Word on the Runway: What is the biggest untapped opportunity in airport operations?
Inefficient airport operations consume limited funding and push critical projects further into the future. Cost and scheduling experts help leaders identify improvements that deliver the greatest value and consider what comes next.
In the latest installment of Connico’s Word on the Runway series, we asked the professionals solving these challenges:
What is the biggest untapped opportunity in airport operations?
Tyler Bartruff, Analyst 3 at Connico: Early cost estimating
One of the biggest untapped opportunities is bringing cost estimating into the earliest planning conversations. Too often, budgets are set before scope is understood, and estimates confirm decisions rather than shape them. Cost estimators do more than produce a number. Their market knowledge, historical data, and understanding of airport constraints help leaders compare alternatives, test assumptions, and see the cost impact of scope choices before they are locked in. That gives owners confidence that budgets are grounded in reality and improves efficiency since issues caught in planning cost far less to fix than those found during design or bidding. The result: less redesign, protected funding, and projects that keep moving.
Fin Bonset, Vice President, Aviation Planning & Advisory Program Manager at AECOM: Alternate delivery methods
One of the biggest opportunities in airport operations is alternate delivery for airport projects. Whether it’s design-build, progressive design-build, project management/construction management (PM/CM), or construction manager at risk (CMAR), there are a number of alternate delivery methods that can help airports approach projects differently.
As the FAA looks more closely at alternate delivery methods, the industry has an opportunity to consider how projects can be managed more efficiently and faster.
Jhovana Cervantes, North Central Territory Manager at Xybix Systems: Control centers + design flow
One untapped opportunity in airport operations is improving the ergonomics of airport operations control centers and the operations control centers. Staff monitor airport activity 24/7, so the workplace flow must support how they best work and communicate.
This starts with designing the space around the operators’ needs, as they must have smooth communication with police dispatch, TSA, security checkpoints, and firefighters. Ensuring operators are in a good ergonomic position and have the right equipment in front of them makes their responsibilities more feasible and easier when emergencies happen.
What this means for airport leaders
Improving airport operations starts with looking at how projects are planned and delivered as well as how people work within them. Alternate delivery methods can give airports more options for managing projects, while better control center design can make it easier for operators to communicate and do their jobs. Now is the time for airport leaders to ask if current project delivery methods and operational spaces are helping teams work as efficiently as possible.
Connico sees what others miss – the risks, opportunities, and decisions that will shape the future. Our cost estimating, program management, scheduling/phasing, construction administration, project management, and constructability planning supports owners across commercial aviation, federal government, energy, and beyond.
Have a question for our Word on the Runway series or want to connect with our team about optimizing operations? Get in touch.
