement and it is a benefit to the industry as a whole.
Of course, ground handling is built on safety. Beyond IS-BAH, safety standards established by industry authorities provide guidance and ground support equipment manufacturers engineer features into their products to ensure time-sensitive work can be completed safely.
As ground handlers seek continuous improvement, a move to digitalization is proving valuable.
Recently, Synaptic Aviation announced its artificial intelligence (AI) technology was adopted by ground handling firm Unifi. By using the AI system and analyzing data that tracks activity and procedural compliance, Unifi’s goal is to increase safety, improve on-time performance, facilitate efficient operations and enhance customer experience.
Synaptic officials say the company’s solution can track thousands of flights and “provides key operational information like average turn time, gate utilization, mandatory foreign object damage (FOD) prevention walks, ground power unit (GPU) connection times, jet bridge status and more.” The technology can also provide compliance reports so Unifi can maintain applicable safety measures around aircraft.
Elsewhere, Aurrigo announced a project its company is conducting at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. The company’s Auto-Sim software platform is being utilized to create a digital twin of airside operations at the Michigan airport.
Among other goals, the initiative aims to identify cost savings, achieve environmental improvements and identify opportunities for the airport to potentially implement autonomous operations.
Both instances of digitalizing ground handling operations are interesting examples of the industry embarking on new improvements.
As Franklin’s quote indicates, continual growth and progress are absolute necessities. Do you have an example of how your operation is striving for continuous improvement? Share your example with me at [email protected]. I welcome your feedback on the topic.
