Airglade Facility - SWOT Analysis, Main Purpose of the Inland Port Facility - Case Study Example

AIRGLADE FACILITY Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 SWOT analysis 3 Strengths of the Federal Aviation Administration 3 Weaknesses of the Federal Aviation Administration 4 Opportunities in Hendry County 4 Threats to the project in Hendry County 5 Main purpose of the inland port facility 5 Road network 6 Future of the Airport facility 7 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction Inland ports are facilities meant to reduce truck VMT and emission due to port traffic. In addition, inland port facilities control and enhance container flows, clearing and forwarding of merchandise. Airglades inland port is to be developed in the Hendry County in Florida (Christensen, 2015). The idea is perceived as a great one that only needs the county’s officials to prove the feasibility of the project to the Federal Aviation Administration. The proposed project has a significant impact on the development of infrastructure in the county that includes sewerage and water supply system, highway development and warehousing. The Federal Aviation Administration can conform to the feasibility claims with an aid of a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis enables an institution to establish its strengths and weaknesses of the organization then comparing with the opportunities and threats that exist in Hendry County. SWOT analysis Strengths of the Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration has proved to have enough influence and control of activities on many occasions. Through critical decisions made by the administration, several systems have been upgraded and projects proposed. The action implies that the Federal Aviation Administration is capable of funding a new project like the Airglade project (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). Some projects include the terminal modernization through improvement of computerized facilities airports used to manage air traffic. The satellite-controlled navigation and landing was proposed for implementation in 2009. Another improvement was in the traffic flow management through collaborative management. Route automation and data communication are among the Federal Aviation Administration top priorities. The Federal Aviation Administration proves to have the significant strength to implement and develop a new project. Weaknesses of the Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration has a greater challenge in managing the Airspace system and development of Nextgen (Federal Aviation Administration, 2015). It is a challenge for the Federation to proceed with construction of facilities, as well as maintaining and upgrading the older facilities. For instance, in 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration has to set aside $22 billion as capital and another $7.1 billion for new projects like the NextGen. For this reason, incorporating a budget for a new project like the Airglade increases the expenditure. There existed a problem with Federal Aviation Administration acquisitions in 2008. The approach that the administration adopts in acquisition involves altering its efforts to focus on incremental approach in management. As much as the approach ensures the security of the operations in the short term, it creates future uncertainties in terms of real costs of projects. Opportunities in Hendry County The Hendry County in Florida provides an encouraging environment for Federal Aviation Administration to implement the Airglade project (Wood, 2010). The proposed port targets the imports that the Hendry County receives. For instance, the MIA handles approximately 71% of all U.S imports that are perishable including fruits and flowers. In addition, the same port handles 57.5 % of all fish that is imported. All the imports received by MIA are air imports hence the new port can create an option. The proposed port stands to benefit from the available labor from residents in Hendry County. The areas that include Palm Beach and Lee have people who are job needy and ready to offer labor. The project would significantly give room for MIA to concentrate on passenger services thus reducing the passenger traffic. The project stands to improve the socio-cultural and economic condition of the locals. The proposal for construction of the port has been boosted by the support of two powerful agricultural firms, and this can ease implementation of the project. Threats to the project in Hendry County The County has an alarming rate of unemployment that stands at 67% and additionally the larger population is uninsured (Wood, 2010). The current state is particularly a threat to the project since it will require the proponents to come up with an insurance package that will benefit the struggling economy. The various means, such as subsidizing the costs of health insurance can consequently increase the initial cost of the project. Another threat is the suspected dubious means through which the project was proposed. It seems the U.S Sugar Corp and the Hilliard brothers are the two powerhouses that are at the forefront of proposing for the project (Harrington, 2014). It is possible that the two companies can eventually dominate the operations of the port and fail to benefit the local community. It is hard for the FAA to establish if the port will have a wide range of benefits or benefit the two agricultural powerhouses. Main purpose of the inland port facility According to Wood (2010), the main Airglade port facility was established mainly to handle perishable air cargo. The air cargo complex is designed to have several facilities that include; airside facility, such as a runway and taxiway; a warehouse designed to offer refrigeration services to the perishable goods; and track loading zones. The port is also designed to enable accessibility to a highway that enhances quick transportation of imported perishable commodities. A well-equipped aircraft maintenance facility was also to be included in the project. The design of the facility enables a range of non-stop air cargos to land including the Boeing 757-200, Boeing 767-200 MD-11 and Boeing 747-400. Airglade facility design can handle not more than 20-cargo planes every day. The capacity is bound to increase in the end to enable handling of 25 to 30 cargo planes per day. All the facilities prove that the inland port can handle perishable goods through refrigeration, weighing, clearing, forwarding and transporting an accessible link to the various destinations. Runway proves that the facility can handle a range of cargo plane carrying horticultural products. Road network The MIA has a good road network distribution meaning that the Airglade will also benefit from the excellent highway access (Wood, 2010). The county is also committed to support the construction of more road and railway network. A good inland port has a good road network connection to facilitate movement of cargo. Specifically, a highway is important for the operation of the facility since perishable goods need quick location after exiting the refrigeration area. Multiple trucks have to use the road per day to reduce the cost of handling imported commodities through refrigeration. According to Hendry County (2014), the road networks include three inter-state highways, one toll road, four united state highways, twelve state roads and miles of roads maintained by the county. The quality of the road opening up to the Airglade inland port facility is of high standards. The quality of the road enables the heavy trucks to use the highway without compromising the quality of the road. Heavy trucks can be destructive to roads, especially when the road quality is poor. In addition, poor quality of road can slow down distribution of the horticultural products. The road network is also well-distributed reducing traffic congestion. Reducing traffic congestion can slow down transportation of products hence the quality of imported horticultural products degrades. Alternatively, the railway network provides a back-up alternative to the road network. Future of the Airport facility According to Beltz (2014), The Airglade inland port facility is bound to grow with time. In a period of five years from the commissioning of the facility, Airglade is predicted to grow in terms of cargo plane handling from a maximum of 20 planes to a maximum of 30 planes. The county also plans to improve the highway and railway accessibility, which can catalyze the growth of the facility. Once the facility is in operation, the FAA will definitely include the facility to its projects and budget meant for regular upgrading. Conclusion Airglade facility is a proposed facility with two powerful agricultural powerhouses in Hendrey County teaming up to foster for the inland port development. On the other hand, the FAA is the authority responsible for all operation and maintenance of the ports. The FAA has already been presented with the proposal and, therefore, it has to weigh the opportunities, strengths, opportunities and weaknesses in order to implement the construction of the inland facility. The SWOT analysis enables the FAA to determine the feasibility of implementing the facility construction. The proposed facility is meant to handle air-shipped imports comprising of horticultural products. The inland port design has an adequate facility that suit handling of the cargo. Examples of facilities include refrigeration warehouse, weighing zones and accessible roads to enable swift handling of perishable products. References Beltz, M. (2014). Airglades Airport at center of priority lists for Hendry County. The Clewiston News. Retrieved from Christensen, D. (2015). U.S. Sugar seeks OK for huge development after news it paid for GOP leaders’ trip. Miami Herald. Retrieved from Harrington, J. (2014). Hendry County hard hit by dependence on sugar. Retrieved from Hendry County. (2014). Annual Report 2014. Retrieved from. Wood J. (2010). AirGlades Airport receives final slot in FAA privatization program. Retrieved from Read More