b'42 ATL INFO TECHNOLOGY Engineers migrated floor plan data to the new database.with an understanding of infrastructure, assets and how they allimportant, and web applications are being developed to assist interrelateis critical, he notes.office managers with their respective areas.Thats what GIS provides: a common operational pictureWe are still formulating the total benefits, but we can visualize that allows airport staff to not only gain a comprehensive viewthe results, says Wright. There will be more productivity gains as of the airport, but to also drill into a specific area when neededstaff, contractors and vendors find their way through. to understand the location and status of a particular asset, heAccording to Bills, almost every major airport in the United explains.Because of that real-time operational picture, airportStates has implemented some sort of GIS technology, and many managers have greater operational control, which can improvenow consider it a fundamental part of almost all workflows and efficiencies and performance. business processes. Working with the airport, Arora migrated floor plan data inJust like other technologies, I think its important to be clear CAD format to the Esri database. As a team, they determinedahead of time about what your business objectives are, and think the points of interest to be created, pinpointing important sitesthrough how you want to change and optimize those business like fire extinguishers, elevators/escalators, automated externalprocesses, says Bills. Only then should you embark on any defibrillators and more.major technology initiative, and GIS certainly falls into that pattern. Currently, the project is focused on operations, not passengers.You dont want to implement technology just for technologys Benefits from an operational standpoint include situationalsake; that generally doesnt end well. But in support of clear responses, emergency management, and taking care of thebusiness and performance improvement goals, then you have a facility, says Tiner. For instance, if a pipe bursts, the technologywonderful marriage of people, process and technology.will route maintenance staff directly to that location, creating moreWright and his team at ATL look forward to the possibility of efficiency navigating through the airport. If someone is having aintegrating lease management information into the system. Then, heart attack in one of the concourses, emergency services canairport staff can view lease expiration dates at a glance by using quickly route to their location, and seconds save lives.an interactive map versus looking up individual dates and tenants on a spreadsheet. That upgrade is targeted for later this year Whats Next? along with more evaluation to discover other ways the airport, its Over the last two years, ATL has been slowly building digitalstaff and eventually passengers can leverage GIS services. maps of its Central Passenger Terminal Complex and Plane TrainWe would very much like to have this technology not just for automated people mover. This year, the team is working on facilitiesinternal staff, but also for public partners at the airport to be able to that are not for public access, such as the technology center,utilize in a way that helps them serve their customers, says Wright. maintenance buildings, and back-of-house areas for the rentalWe see almost an endless supply of benefits from it. car center and taxi operations. Space management is extremely May | June 2022AirportImprovement.com'