Airport Passenger Process Mapping - Coursework Example

Airport Passenger Process Mapping Overview Transportation networks are important for the economic growth of a nation and of the international market. In the transport sector, what compels the definitive choice of one form of transportation above the other is discovering the fastest, most affordable, and safest trustworthy and in the 21st century the most environmentally sensitive method to move people and goods from one point to another (Rodrigue). Operations management Operations management centres on the successful management of assets as well as activities, which create or deliver the commodities and services of any business (McNamara). In an airport set up, operation management has come to play a significant part in the smooth running of the airport to ensure planes land and depart on time. Developing a comprehensive operation plans calls for the involvement of all stakeholders responsible in the running of business ventures (Magali). The Dubai airport has instituted its operation management plans to address the ever changing intricacies as well as regulatory compliances of safety issues in the modern world. The Dubai airport handles millions of passengers all year round. For instance, in 2010, it handled close up to fifty million passengers. To manage the passengers the Dubai airport has instituted an operations management approach, which has integrated technology to manage both cargo and passengers (Dubai Airports). With numerous systems offering information, an operation system can be weighed down with information burden. Therefore, connecting and managing this data entails careful planning as well as a means of transforming the information into knowledge, which can lead to the smooth running of an airport (Rees). Security operational management With an array of operations platforms, all probable contributors to the general security scheme, it can fastidiously become challenging to manage security operations. The main aspect to overcome a security challenge in an airport setting like Dubai airport is in the initiation of a scalable response, which has the capacity to manage all elements of airport security from a central position. For instance, the Dubai airport consist of various terminals handling both domestic and international flight as well as cargo destine for United Arabs Emirates and beyond (Emirates). At Dubai airport, systems that enhance airport security operations management are endless; some of the most notable include freight and baggage handling and screening, accessibility control, metal detectors, alongside video monitoring and surveillance. The security operations management of an airport has benefited a great deal from visual surveillance. Integrated visual analytics in security operations has the capacity of recognizing unattended passengers load, irregular behavior activities, as well as irregular passengers and vehicle flow. All these components enhance airport security rejoinders, particularity if the number of visual streams to be monitored is significant (Emirates). Passenger operations Dubai airport, handles millions of passengers all year round. Therefore, to manage these passengers the emirate group has stepped up its operations to ensure the smooth flow of passengers in and out of Dubai. Since the majority of aircrafts traffic from Dubai airport is international, the three key passenger terminals in operation have been fitted with state-of-the-art immigration management amenities for worldwide travel (Dubai Airport Guide). The average annual passenger growth rate at Dubai airport stands at eighteen percent. This growth parameter represents a likely passenger congestion scenario at Dubai in future. According to the queuing theory of operations management, all airport services can be recognized as queuing systems, where a delay in one service leads to a delay in other services since they are interconnected. To circumvent delays in queues every individual flight necessitates being able to progress unreservedly and flawlessly as if it was the lone airplane in service in a system (Ashford, Mumayiz and Wright 246). Despite the expansion of the airport, Dubai airport is experiencing unprecedented growth, which has resulted to relative congestion. According to a passenger review of the Dubai airport, the airport on average was rated 4.7 out of ten in customer appraisal scoring. Several operations management challenges highlighted by passengers majored on the unprecedented passenger growth (Skytrax). Figure1: Passenger departure and arrival chart at Dubai airport   Activities (O=Operations, T= Transport, I = Inspect, D = Delay, S = Storage) Time Distance   O T I D S Minutes Meter Departure Passengers arrive at the airport   *       5 Variable Passenger steps out of the taxi     *   3 10 M Passenger walks to access the terminal   *       2 200M Passenger queues to access the boarding terminal       *   5   Passenger proceeds to services check-in *         3   Passenger queues to access the service check-in desk       *   5   Passenger places ticket on the counter       *   10   Ticket verified by the airliner staff ticket *         2   Ticket OK     *     10 sec   Passenger walks to check-in baggage   *       1 15M Baggage checking-in *         10   Passenger has excess luggage and asked to pay for the excess weight *         7   Load Luggage *         10   Passenger walks to immigration office   *        1 25M  Passenger queues at Immigration office *         3   Immigration status verified     *     2   Passenger walks to express seat Preference   *       1 12M Passenger waits for call to board       *   30   Passenger service boarding *         12   Issue Boarding Pass *         2   Queue to verify Boarding pass       *   10   Boarding pass OK *         30 sec   Walk to board aircraft   *       15 12M Passenger locates sitting position       *   5   Passenger briefing on in-flight safety measures *         5   Wait for aircraft to get into the runway and passenger       *   15   Arrival Passenger lands and queue *         5   Walk or gets into the bus to access Terminal building   *       15 12-25M Queue at customer & passport control       *   2   Queue to reclaim baggage     *     10   Proceed to customs to declare stuff *         5-7 min   Stuff accepted     *     5   Passenger leaves customs   *       1   Passenger exits airport terminal   *       5 35M Board taxi   *       2 15M Discussion of departure activities listed in the process chart The above chart represents the step a passenger departing through Dubai airport goes through before departure. The time ranges from one minute to thirty minutes due to the technicalities as well as estimated number of passenger visiting the particular area. For instance, passenger service boarding process takes several minutes because delay are expected in the queues, as well as misplaced information in the flight charts. The verification of the ticket takes two minute although it may take less minutes because; minor delays occur while verifying tickets. Activities marked transport, distances range 5 to 25 metres, because various airport facilities are scattered. For instance, passenger walking to access terminal is 200 meters, which is a high limit, as it is dependent on the drop off point of the passenger by taxi. In addition, “Passengers arrive at the airport” activity is labelled variable, as it is dependent on passenger’s residence location. The limitation in the chart is in the fact that, it lacks a contingency plan and makes several assumptions, which may not be applicable in a busy airport like Dubai. The assumption made in this chart are that all flights are on schedule, no additional security checks a passenger has to undergo through and the airport is running optimally hence no delay or incidences. The chart does not represent express boarding for first class and business class. The two categories normally receive preferential services. Discussion of arrival activities listed in the process chart The chart above represents basic operations undertaken during passenger arrival process of the individual who depredated through the same hub. What is read from the chart is that, the arrival procedure is relatively straight forward, as it does not entail many checkpoints to verify details. The time spent at the various checkpoints averages five minutes. This is because there are fewer queuing lines and the security measures are not as strict as the ones involved during the boarding process. The assumptions made in the chart are that no luggage is lost, the passenger has nothing to declare at the customs, and he is not randomly picked for inspection by the customs authority. Potential improvements The three areas, which necessitate improvement, are, express seat preference; this procedure should be presented on the online ticketing platform. The second procedure, which necessitates improvement, is in the area of boarding pass. This aspect should be merged with the verification process and finally the area of customer and passport control should be merged with customs. The benefits, which would be realized from these improvements, would be in the creation of synergy in operations, reduced passenger delays that would then provide travellers with better service experience. These would translate into better operations management. Work cited Ashford, Norman J, Saleh Mumayiz and Paul H. Wright. Airport Engineering: Planning, Design and Development of 21st Century Airports. 4th edition. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2011. Print. Dubai Airport Guide. “Dubai Airport Terminals.” Web. 25 October 2011. . Dubai Airports. "Dubai International Conditions of Use including Airport Charges (IATA Winter Season 2011-2012)." Web. 25 October 2011. . Emirates. "Emirates Group Security." Web. 25 October 2011. . Magali, Delmas. “Stakeholders and competitive advantage: The case of ISO 14001.” Web. 25 October 2011. . McNamara, Carter. “Operations Management.” Web. 25 October 2011. . Rees, Lynda. "Knowledge Management: A CA Service Management Process Map." Web. January 2010. . Rodrigue, Jean-Paul. “Transportation and Economic Development.” Web. 25 October 2011 . Skytrax. “Dubai International Airport Passenger Reviews and Dubai Airport Customer opinions.” Web. 25 October 2011. . Read More