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Simulation enables total airport management
The COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on the entire aviation industry. Passenger and aircraft traffic was sent down to levels that the aviation industry had never experienced before. At the moment, the aviation sector is starting to recover from the pandemic, traffic starts to build back up, and demand increases again.
However, Airports are facing major challenges related to capacity issues. Therefore, airports need to identify possible measures that can increase operational efficiency, relieve pressures on the systems, and increase passenger experience. As a result of the pandemic, airports face new challenges related to health and safety when traveling, as passengers desire a seamless journey through the airport. InControl’s Simulation Software can contribute to the challenges that arise on Strategic, Tactical and Operational levels.
Total Airport Management
Strategy
Implementing Total Airport Management (TAM) and set steps to Digital twins including a Predictive twin is crucial to develop an effective and future proof Airport Operations Centre (APOC) integrating all airport processes including passenger, baggage and cargo and those of its stakeholders.
InControl has many years of experience in simulating baggage handling systems, passenger flows, cargo and border control optimization and multimodal transportation hubs. InControl’s Simulation Software contributes as well to customers with similar challenges e.g. train and cruise ship terminals.
Passenger proces:
Airline proces:
source: Royal Schiphol Group – 2021 Annual Report
Baggage Handling systems (BHS)
Airports are very dynamic environments where situations change per season, per week, per day and even per 5 minutes. Baggage Handling Systems must deal with short connection transfer bags, temporary and overnight storage, peak input flows and strict security regulations. This requires a robust infrastructure and optimized business control rules.
With our simulation platform and more specific software product Enterprise Dynamics®, each process and type of equipment within the Baggage Handling System can be represented enabling to analyze the system and experiment with allocations of baggage.
Enterprise Dynamics® is recognised by customers as a valuable asset in testing and optimizing designs and processes of the baggage handling processes by:
- Integral BHS simulation
- Check-in planning optimization
- Reclaim allocation
- Improving transfer unloading and handover capacity.
Simulation provides additional insight which helps to make informed decisions. Evaluate use cases and build business cases based on numbers that are widely supported throughout the organization. Present the outcome of different scenarios and the effect of each decision in a way people understand and can link to what is happening in the BHS. Another application is the PaxBax-generator; simulating both related data sources offering customers relevant information to feed, control and steer BHV, UX and security processes.
Security
Only a couple of months to go and a new Entry and Exit System (EES) has to be implemented at all external border locations in Europe. EES can be considered as part of Future and Smart borders. EES-legislation regulates the digital registration on all kind of borders of all non-European passenger traffic. The stamps in passports will be part of the past and in addition to personal data, the registration and control of fingerprints and facial recognition will also be obligated.
InControl is an indispensable partner for predicting crowds at border areas: airports, seaports, cruise terminals and train stations. With the proven simulation models of InControl, passenger flows can be made transparent and therefore better monitored and enforced. Thanks to our software it is possible to create analysis, impact-, what-if, risk, and risk-mitigation scenarios, 2D- and 3D-models and relevant instructions for staff and passengers. With these forecasts safe and seamless passage of passengers is ensured.
EES and other implementation plans can be tested and optimized in a simulation model, and are part of (to be defined and implemented) a digital twin(s). InControl enables the preparation of new legislation, new innovative technologies, risk and profile driven checks and integration of border control processes. Our software is contributing to the improvement of passenger capacity and UX, staff capacity and job satisfaction. These contributions are part of a safer and better control society. Simulation applications makes a more structural simulation and therefore more efficient and effective control of border areas possible.
Passengers
In an airport terminal, everything should be perfectly tuned in order to provide passengers a safe and enjoyable time, and make traveling by plane a pleasant experience. So, despite the fluctuations in flights, baggage and passenger arrivals, long waiting lines and overcrowded areas need to be avoided.
How to realize this when flight schedules are changing, passenger numbers are growing, and international security regulations are subject to modification? Airports need more (integrated) insights and forecasts, avoiding situations that could negatively influence the overall travel experience:
- The new season schedule is causing problems
- Queue times in front of check-in and the security filters will meet KPI’s
- The staff planning needs to be adjusted and optimized
- Terminal and piers will be evacuated zone by zone and in time in case of an emergency situation.
InControl’s Simulation software includes various demographic algorithms offering solutions providing insights to get a more efficient, passenger friendly and safe terminal processes offering e.g. passenger flows, heatmaps and potential bottlenecks. It enables customers to create a model of the complete infrastructure for passenger handling or smaller models focusing on specific areas. An integral model will indicate the complexity and dependency of all terminal elements; local models focus in more detail on movements in specific areas or processes, to include line queuing. We are innovative by combining multi-source data including real time data from camera’s and sensors; more precise we are combining the strength of simulation and emulation!
airside
InControl’s Simulation software can contribute to several aspects of airside planning, design, and operations. We provide advanced solutions to predict, control, evaluate and optimize existing facilities and improve operational processes. The InControl software can both simulate pedestrian and traffic flows to ensure a safe environment for passengers, visitors, and staff. InControl and its Business Partners are working on a solution to reduce the Turn Around Time on (air)ports.
Traffic
An urban center, a residential area or other infrastructure within a city should be designed in such a way to let people live, work, move and recreate in an efficient, pleasant and safe way. Multimodal transportation hubs are key for the development of urban areas.
A multimodal transportation hub should be based on seamless mobility and operate as an environment enabling an easy, logic and pleasant flows between public transport and public space. It is not just a starting or ending point of a journey, a multimodal transportation hub also serves as a node for communities that surrounds or resides around the hub.
InControl’s simulation software is globally implemented to analyze passenger flows in and between airports and other public transport hubs.
The Multimodal Hub of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol e.g. is one of the largest public transport hubs in Europe. The Schiphol public transport hub processes on average 109,000 travelers per day. Every hour, 140 public transport buses pass through the center of Schiphol. These and other modalities all arrive, depart and transfer in and around Schiphol Plaza.
In the near feature, an increased number of people (up to 120,000) traveling through the Schiphol public transport hub is expected. In line with these numbers, the current Multimodal Hub Schiphol (MHS) will be redesigned in order to create sufficient capacity to handle this increase. By our flagship customer the simulation platform and more specific the simulation software Pedestrian Dynamics® is implemented to simulate the complete new infrastructure of the new Multimodal Hub Schiphol. This will contribute to the vision of Royal Schiphol Group to create the world’s most sustainable, and high-quality airport.
YOUR CHALLENGES, OUR CONCERN
InControl’s simulation experts would be happy to use their expertise helping you to cope with your challenges.
Please feel free to contact InControl to find out how we can contribute together with your teams and business partners.
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