Running buses on highway shoulders

Providing solutions at airports

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Airport management technology plays a significant role in maximising airport capacity. Operations planning, operations support, billing and statistics generation are four areas that have the attention of the expert solutions providers.

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Striking a balance between growing capacity demands, commercial objectives and the need to deliver these in a safe and secure environment are some of the challenges that airport managements face today. Providing service excellence to travellers and service partners whilst addressing environmental issues also poses a challenge. Successful airports the world over increasingly depend on combining fast and reliable turn-around times with the most efficient use of all their assets. This has given rise to airport management technology which, today, plays a pivotal role in maximising airport capacity. Steria India that delivers on all these fronts through Airport Management Solutions, is a company engaged in providing technology driven solutions to leading global names in public sector, utilities and transportation, among others.

Steria’s Airport Information and Management System, ManagAirport®, developed for airports of various capacities, enables authorities to get a comprehensive view on the utilisation of their airport infrastructure. It also provides an airport operator with a decision support tool. This helps the airport authorities in enhancing the quality of service to their passengers.

At a high level, ManagAirport offers the following features:

Operations Planning – Forecasts and optimises flight planning and usage of resources.

Operations Support – Manages flights, resources and loads on the current day.

Billing – Generates invoice for aeronautical and non-aeronautical services. The integrated billing functionality ensures that operational activity is always reflected in the financial system.

Statistics Generations – Global view of air, passenger, and freight traffic; and utilisation of resources. Through its modular systems, the company has been providing support and maintenance to various airports since the last 10-12 years – post the implementation of its software.

Says Sachdev Ramakrishna, Director – Marketing, “Airport operations are moving from pure transportation-like goals to customer-experience outcomes. Technology has become a critical component to help manage easy transit of passengers and cargo despite the ever increasing volumes of traffic; and to ensure that security, on ground and in the air, is never ever compromised with.”

 

Steria banks heavily on its IT- based services each of which is carefully designed. The various services work thus:

Integrated Flight Management & Billing

Backed by expert consultancy, the company’s applications and IT services deliver centralised access to the latest operational data, managing information flow internally and also managing the flow to the multitude of external service partners, each requiring access to an airport’s IT infrastructure. This enables a truly joined approach to the collaborative service delivery within today’s diverse air transport environment. The integration to billing functionality ensures that operational activity is always reflected in the financial system ensuring timely and accurate invoicing and revenue recognition.

Resource Management

This functionality collates all flight, resource and logistics information into a central database. Critical resources such as stands, gates and baggage belts are monitored in real-time using an advanced user interface. This enables accurate management, scheduling and flight allocation, as well as reporting, planning and analysis functionality.

Incident Management

Incident management has become an increasingly essential priority for airport operators. The company’s systems enable the airports to handle all manner of events in terms of categorisation, prioritisation, resource dispatch and tracking, all in real-time. A managed and proactive response to incidents speeds up the decision making process whilst enhancing the overall effectiveness of responses to a wide range of operational scenarios.

IT Infrastructure Services

Whilst IT systems are fundamental to the running of a modern airport, the support and maintenance of technology can no longer be regarded as a core activity. Outsourcing responsibility for IT to Steria as a proven service partner delivers tightly defined service levels under cost and risk managed conditions.

Driven by the need to improve passenger throughput, safety and security, an end-to-end portfolio of airport management systems is offered by the company. Against an increasingly complex set of commercial, regulatory and technical objectives, its solutions are aimed squarely at meeting the need for increasing an airport’s operational capability, maximising the flow of people and aircraft into and around an airport. The company works closely with airport managers to identify, plan and deliver a wide range of business projects, all aimed at enabling and supporting an airport’s growth whilst at the same time realising significant ROI, alongside improved operational efficiency and business effectiveness. Advance technologies provided by leading manufacturers like Microsoft, Oracle & IBM are used to provide scalable solutions.

