Case Studies - Manchester Airport |
Following investments in advanced mobile and workshop photometric measuring equipment from TMS Photometrics, and the adoption of an integrated Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) maintenance methodology, Manchester Airport has not only been able to bring the performance of its expanded AGL system up to, and exceed, required standards, but the airport is also now in a position to realise real savings in whole life system costs.
Manchester Airport , UK, is now constantly maintaining its core AGL installations to a verifiable performance level that is well in excess of the minimum standards established by the UK CAA, due to an investment in MALMS and the adoption of Differential Maintenance.
The airport's maintenance operation now undertakes up to eight photometric measurement runs per week, across its two runways. With runway access time very limited, MALMS speed and ease of use, which enables runs to be completed very quickly, has proven essential to this level of monitoring. The findings from these runs are then used to target maintenance activity - be it cleaning or replacement - for the next few nights on the specific fixtures and areas that need it. After the work is completed, the next run is used to assess effectiveness. Overall, the new maintenance approach has, as anticipated, provided a very effective way to deal with all the variable factors that can affect an AGL system, and had significantly improved the effectiveness of its maintenance effort .
However, while the ability to comply with the AGL performance standards was the initial driving force behind the adoption of the new technology and practices, Manchester Airport is now also finding that having valid performance data offers massive potential for finding waste, improving overall process efficiencies and reducing whole life costs. For a start, the maintenance team is now collating performance data that indicates the level of impact that fitting design has on overall performance and the need for cleaning. This is already suggesting that some fittings are far better than others for not catching dirt, and are easier to clean properly; information that will prove important when determining future replacement purchasing policy. In addition they are also finding that the pitting and scratches on the lens surface have much less effect on a fitting's light output performance than they previously estimated and this results in less resource wasted.
According to Mike Curry , Manchester Airport's Airfield Systems Manager, "We now have a knowledgeable process, and this is now providing us with the capability to not only ensure that our AGL system performs well within the required standards, but at the same time drive out process waste and reduce costs."
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