b'AIRFIELD MAINTENANCEATL25Increased Accuracy, airport. We go outextra labor and potentially dangerous foreign Reduced Costs with the crew thatsobject debris on the airfield.Before the airport switched to the ALISgoing to do torquingThe system also tracks how far a bolt system, crews conducted bolt torquingand make sure theyrotates to reach the required torque. If inspections every 60 days, which costknow how to use thea bolt needs to rotate significantly, that ATL nearly $1 million per year. With theequipment, saysindicates it was loose and not providing new equipment, the same work occurs inByron Rosengarten,adequate clamping force, which could also recurring 120-day cycles and an annualthe companys directorBYRON ROSENGARTEN pose a safety risk. By checking torque cost of closer to $250,000 to $300,000.of Aftermarket Salesvalues regularly, maintenance teams can and Service Americas.determine if bolts remained tight or have The airport was able to reduce itsATL spent approximately $770,000loosened since the last check. This data torquing frequencyfor the system initially, including fourallows airports to work with their FAA after evaluating threeinspection cases and eight crew cases.inspectors to potentially extend the time years of maintenanceThe ATL Maintenance Department usesbetween required torquing. data. If you wantone inspection case and two crew cases;At ATL, new intervals have reduced to extend that boltthe rest are used by Brooks Berry Hayniethe labor hours needed to check and torquing cycle, youNORMA CLICK & Associates. Both teams received trainingmaintain its 72,000 airfield lighting bolts. have to demonstratefor the new system and tools. From ADBIts obviously a massive undertaking to that the torque is remaining consistent, andSAFEGATE, a standard implementation withtorque that many bolts, Rosengarten this gives you the ability to be able to dothe first-year subscription and two torquecomments. Since 2021, crews at ATL have that pretty efficiently, comments Normawrench kits costs approximately $100,000.torqued more than 750,000 boltsand Click, ATL director of Airside/Landside,After that, the subscription is $15,000 perRosengarten knows that with a quick Planning and Development. So, from that,year, which includes cloud data storage asglance at data in the ALIS system. we can show we dont need to do boltwell as support of the system.torquing as often, because the torque itselfGrant Holland of Brooks Berry HaynieIn addition to tracking what service is stabilized. & Associates says that ADB SAFEGATEis performed and who performed it, the system also provides alerts about ATLs computerized method alsoworked with ATL and his firm to getupcoming maintenance or repairs. improves accuracy, as every aspect of thethe system dialed in and resolved allWhenever ATL maintenance personnel process is now measurable, eliminatingimplementation issues in person and vianeed to replace a light fixture, they have inconsistencies and the need for manualremote tech support. the ALIS equipment to tighten bolts back logging, she adds.ADB SAFEGATE also worked with thein place. Leveraging ADB SAFEGATEs bolt- airport to improve its dashboard andBut not all of ATLs airfield maintenance torquing technology has helped theexporting options. The companys Powersystems are so high-tech. It uses a airport minimize inconsistencies thatBI dashboard allows users to export datadecidedly low-tech system to clearly arise from human factors, varying toolsfrom ALIS into a templated Excel formatindicate which crew installed each and changing weather conditions. Clickfor review and analysis. Rosengarten notesbolt on any given light fixture. The ATL notes that crewmembers working inthat the Excel export template is usuallymaintenance team uses red-coated bolts, the same elements now have an addedwell suited to users needs but can bewhile Brooks Berry Haynie & Associates level of efficiency and safety because thecustomized for individual airports. Often,uses blue-coated bolts. equipment indicates precisely where theychanges made for specific clients are rolled need to focus.out to all ALIS users. In fact, the ExcelLeading the WayThe ALIS system and correspondingtemplate was initially developed for ATL,Because ATL was the first U.S. airport to equipment also enhance accountability bybut ADB SAFEGATE later made it availabledeploy the ALIS system, ADB SAFEGATE recording the identity of who torques eachto all customers.worked closely with it to smooth out early bolt. The teams appreciate this addedStreamlining Processes issues. In the beginning, there were some transparency, says Click.connectivity and range issues; however, Technicians working at ATL can walk up towith the updated and Implementation and Training any fixture on the airfield, and the systemupgraded system, instantly recognizes their location andthose problems To add the ALIS system, an airport providesdisplays data about that particular fixture on a ADB SAFEGATE with its geographicalhave been resolved, mobile device. They can then begin torquing,remarks Steve Woods, information system data, including fixtureand the system automatically records the details, GPS locations and other assetarea manager with torque value, ensuring each bolt is tightenedBrooks Berry Haynie & information. Data is typically loaded intoto the specified level. This prevents over-the new system within a day. Then, ADBAssociates. STEVE WOODStorquing, which can lead to broken bolts, SAFEGATE provides onsite training at the AirportImprovement.comOctober 2024'