“Airports are cities in their own right,” says Nick Woods, CIO of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which manages three of them: Manchester Airport, London Stanstead and East Midlands. “They’ve got shopping malls in their departure lounges. They’ve got manufacturing plants, when you look at the baggage halls. They’re securing the border.”
But if they are cities, airports are unusually focused on operational efficiency: moving as many passengers through as many flights, as safely and sustainably as possible. In 2019, MAG’s airports served 60 million passengers (more than the population of Tokyo, the world’s most populous city). Seventy airlines shipped those passengers to 270 destinations.
When Covid-19 grounded the airline industry in 2020, MAG spotted an opportunity to transform the digital systems that underpin its operations. Tech Monitor caught up with Woods to hear how an ongoing transformation of its core SAP applications, from siloed implementations to a single platform, is helping the group streamline its processes, make the most of its data, and gain a ‘helicopter view’ of productivity.
Digital transformation at MAG
Digital technology is inseparable from MAG’s ongoing pursuit of operational efficiency, explains Woods. “Almost everything’s got a digital play to it.”
There are four areas where Woods is focusing MAG’s digital transformation efforts. The first is “planning and optimising our airports in real time,” Woods explains. That’s a huge coordination effort, he says, both between the airport and other stakeholders, such as airlines, air traffic control, and ground handlers, and within the airport group itself – all of which depends on data.
The second is using AI to ensure aircraft can be turned around as quickly and safely as possible. “We’re looking at how we can use computer vision to spot defects on runways, or detect foreign objects [that] can damage an aircraft.”
Third is digitising machinery, such as baggage systems and lighting equipment, so energy use can be optimised and maintenance predicted. One aim of this ‘smart airport’ strategy is to allow MAG to generate its own electricity, Woods says.
Sourced from Techmonitor - written by Pete Swabey