Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Signs Contract with INFORM
INFORM’s intelligent software solution will underpin staff demand planning and bus allocation as well as the planning and deployment of terminal resources.
In striving for constant improvement in all areas, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol undertook a review of both its bus network planning and deployment systems, and the planning and allocation of terminal resources such as gates, stands, check-in desks and baggage reclaim belts. The goal was to implement a standard, integrated system to cover various processes that allowed for data exchange between sub-systems. The result of the analysis was that INFORM’s GroundStar system would best meet the requirements of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and, consequently, in April 2011 a contract was signed between the two companies. The first phase will be to roll out GS (GroundStar) RealTime and GS Planning for planning and allocation in the bus department, followed by their implementation for the planning and allocation of terminal resources.
GS Planning covers optimized long-, medium- and short term strategic planning for all kinds of airport resources and ground handling operations. Using configurable business rules, base data and engagement standards, the system’s optimizer handles the planner’s routine work and speeds up the whole planning process to achieve the optimum results.
GS RealTime assists the dispatcher with allocation of both airport infrastructure and handling resources, such as stands, gates, lounges, baggage belts, check-in counters, staff and ground support equipment, and by allocating automatically created tasks arising out of current and upcoming events.
“We are very pleased to be chosen by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and are looking forward to a successful project that will become part of the airport’s success story,” says Thomas Schmidt, Director of INFORM’s Airport Division.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is Europe’s fifth-largest airport in terms of passengers, and the third-largest in terms of cargo. Since 1980, the airport has won some 180 international awards and is recognized as one of the best airports in the world. In 2011 the Airport has already received a number of awards such as “ACI EUROPE Best Airport” and “Air Cargo Excellence Award” and “IT Project of the Year Award” for the South Baggage Hall. According to ACI Europe’s jury report, Schiphol is a model in terms of efficiency, facilities offered, continuous infrastructure development and attention to the environment.
