The T5 baggage system: Nick Porter from Vanderlande Industries describes the new baggage handling system being developed at Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Heathrow's Terminal 5 (T5) the largest single-span structure in the UK, will have the capacity to host 30 million British Airways passengers a year. Spanning 265 hectares, the T5 site is equivalent in size to London's Hyde Park and is designed to be free-flowing with minimal queuing. There will be 96-self service check-ins and 140 customer service desks, including 96 fast bag drops. With the check-in procedure behind them, travellers will have the opportunity to visit 144 retail units, including Gordon Ramsay's first airport-based restaurant.Heathrow's T5 baggage system
The baggage handling system, supplied by Vanderlande Industries, is the biggest, single-terminal such system in Europe. It contains over eleven miles (17km) of conveyor equipment, controlled by an integrated network of 140 computer servers, and will be able to process 12,000 bags an hour. The T5 baggage transport system, which is largely underground, uses the Vanderlande Industries BAGTRAX Destination Coded Vehicles (DCVs), which transfer bags by carts along a railway-type track at speeds of up to 25mph (40km/h) to destinations in the terminal's two satellite buildings. The system is faster and more secure than traditional baggage handling systems. Running from the passenger check-in halls to the airfield concourses, the system can actually deliver bags out to the aircraft stands. This 'Head of Stand delivery' is new and unique.
System Design and Functionality
The fundamental philosophy behind the design of the T5 baggage system was the focus on a Baggage Product. This involved designing and implementing a blend of system, operation, people, process and facilities, pulling them together to ensure a consistent, efficient and predictable product delivery. Achieving this ambition required significant innovation within the system design process. The roles and tasks conducted by each organisation involved with the operation and use of the Baggage Product was analysed and modelled, resulting in a fit-for-operation solution for the approximate 3000 users of the baggage system.
The baggage system's functional scope and data granularity (ie the level of detail) goes beyond the normal boundary of sortation. Baggage reconciliation and process management have been entirely embraced by the system. This provides greater control of the system during normal operation and allows rapid automatic reaction to arising events such as flight reschedules. The system incorporates real-time and dynamic intelligent planning and control which uses business rules to automatically manage the expected peaks in passenger demand that T5 will generate.
Baggage arriving at T5 is classified as either Early, On-time or Time-critical (close to the minimum check-in time). Depending on their classification, bags are routed differently through the system.
Using a TUBTRAX system, early bags are sent to an 'early bag store' where they are held until required. The bag store is fully automatic and makes use of shelving and cranes based on proven technology from the warehousing and distribution world. This equipment, BAGSTORE, is one of the new solutions used in T5 to take early bags out of circulation to avoid clogging up the system. On-time bags are delivered directly to the baggage hall for flight make-up.
Time-critical bags are automatically assigned a priority routing through the system. These bags will be delivered directly to the departing flight aircraft stand by the high-speed BAGTRAX system.
Comprehensive Tracking
The current status of every bag and every piece of equipment is tracked, in order to help manage the many different baggage routings. Action will have to be taken as soon as the status changes, the connecting flight of a transferring passenger is delayed, or a technical failure occurs in the system. This action takes place fully automatically on the basis of defined decision and optimisation rules, which form the heart of the control software designed and supplied by Vanderlande Industries. The ability to re-route bags immediately is an enhancement over more traditional systems where bags are only re-routed once they have passed through an identification point.
All bags have to go through a number of standard processes, built into the system design. Examples of these include automatic bar code scanning for identification, hold baggage screening, and baggage registration to enable the 'tracking and tracing' of individual bags, with baggage reconciliation as an integrated component providing wireless identification and validation of all bags. The system comprises 356 wireless handheld scanning devices, 70 Handler Team Leader workstations that provide detailed bag and flight status information, and 200 32-inch (81cm) LCD screens with integrated PC controller positioned at each baggage output. A further 23 PC workstations are used for Manual Coding and 'Problem Bag' handling and within the ergonomically designed primary and standby control rooms there are 16 Workstations for remote Visualisation and Control of the transport and sortation equipment, dedicated safety systems and the actual flight and bag process status.
System simulation
On a project the size of T5, baggage systems requirements are specified and set some three years prior to going live. Consequently, it is possible that requirements may have changed before final commissioning. In order to maintain project delivery schedules any changes or additions need to be carefully managed. They are assessed using simulation and emulation tools before any implementation decisions are taken.
System Maintenance
BAA has also awarded Vanderlande Industries a five-year contract coveting the provision of planned and reactive maintenance for the baggage system's mechanical, control and high level IT components.
Although Vanderlande Industries is supplying the T5 baggage system, maintenance services were seen as a separate item by BAA. Richard Wazacz, Head of Logistic Operations and
Baggage at Heathrow, explained: "Delivering the system did not mean that Vanderlande Industries would automatically be selected as our maintenance partner on T5. We wanted to work with a supplier who could bring experience from operating and maintaining other large airport systems and could work in partnership collaboratively with ourselves and our other business partners in baggage to apply this experience and knowledge in T5. Vanderlande were selected because they were able to demonstrate the experience and culture we need to make T5, and also an integrated five-terminal Heathrow, work."
Working in partnership with the airports and airlines' operational groups, the on-site maintenance team of 128 technical and administrative personnel will provide round-the-clock support. A comprehensive training programme is underway to ensure all the team members have the skills and capability to make the system deliver the desired performance.
The training programme utilises a new simulation facility created within Vanderlande's London offices. This includes a formal training room and a separate area with 12 workstations, which provides full simulation and emulation of the 1-5 system. This facility not only provides an excellent training environment but also allows new software releases to be tested before they are installed on the live system.
Following the completion of construction in September 2007, the system will undergo extensive terminal-wide operational proving before the opening of Terminal 5, on March 27, 2008.
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| Author: | Porter, Nick |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Airports International |
| Geographic Code: | 4EUUK |
| Date: | Jul 1, 2007 |
| Words: | 1128 |
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