february2022 - 6

Editor's Note
JOSH SMITH
josh@AviationPros.com
920-563-1644
LinkedIn
Always Striving to be Better
Continual growth and progress are
necessities for a safe, efficient industry.
O
ne month into 2022, it is easy to imagine
that many people have taken stock in
their personal and professional lives and
established goals for the year. New Year's
resolutions, in their most common form, are opportunities
for improvement.
If last year's goals failed, we may re-attempt
them or recalibrate expectations before embarking
on our next goals. But the key should be to seek
continual improvement.
Benjamin Franklin said: " Without continual
growth and progress, such words as improvement,
achievement and success have no meaning. "
These words ring true in aviation, where safety is
paramount, and efficiency is crucial for businesses
to succeed. In the world of ground handling, industry
leaders are seeking constant improvement to
achieve fewer workplace accidents, improved turnaround
times and other gains in productivity.
The International Standard for Business Aircraft
Handling (IS-BAH) program is a great
example of this.
Initially launched in 2014, the IS-BAH program
sought to establish standards and best practices
with a proactive approach to manage workplace
safety with a goal of preventing accidents like
hangar rash incidents and injuries to ground personnel.
IS-BAH continues to gain traction with
FBOs registering and progressing to Stages 2 and 3.
Of course, ground handling is built on safety.
Beyond IS-BAH, safety standards established by
industry authorities provide guidance and manufacturers
of ground support equipment (GSE)
design and engineer features into their products
to ensure time-sensitive work can be completed
safely.
As ground handlers seek continuous improvement,
a move to digitalization is proving valuable.
Recently, Synaptic Aviation announced its artificial
intelligence (AI) technology was adopted by
6 || Ground Support Worldwide || February 2022
ground handling firm Unifi. By using the AI system
and analyzing data that tracks activity and procedural
compliance, Unifi's goal is to increase safety,
improve on-time performance, facilitate efficient
operations and enhance customer experience.
Synaptic officials say the company's solution can
track thousands of flights and " provides key operational
information like average turn time, gate
utilization, mandatory foreign object damage (FOD)
prevention walks, ground
power unit (GPU) connection
times, jet bridge status
and more. " The technology
can also provide compliance
reports so Unifi can
maintain applicable safety
measures around aircraft.
Elsewhere, Aurrigo
announced a project its
company is conducting
at Gerald R. Ford International
Airport. The company's
Auto-Sim software
platform is being utilized
to create a digital twin of
airside operations at the
Michigan airport.
Among other goals, the initiative aims to identify
cost savings, achieve environmental improvements
and identify opportunities for the airport to potentially
implement autonomous operations.
Both instances of digitalizing ground handling
operations are interesting examples of the industry
embarking on new improvements.
As Franklin's quote indicates, continual growth
and progress are absolute necessities. Do you have
an example of how your operation is striving for
continuous improvement? Share your example
with me at Josh@AviationPros.com. I welcome your
feedback on the topic.
Without continual
growth and progress,
such words as
improvement,
achievement and
success have no
meaning.
- Benjamin Franklin
february2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of february2022
