b'32 SRQBAGGAGE make sure the customer experience wasAdvanced Technology, Increased Capacitystill the same quality as expected, remarksThe new system at SRQ processes bags checked at the ticket Erika Jump, business development managercounters via a single mainline. Bags can be routed to multiple for baggage handling systems at AutomaticExplosives Detection System lines or makeup units for operational Systems Inc. balance and built-in system redundancy.VTC and Archer Western used BuildingAt the heart of the system are three new CTX 9800 DSi Information Modeling to streamlineExplosives Detection System machines from Smiths Detection construction planning and quickly resolveERIKA JUMP that can process more than 650 bags per hour per machinefar installation challenges. Archer Western also used DroneDeploymore than the old systems 200 bags per hour per machine, (formerly StructionSite), which captured 3D photos at variousproviding the airport with a whopping 325% increase in screening stages of construction to track progress and help resolve issues.capacity. One new machine is almost equivalent to our three VTC and Archer Western cooperated on a clear workflow forolder ones, so its a vast improvement, Bontrager reports. requests for information and submittals, which allowed for smooth approval and recording of project questions, deliverables andWarren Mino, senior director of Portfolio and Pricing with changes, says Dufinetz. Smiths Detection, notes that the company focuses on ensuring every piece of equipment is professionally installed, maintained One of the projects more innovative elements was the additionand serviced at the highest level. Our teams ability to respond of a sort pier for bags with tags that are unreadable due toswiftly and effectively to the needs of our customers is a wear or damage. Rather than sending such bags onto one oftestament to the strength of our service network, which plays the primary makeup units and causing potential confusion anda crucial role in keeping airport security operations running inefficiencies among the airlines, the new sort pier allows bagssmoothly, he adds.to be moved aside into a designated area until airline agents can manually read and sort them, which should help preventThe system operates on a two plus one model, with two bottlenecks and slowdowns. machines in operation and one serving as a backup. All conveyor belts feed into a single baggage screening room with the three The machines in SRQs updated system have dual motors andmachines, allowing flexibility to reroute baggage to a machine that are hot swappable, meaning that belts and other components canis up and running. We just dont have the downtime like we used be changed out while a machine is still running. There are all kindsto, Bontrager says.of really great features that are there that we didnt have before, Stuckey notes. The whole system was very archaic. By adopting aThe CTX9800 technology generates high-resolution 3D system built to the latest TSA design standards (and already testedimaging to more accurately detect anomalies, which TSA officers at other airports), SRQ avoided early-stage challenges, resulting in acan then evaluate more swiftly and effectively in a centralized seamless and highly efficient operation. Were going to miss out onresolution room. If a checked bag triggers further scrutiny, it is a lot of the problems that other airports had to deal with when theydiverted to the Checked Baggage Resolution Area for manual were first coming up with this, Stuckey remarks. inspection.Additional features include Automatic Tag Readers that use a combination of laser barcode scanners and high-resolution cameras to read flight Checked Baggage Inspection and Baggage Handling Systems and passenger data. LiDAR-based Checkpoint Passenger and Property Screening Systems measurement arrays capture the contours Master Planning Installation and Integration Services of each bag to sort out oversized luggage System Design Testing and Commissioning Support and help eliminate common choke points. Construction Administration Third-Party Testing The new handling system has more than 3,200 feet of updated conveyors powered by 278 IE5-rated motors with an ultra-premium efficiency rating, making them the most energy-efficientMICHELLE MARTUCCImotors available for this application, notes Michelle Martucci, VTCs Arlington, Tx Airport Integration Test Lab project manager with Archer Western Construction. The benefits include lower 3751 New York Avenue, Suite 140Arlington, Texas 76014USAT. 817-557-5600 www.vtc.us.com power consumption, reduced energy March | April 2025AirportImprovement.com'