b'54 LAXOPERATIONSA familiarization walk of the automated people mover provided a strategic preview for airport police. ORAT works on basic principles of establishing clearIt was successful enough that our CEO at the time made the operational requirements at the onset of a project so that thedecision to apply the ORAT process to every project that was in expectations of the project sponsor are well communicated withdelivery, Christensen notes. the designers and the delivery agents, Christensen explains.Having the endorsement of the chief development officer who was To help demonstrate its benefits to LAWAs Executivedelivering the project was a tremendous benefit for the newly formed Committee, the AOR Division was introduced as a pilot programdivision, Price adds, emphasizing the benefit of leadership buy-with consulting assistance from Jacobs. The first assignment forin. Opening Midfield Satellite Concourse North during the COVID the new division was to support the $1.7 billion Midfield Satellitepandemic was the teams launch point for success, he relates.Concourse North, an extension of the Tom Bradley InternationalFrom there, the AOR Division continued bringing more projects Terminal. This project included the connecting of undergroundonline, each with its own implementation processes, and some on tunnels under taxiways, a feature that required extra planning andconcurrent timelines. From terminals to airport police stations and contingency options. Further complicating matters, the COVID-19automated people movers to parking facilities, Price emphasizes pandemic caused supply chain issues and delays that led tothat the ORAT process is integral to successful openings, changes in the scope and timeline. Needless to say, introducingregardless of the size or scope of a project. a new process to the team after the complex project had already kicked off was not an easy task.What we do in Airport Operational Readiness is go above and beyond, Sarullo summarizes.We had to jump in and develop an implementation plan for that project, relatesEnterprise InvolvementMelvin Price, ORAT National Practice Lead forLeaders recruited employees with project delivery experience Jacobs. It was new for not just our team, butand subject matter experts from across the airport to form the also for the people we were engaging. internal ORAT team. The idea was that this would be a LAWA-led Sarullo notes that the project faced hugedivision and we would have a representative from each of the top complexities and challenges, but they reapedstakeholders, Sarullo explains.benefits, including the development ofMELVIN PRICEstandard operating procedures just for theThe size of the AOR Division has fluctuated over the years. tunnel itself regarding what to do in an emergency.Currently, there are 15 staff members working on about 10 projects throughout LAX. Specific roles that support various The AOR teams ability to manage through unprecedentedfunctional areas of readiness activation include:chaos and activate the new facilities was all the proof that LAWA AOR lead; executives needed to see the benefit of ORAT. stakeholder manager; October 2025AirportImprovement.com'