b'INFO TECHNOLOGY PHL | PNE 23that the consultants experience includes recent PHOTO: DAVID ROSENBLUM AIRPORTS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER communications infrastructure planning and preliminary design for JFK International Airport,CHARLES CHUCK REEDand communications development for the new central terminal building at LaGuardia Airport. Complementing that, Mehta brings an operational IT viewpoint to the project and experience from key IT positions in other industries, including transportation, distribution and health care. The ProcessSo far, the project at PHL has consisted of research, planning and programming to line up two years of construction, which could begin in 2023. Without a doubt, the technologies and tasks are complex. To simplify matters, Reed boils the research and planning process down to three crucial questions: What do you have? What do you need? and How do we get there?The project team received some unexpected answers when stakeholders began answering the first question, What do you have?. We have run across some interesting surprises during this engagementone being how little we knew about our own infrastructure Its all about what comes next for PHL.The Background limitations and the inconsistent The airport is looking to the future andWhen conceived in 2018, the project wasimplementation of various technology achieving its goal to be a top-tier largeoriginally designed to resolve all of theprojects, Mehta shares. hub airport on the East Coast, Mehtaairports technology challenges at once.On a related point, Reed notes that explains. So its important for us toHowever, that changed when Mehta cameairports typically dont own all of their IT improve the core infrastructure that willon board in 2019. I realized that we cannotinfrastructure. By that, I mean networking continue to support technology growth.do everything in one go, he explains. Wecapacity, cable infrastructure, network Gary Brown,needed to develop a stable and robustswitches, computers, all those magic senior informationnetwork infrastructure that would be thebits that make things work, he explains. technology projectfoundation for the future needs.Everything from the coffee shop kiosk manager at PHL,Given the comprehensive nature ofto the airline check-in counter runs on notes that the projectwhat lay ahead, the airport hired WSPthat background equipment that airports team will monitorin mid-2020 to help chart the course.typically dont own. Instead, theyre and deliver reportsFor many of the initiatives we wantedowned and maintained, bought and about the currentGARY BROWN to address, we did not have the subjectinstalled, by whatever vendor or tenant state of the airportsmatter expertise on staff, Brown explains. happens to have that space. IT project. Leadership can then use thisCharles Chuck Reed, assistant viceThe resulting mishmash is consequently information to better prepare for the futurepresident and national design lead forimpossible to maintain, service and plan growth of PHL, he adds.WSPs Advanced Technology Group, notesfor systemwide, he adds. AirportImprovement.comNovember | December 2022'