b'20 MIA SECURITYPHOTO: MIAMI-DADE AVIATION DEPARTMENT To the average traveler at MIA, the new perimeter security The airport has more than systems will be completely transparent. But the aviation junkies 13 miles of perimeter to secure.who read trade magazines and know about it will travel with greater peace of mind, knowing that this is a well-fortified and secured airport, Hatfield says.Adjustments and AnalysisWith Phase One installation complete in August, Miami-Dade Aviation Department has already learned some valuable lessons regarding limitations of the radar that was evaluated on the southern perimeter. There were conditions down there that created a lot of noise and forced us to go back to redesign and reevaluate the deployment, Hatfield explains. Were already gathering important information that TSA can share with other airports. When crews began installing equipment on the mounting poles, they realized the positioning didnt make sense in some instances and turned the equipment accordingly. If cameras and detectors do not face the ideal direction, the airport would still benefit from early warning alarms and forensic information but would likely encounter more false alarms.For example, detection equipment installed close to the fence could produce false positives when trains run on tracks along the perimeter or there is a lot of activity on roads just beyond the perimeter. In that case, installers turned the sensors around to detect someone (or something) the moment they drop down inside the fence. One of the great teachings from this is the more you can know your environment before you get into this, the better prepared you will be when youre designing and ultimately implementing these kinds of security systems, Hatfield says. Every airport has a truly unique environment around it.Beyond traffic, machinery noise and other normal activity near MIAs perimeter, regional wildlife had to be taken into consideration as well. New technologies can evaluate threats based on size, weight or height, so it can ignore small animals like birds, burrowing creatures and rabbits. Previous systems had difficulty differentiating between animal and human activity. That was clearly a concern and a weakness that we wanted to engineer and design out of it before we even put a shovel in the ground, Hatfield remarks.For the next two years, TSA will gather and interpret data to determine the efficacy of technologies implemented at MIA and SJC. Specific brands and models of equipment will be evaluated, from laser arrays to thermal imaging systems.Miami-Dade Aviation Department is grateful that it was selected for this pilot and other previous security trials. We are certainly proud of the fact that TSA sees us as a proving ground and a test-bed, says Hatfield. Hes even amused at the catchphrase, If they dont break it in Miami, it should work everywhere.Challenges and Opportunities The different environments on each side of MIA present different challenges. Along the east side, an active taxiway and apron area comes right up to the fence. There is also a massive central Charlotte Douglasmaintenance hangar with aircraft continually moving in and out, International Airportright alongside a canal and state highway. The north border is lined Terminal Lobby Expansionwith hangars, office buildings and warehouses. In many cases, November | December 2023AirportImprovement.com'