Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) has implemented INFORM’s GroundStar resource planning and real-time allocation modules GS Planning and GS RealTime in June 2013, and reports an immediate increase in efficiency.
Sea-Tac plans and controls its common use gates, check-in counters and baggage claim carousels with the system, including a data feed to the airport FIDS. The official cutover of the system took place in June 2013 and the Go Live went smoothly with no operational disruptions experienced and no system issues reported. The users were pleased and satisfied with how quickly they could perform their daily tasks while using GroundStar.
Sea-Tac Airport Duty Manager Benjamin Leischner said: "Since the initial deployment of GroundStar in May of 2013, the Port of Seattle has observed an increased efficiency in the allocation and utilisation of more than 300 ramp resources and 60 terminal resources currently managed by GroundStar. Real-time allocation and operation is managed by a staff of 19 senior operations controllers in Sea-Tac’s Airport Communication Center (ACC). The senior operations controllers are responsible for operating multiple systems required to manage the overall airport operation and appreciate the simple layout and click-and-drag features of GroundStar’s graphical user interface."
"Current airport resources being managed by GroundStar include aircraft parking stands, passenger hold rooms and loading bridges, ticket counters and bag claim devices. The airport looks forward to expanding Groundstar to include additional tasks and resources such as baggage make-up space for airlines, busing operations and ADA lift trucks to support remote hardstand passenger operations."
GS Planning and GS RealTime support the planning and allocation of stands, gates and terminal resources with long, medium and short-term plan and within a scope encompassing the day of operation and the subsequent days. In a real-time, critical environment the validity of the resource allocation, initially based on master tactical plans, is constantly controlled. Automatically entered flight schedule changes and operational irregularities trigger alerts and generate changes to the plan aimed at eliminating conflicts and avoid or minimise delays.
The port owns and operates Sea-Tac, the nation’s 15th busiest, which handled more than 33.2 million passengers in 2012. 26 airlines use its 81 gates to serve 75 non-stop domestic destinations and 21 international cities.