The term ORAT (operational readiness and airport transfer) was conceived on May 17 1992 when Munich Airport shifted its entire operation seamlessly and smoothly overnight from its original location on the outskirts of the city centre to a greenfield site located 35 kilometres away.
Munich Airport has since provided ORAT services to airports in numerous countries across the globe and has successfully supported the commissioning and opening of more than 20 airport facilities.
Along with its outstanding track record, Munich Airport has gained extensive knowledge and in-depth understanding of the requirements, challenges and risks of opening new airport facilities and has developed professional solutions to address these challenges.
While every project is unique in its environment, culture, scope and scale, the Munich team believes there are five major lessons learned that sum up the ORAT experience and can, in one way or another, be applied to all projects.
1. Typically the prime areas of focus are the construction and design issues; less attention is given to operational processes, recruitment and training of staff and procurement of operational equipment.
The planning, construction and commissioning of an airport can take up to 30 years to complete. It is understandable that the focus of not only the client and contractors, but also the airport community and general public is centred on the new facilities and systems, the iconic architecture and the state-of-the-art technology.
Huge sums of the taxpayers or the private investors’ funds flow into the project and people are curious to learn more about exactly what is being built. However, there will be a point in time when the facilities and systems are near completion and the focus of attention needs to concentrate on the operational processes; the numbers of staff needed and the quantity of equipment required to successfully run the airport and fulfil the promise of a high level of quality service to both passengers and the airport community alike. Failure to achieve this goal will result in disappointment for both passengers and for the airport community, and a fabulous construction that does not reach its potential.
The timely implementation of an ORAT programme, where all airport stakeholders are actively involved in the processes of developing and aligning the airport’s concept of operations and quality and service level agreements, sustainable manpower levels and detailed training and equipment procurement plans, is absolutely fundamental for resolving the huge challenges of operating and maintaining a new infrastructure.
2. Close alignment of the construction programme with the operational stakeholders’ readiness programme is required to ensure simultaneous availability of key staff, facilities and systems for training and proving trials before opening.
Most airport development projects are driven by extremely tight deadlines – either demand already exceeds the capacity of the existing facilities or political changes or global events are driving governments to increase their infrastructure development. Despite this time pressure and the severe delay penalties associated with such projects, delays inevitably occur. However, this does not necessarily mean that the opening date is also postponed. For this reason, it is vital that the construction programme is closely aligned with the stakeholders’ own readiness programme for the recruitment and training of staff, the development of procedures and statutory documentation, aerodrome certification preparedness, execution of trial and transfer plans.
When construction is completed and handover has taken place, the stakeholders are usually left with a few months only to train hundreds, if not thousands, of staff in preparation for the transition to their new work environment. Applying an integrated ORAT approach, through which stakeholders are encouraged from the outset to actively participate in construction related activities, such as design and planning, testing and commissioning, O&M training, and operational handover, will result in the risk of failure being significantly reduced and the stakeholders better prepared for the new operation.
3. Close alignment of concept of operations and standard operation procedures (SOP)s between all stakeholders is critical for a smooth start of operations.
Whether airport development takes place on a greenfield site or is an extension of existing facilities and systems, shifting to the new environment requires a re-thinking of the operational strategy and the split of roles and responsibilities for airport operations and airport service providers within the airport community.
In preparation for the start of operations it is vital that all stakeholders align their concepts and achieve a clear understanding of “who will do what” by means of which facilities and systems and what interfaces need to be managed and in place for the day-to-day operation.
Who will issue the airport entry passes? Who will operate the passenger boarding bridges? Who will provide wheelchair services inside the terminal? Which role will the state authorities and government agencies be playing? These are only a few of the many questions that need to be answered.
Munich Airport consultants provide professional support, strategic advice, best practice approach and in-depth operational expertise to airport stakeholders so that they can develop a concept of operations and from this the essential standard operating procedures that will be tested and proven in the operational trials phase.
4. Proper risk assessment and risk management, as well as a thorough follow-up of open issues identified during the trial phase, result in well planned contingency measures and a mitigation of any teething problems and failures.
Common sense and project management best practice demand an accurate and continuous risk management in any airport development project. Implementing the Munich Airport ORAT methodology is in itself a risk mitigation measure.
An early and joint identification, assessment and documentation of risks leads to a comprehensive risk register for the airport stakeholder community that will be monitored, re-assessed and published on a monthly basis throughout the whole ORAT programme.
Munich consultants say they are now drawing from their experience in many other ORAT projects worldwide, which has enabled them to not only supply a list of typical risks but also proven mitigation measures to address them. But, they say, any risk management process is only as good as the willingness of senior airport management to plan, source and implement the mitigation measures.
“Many airport projects failed miserably because risks were not acknowledged, contingency budget was cut, and additional resources were not mobilised in time to minimise the impact of foreseeable risks. In most cases, the risks had already become open issues that could well have been resolved if they had been escalated to the proper level,” the company said.
Towards the end of the project, trials are conducted during which consultants evaluate the readiness state of each stakeholder and each process. Potential snags are listed and ranked according to how critical they are for the airport opening. Some of these could be true “show stoppers” requiring immediate attention, others may be resolved through a work around, or through providing additional resources if and when it occurs.
Some issues, because of their lower priority, may even be put off until post opening, when the operation has settled in and any teething problems have been overcome.
A constant tracking of the airport readiness during the several months of trial operations will form the basis for a recommended opening date and a smooth start of operations.
5. Internal and external stakeholders benefit from a timely decision regarding the opening methodology and an official announcement of the opening date.
Not all airports open on time; some airport openings have been postponed more than once and then take place almost unnoticeably by shifting traffic in a phased manner and a gentle “swing in” of the new operations. Others have opened overnight in a “big bang” operation where all traffic, staff and equipment is shifted within a couple of hours. Regardless of the chosen approach, a timely and methodical opening strategy plays a vital role for the preparation of the stakeholders involved.
The timing of the opening should be decided together with the airport stakeholders based on flight schedules, peak patterns, logistics requirements, resource availability and the level of confidence in achieving the necessary targets across the airport community. It is essential that all driving factors are analysed and alternative scenarios to plan, prepare and execute the airport transfer in a seamless manner are provided.
