Day and night at Toronto Pearson, we track a vast amount of data to keep aircraft, passengers and baggage moving as safely and smoothly as possible. The volume and diversity of information crisscrossing our airport every second is staggering: flight activity to, from and around our airport; the efficiency of check-in and security processes; allocation of gates, along with the teams and equipment to support them; the various steps involved in aircraft servicing, catering and baggage handling; even the maintenance schedules for our escalators and moving walkways. And with each new advance in technology, both the scope and the granularity of data only grow.
The challenge for Toronto Pearson, as for any complex enterprise, is how to harness this wealth of information, distill the most relevant data points into a comprehensive overview and then derive the insights we need to manage our operations safely, efficiently and cost-effectively.
We use technology for a seamless airport experience.
Building the foundation
For the past five years, the GTAA’s information technology team has been putting the building blocks in place to better integrate data and systems across our airport. Each component is designed to maximize business value and free up operating revenue that we can then invest in further innovation. Here’s a brief review of what we’ve built so far (see diagram), moving from the base layer upward:
- Network and infrastructure: We’ve re-engineered our systems architecture and underlying technologies to support Pearson’s rapidly expanding data needs. The result is a much more robust network – 40 times faster, with greater redundancy to ensure stable, reliable service. Major interruptions fell by 85 per cent between 2016 and 2019.
- Enterprise data management: This layer facilitates how data is organized and delivered to users in more cohesive and helpful ways. Our managers can now access real-time information on all aspects of airport operations, from the movement of passengers, baggage and aircraft to parking demand and retail/dining revenues.
The GTAA’s information technology team has been putting the building blocks in place to better integrate data and systems across our airport.
- Resource management system (RMS): This set of tools enables smooth, up-to-the-minute monitoring and optimization of resources across our facilities, whether we’re assigning flights to gates, check-in counters to airlines or baggage to aircraft.
- Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM): As detailed elsewhere in this report, we’re collaborating with NAV Canada, our major carriers and other partners on a platform that integrates data on airside operations, aircraft activities and air traffic management to support safe, effective decision making – which translates into greater efficiency and superior passenger service.
- Asset Management System (AMS): Pearson’s day-to-day operations depend on a wide array of technology-based tools and services. For example, it takes nearly 2,000 pieces of equipment just to enable airline check-ins. The AMS provides real-time information on the status of every asset, from aircraft bridges to washroom hand dryers, and integrates a system for remote reporting of maintenance needs (see sidebar).
All of these components support a broader umbrella layer that sums up our future goals in a single phrase: Total Airport Management. Armed with unprecedented capabilities in oversight and control, we’re now able to map out our technology strategy for the next five years and beyond. We’re also better prepared for sudden changes in the operating environment – including a spike in the number of users working remotely, as we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total Airport Management
The innovation ecosystem
Toronto Pearson’s 2020–2024 IT Roadmap envisions the implementation of various innovative technologies that we’re now well positioned to leverage more effectively. From using predictive analytics to enhance the passenger experience, to streamlining business processes with artificial intelligence, to monitoring equipment movements via the internet of things, we’re looking at every imaginable way to boost service quality and efficiency while upholding the highest standards of safety – and delivering greater value in all areas of the organization.
This innovation journey requires ongoing investment in our own capabilities, whether we’re exploring the use of blockchain technology for baggage tracking or using robotic process automation to simplify routine vendor transactions. But the other crucial ingredient for our future success is partnership.
Airport Collaborative Decision Making, for example, depends on close coordination among the GTAA, NAV Canada, airlines and other key players. Similarly, investigating the potential of biometric screening means having the GTAA’s technology team collaborate with the experts at our security and border protection agencies. We must be able to connect complex systems and securely share data among all key partners to achieve our common goals.
This innovation journey requires ongoing investment in our own capabilities, but the other crucial ingredient for our future success is partnership.
At the same time, realizing the full value of innovation means freeing up our technology resources by shifting some day-to-day processes to external providers. Our recent, multi-year agreement with Wipro, one of the world’s largest IT services firms, is based on a new model of partnership: unlike traditional providers that simply bill for services consumed, Wipro is rewarded for helping us achieve specific targets as we grow business value. Our two organizations have a stake in each other’s success, cemented by our shared values around sustainability and social responsibility.
The power of technology partnerships extends to other airports as well. We’ve collaborated with Aéroports de Montréal, for instance, on purchasing check-in kiosks, and we’re exploring other opportunities to share services or coordinate our efforts in areas such as safety and security. On a broader scale, we’ve committed to helping establish a Joint Innovation Forum for Canadian airports as part of a larger innovation ecosystem that includes business partners, governments and communities.
As with all other dimensions of Toronto Pearson, the impact of our investment in innovation is amplified by the number of partners working alongside us to make change happen.
Across the airport, we’ve outfitted thousands of pieces of equipment with tags that use near-field communication (NFC) to transmit data via any mobile device.
In the past, if Pearson employees spotted a maintenance issue – say, a check-in kiosk that wasn’t working properly – they’d have to call a central help desk, where support staff would open a repair ticket and dispatch someone to fix the problem. Now it’s a simple matter of pointing your smartphone at the source of the issue, checking a couple of boxes and moving on.
Across the airport, we’ve outfitted thousands of pieces of equipment with tags that use near-field communication (NFC) to transmit data via any mobile device. There’s no app required; you simply scan the tag (which also has a QR code for phones that aren't NFC-enabled) and all relevant information – equipment type, location, maintenance history and more – is instantly relayed to a system that generates an automated service ticket.
The help desk used to receive more than 6,000 service alerts per month. When the new system was deployed in 2019 – with awareness initially just via word of mouth – call volumes dropped by half in the first month. That trend continued through the rest of the year, yielding an estimated 250,000 minutes of saved time for airport and airlines staff.