6.9Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID)
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a method that can be used to identify unique items including people, baggage, mail, or cargo using radio waves. Typically, a reader communicates with a tag, which holds digital information in a microchip. RFID facilitates the use of real-time location sensing. RFID tags have been used throughout the airport industry to improve baggage systems and track buried cables, and another project is under construction for RFID tags to track people within an airport.
There are two types of RFID tags: active and passive. Passive tags re-transmit their data when illuminated by a nearby electromagnetic source. Active tags transmit data using internal power supplies. RFID tags can be used in three ways: read only (Class 0 tags), write once and read many (Class 1 tags), and write and read many (Class 2 tags). The least-cost implementation of RFID works in the following manner:
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Class 0 tags can hold the 96-bit EPC and store product data in a database using an Object Name Service (ONS).
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A mapping service will map the EPC to a DNS and information about EPC will be stored using PML (Physical Mark-ups Language).
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Organizations of interested users will query the ONS registry to find out the owner of the tag and then query the owner organization for information on the tag.
More expensive implementations (e.g., Class 2 tags) can be used for holding information such as the history of an aircraft spare part or other expensive items that are assigned to different users in different locations.
6.10Baggage Handling Systems (BHS) & Explosives Detection Systems (EDS)
Baggage Handling Systems can be thought of as the circulation system of a modern large airport, with the campus network being its nervous system.
Efficiency in baggage handling may provide an airline or airport with a key competitive advantage, permitting faster flight connections and more satisfied customers.
New BHS utilize RFID technology in bags and pallets to permit a faster throughput than traditional optical bar code readers. Therefore, a distributed network is vital to support such systems, allowing for adequate wireless access points and RFID scanners. This should be provided by the airport campus.
Consideration should also be given to assure that all airlines provide Baggage Status Messages (BSM) into the system in a timely manner so that bags can be sorted accurately. This is also important to support a parallel Passenger Positive Bag Match (PPBM), also known as Baggage Reconciliation, infrastructure to meet security needs.
Explosive Detection Systems (EDS) are a range of devices to inspect baggage going into the sortation system. These can be either in-line or stand-alone. In-line is preferable as there is less delay in inspecting bags and no break in the sortation path. Consideration should be given to the weight of such devices and floor loading is a key consideration here, along with adequate ventilation and power supply. Only approved EDS devices should be used.
6.11Enterprise Airport Asset and Resource Management Systems
This section is about tagging, what data labels an airport will assign to its assets and how these will be managed. Generally, there are three types of assets that require management: financial assets, fixed assets, and operational assets.
Financial assets include bonds or stocks or other financial instruments associated with the financial management of an airport.
Fixed assets are capitalized items recorded in an airport’s general ledger and subject to depreciation. They are used by an airport to undertake its business and generate revenue. Key information is recorded, including the asset’s location and current value and condition. Other fixed assets include the airspace, navigational aides, airfield, terminals, roadways, parking, utilities, etc., which provide the airport’s capacity. These assets are recorded using FAA-required Airport Master Plan Inventories, Airport Layout Plans (ALP), and Exhibit-A Property Maps. Other fixed assets details are recorded using as-built drawings, various basemaps, and floor plans.
Operational assets include the human resources required to operate them. An airport’s resource management system plans the deployment of the airport’s assets, and their operators, to meet a pre-planned workload, usually linked to a timetable. This includes gates, jet ways or air bridges, check-in counters, offices, ramp equipment, aircraft parking stands, HVAC, lighting, electric power, etc. Operational assets also include IT assets. Information is recorded on the IT asset’s location, operational configuration, image build, software version, hardware build, and preventative maintenance scheme. An IT asset’s service entitlement is recorded against the asset so that a help desk can effect an appropriate response.
IT&S technologies available for airport asset and resource management include integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems which consist of a financial system, lease management system, gate management system, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), cable management system, geographic information system (GIS), electronic drawings and document management systems, human resources management system, etc.
An acceptable asset-tagging schema is important and should be defined early on in an airport’s development cycle. Also, consideration should be given to the type of asset tag to be used, which may include bar codes or RFID tags.
6.12Web Services
Web services facilitate the integration of Web-based applications using open standards such as SOAP, UDDI, WSDL, and XML. The key advantage is that they permit organizations to communicate with each other without needing to have specific application or database architecture knowledge and deal instead with data outside a firewall.
These Web services can be added to a graphical interface such as a Web page so that another company’s content can be added to a third party’s application. It is a way of pooling business information and sharing business processes across a range of stakeholders. Such communication is enabled by middleware and is a key component of systems integration.
Airline data feeds for MUFIDS are a good example of how Web services can improve on older electronic data interchange (EDI) standards. Web services will replace older EDI standards as more airport stakeholders migrate to from older legacy data structures. Providers of Web services are also known as application service providers (ASP) or software as a service (SAAS).
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