SEPTEMBER 28/OCTOBER 5, 2020 � enr.com

INDUSTRY FIRMS PROPEL

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

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QUARTERLYCOST REPORT

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KEEPING THE

LIGHTS ON

SEPTEMBER 28/OCTOBER 5, 2020 � enr.com

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Focus on FundingDelivering efficient, reliable and secure solutions under challenging conditions

By Vicki Speed

◆ Federal Aid ProvidesMuch-Needed Investment

◆ Parking Upgraded to First Class in San Francisco

◆ Projects Adjust to the New Normal of the Pandemic

◆ Baggage-Handling Operations Trends

◆ The Art and Engineeringof Effective Daylighting

WHAT’S INSIDE

Airports & Parking Decks Today

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Airport terminal and parking structure projects are moving forward, with many ready for take-off.

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONAirports & Parking Decks Today

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While the COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on the aviation industry in the way of terminal and facility construction, reconstruction and addi-tions, all is not doom and gloom.

Some much-needed help came from the U.S. Dept. of Transporta-tion earlier this year with the award of more than $1.2 billion in airport safety and infrastructure grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 405 airports in 50 states and six U.S. territories. The total includes more than $1 billion from the Airport Improvement Program and $152 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act grants. The projects range from perimeter fencing, airport lighting, zero-emission vehicles and noise mitigation to taxiway and runway reconstruction/rehabilitation and terminal expansions, as well as one new airport.

Federal funding for safety and infrastructure improvements will allow airports to make needed updates now without having to wait until revenue passenger miles recover, explains Scott Hooker, president of structural engi-neering firm Buehler Engineering. “This funding will allow airports to continue with at least some projects at a time when most airport improvement projects have slowed or been placed on indefinite hold,” he adds.

As a program and project manager on some of the world’s largest airport projects, Satheesh Raja, senior project manager at Hill International, offers similar insight: “The best advice moving forward is to hang in there. The market is getting better, and lending is up, which means projects can restart.”

Realizing Digital ValueThe increased deployment of

technology to improve communica-tion and project management has been one of the positive changes resulting from the recent economic and

pandemic-related challenges within the airport construction space.

For instance, document management practices have had to adapt during the pandemic with increased reliance on digital signatures. Raja confirms, “We are seeing a sea change in the accep-tance of e-signatures for documents with external contractors and partners. We have used digital signatures inter-nally, but only this year are we seeing the acceptance externally, especially for payments.”

Raja believes that the faster digital process as compared to conventional paper processes is helping to build industry-wide acceptance. He also believes that productivity has actually increased with work from home due to COVID-19. The common assumption that remote workers are less produc-tive than traditional office has proven wrong. Remote workers, he says, are equally or more productive.

More common collaboration tools are also providing greater value. With help from 3D modeling, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction was able to provide stakeholders for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with 13 different iterations of a proposed renovation in minutes. The company’s Aviation Program Executive Matthew Russell says, “Without technology, the entire process would have taken four to six months. We were able to get a firm decision for project go-ahead in less than six weeks. We believe that tech-nology allows for a better understanding of the data; this is paramount in driving the development of improvement to all airport and airline operations.”

Bags and New BeginningsAdvanced automated systems are

also having an impact on operations and maintenance. San Antonio Interna-tional Airport became the first airport in the world to deploy a Xenex Light-Strike robot, an automated system that

uses UV light to kill microscopic patho-gens, including the COVID-19 virus.

Baggage handling is also big business right now. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology provides 100% bag tracking at San Francisco International Airport’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1. The recently opened 850,000-sq-ft, 4-level Terminal B Arrivals and Departures Hall at New York’s LaGuardia Airport features the most technologically advanced screening equipment, including advanced imaging technology, the Smart Pad System and mobile inspec-tion tables as part of the baggage system, according to LaGuardia Gateway Partners.

Read on to learn more about one of the most technologically advanced and sustainable parking decks in the world at San Francisco International Airport, and a hanger in Chicago that provides for a brighter, lighter workspace. ◆

Federal Aid Provides Much-Needed Investment

The Xenex LightStrike robot roams San Anto-nio International Airport killing microscopic pathogens, including the COVID-19 virus.

Philadelphia International Airport’s $2.4- billion Capital Program will bring landside and airside facilities in line with projected air passenger and aircraft demand.

September 28/October 5, 2020 | 23enr.com/SpecialAd

Airports & Parking Decks TodaySPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

photo: Alex Upton

Today’s L.E.D.S may last up to 50,000 hours, but Kalwall will continue harvesting sunlight into museum-quality daylighting™ for a lot longer than that. The fact that it filters out most UV and IR wavelengths, while insulating more like a roof than a skylight, is just a nice bonus.

Engineering daylightKALWALL.COMschedule a technical consultation atFACADES | SKYROOFS | SKYLIGHTS | CANOPIES®

Within the past three years, Hill International has helped to complete airport projects with a combined project value of approximately $20 billion. Today, we are working with our clients around the world to evaluate solutions to the pandemic-related health and safety issues that airports are facing.

According to a recent report by airline strategy consultants SimpliFlying, COVID-19 will impact more than 70 individual aspects of the air travel expe-rience. These changes range from the personal, such as wearing face masks and social distancing, to the systemic, which include creating a touchless experience from parking deck to boarding gate.

Airports have quickly responded to minimize the spread of COVID-19 within their facilities and deserve kudos for nimbly implementing these responses. Yet, just as the events of Sept. 11, 2001 forever changed how airports operate, the coronavirus pandemic will have long-term impacts to the way airports do business. The good news is that these changes can be very positive for both airports and passengers.

New airport technologies include the use of video technology to identify (and disperse) areas with crowds, touchless technologies to move seamlessly from point to point, and apps to easily access airport concessions and services with

minimal interactions. These technolo-gies have been of interest to airports for several years, and the current need to adapt to global health issues gives airports the opportunity to implement tools that not only make their airports more resistant to pandemics but also improve the overall passenger experi-ence and present revenue opportunities.

The impacts and reverberations of COVID-19 will be felt by the aviation industry for years to come. While these impacts present new risks for owners across the aviation ecosystem, Hill’s aviation expertise can help to ensure that COVID-19 challenges become solutions on your next project. ◆

By Steven B. Morris, Senior Vice President, Aviation, Hill International

Smoother Skies Ahead: Airport Projects Adjust to New Normal of Pandemic