The company does not outsource its airport management services. As one of the leading Systems Integrators in Europe, it understands how to maximise the value from applied technology, using proven methodologies in order to manage the transition of an Airport’s existing IT infrastructure with minimum risk.Says Ramakrishna, “With the growing demand for airport infrastructure, security and passenger convenience, airport managers need state-of the-art solutions to run operations smoothly and to meet stakeholders’ expectations. With increasing passenger expectations of comfort and security, and without the willingness to pay optimal airport fees, technology must play a balancing role.”

He adds, “India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. Recent forecast predicts that passenger traffic will grow up to 270 million by 2014 from 116 million in 2008 at a growth rate of 15%. Furthermore, expansive airport modernisation plans underway require deep investment. Hence, with the growing demand for airport infrastructure, security and passenger convenience, airport managers are in need of state-of-the art solutions, for the smooth running of operations and meeting stakeholders’ expectations.”

Steria India also provides Airport Security Solutions. It offers end-to-end security solutions which build upon an existing security infrastructure by integrating cutting-edge biometric and Auto-ID technologies.

The company is one of Europe’s leading biometrics suppliers, with over 15 years’ experience providing fingerprint, iris scanning and facial recognition systems. Its FIT solution for managing and transmitting fingerprints has been adopted by police forces in 23 European countries. It was associated with the Bavarian Police on rolling out a biometric identification system as part of anti-hooligan counter measures during the World Cup. Steria’s experience in working with European immigration authorities, border policing and justice departments, as well as military and civil intelligence services, underpins the company’s security work with Airport Authorities and Airlines. This deep understanding of the security pressures facing the air transport sector combined with the technical vision and practical experience to implement systems on specification, on time and on budget has delivered genuine competitive advantage to Steria’s customers across Europe.

The latest technologies that go in Steria’s Airport Security Solutions are:

Biometric Validation & Verification

As a reliable and efficient method of maintaining staff and passenger security in an expanding market, the potential benefits of biometric technology are indisputable. The practical application of Biometrics to tighten airside, passenger and terminal security is set to revolutionise international and domestic travel and over time, will become as ubiquitous as photo ID.

Secure Staff Access Control

The company’s access control solutions are based on its work leading the consortium developing the Schengen II/VIS programme for the European Commission and the EURODAC Asylum seekers fingerprint ID system.

RFID Tracking & Reconciliation

RFID technology is now set to deliver real benefits in the handling and tracking of baggage and other airport assets. The reconciliation of passengers to their luggage has become a heightened priority, biometric technology playing a key role in linking people, baggage and boarding cards, whether checked in manually or via a Common-Use-Self-Service (CUSS) kiosk.

Secure IT Solutions

With over 300 dedicated security engineers and consultants across Europe, Steria is a major player in the field of IT security, offering access to a wealth of experience in security best practice. As part of a wider IT Infrastructure project, system or application access and security can be profiled against risk/threat assessment rankings and levels of lock-down applied as appropriate.

In India, Steria has not implemented any solution yet but is closely working with Airport Authority of India in understanding their needs. It has deployed solutions for over 25 of the world’s leading airports including Aéroports De Paris (Charles de Gaulle and Orly), Geneva, Frankfurt, Jakarta and Guangzhou airports. Steria provides Managed IT Services for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, Application Management for NATS, an RFID-based vehicle management solution for BAA at London Heathrow and management of IT Infrastructure and business applications for Bristol International Airport.

One of its major clients has been Bristol International Airport (BIA) where it provides Airport management solution – Manag’Airport. This solution provides BIA with an IT system that could be used by airport staff, handling operators and airlines. Its modules cover Flight scheduling, D-Day management, Resource allocation, Invoicing, and Statistics.

One of the top ten IT service companies in Europe Steria, with its Head Office in France, is an over 40 year old company that has offices in 16 countries in Europe, India, North Africa and SE Asia. Founded in 1969, it has its headquarters in Paris and has started Steria Institut de France Foundation.