London Heathrow and Budapest GSE pooling

The challenge

Pooling of Ground Service Equipment (GSE) requires a collaborative approach where multiple ground handlers share equipment such as tugs, baggage carts and ground power units (GPUs). While this can optimise resource usage and significantly reduce costs, there are several challenges associated including operational complexity, maintenance and logistical concerns.

There are many GSE pooling models but the most common forms are:

• Head of stand pooling – equipment that is required to be on every stand most of the time, relatively low in value, mainly non-motorised equipment and can be as simple as chocks and cones, steps, conveyor belts.
• Specialised equipment – tends to be of higher value (up to a quarter of a million pounds), kit such as container lifters, push back tugs, air start units, GPU’s.
• Specialist baggage and cargo tugs, carts and dollies
• White fleet – cars, vans, minivans and buses

The challenge in terms of operational complexity is in meticulously and correctly calculating equipment requirements so that there is sufficient pooling for everybody to meet operational needs, which may fluctuate dramatically. Added to this there is the challenge of bringing Stakeholders together to get an agreement on ownership and management. Deciding on timing and investment in new equipment or upgrades can be complicated. GSE pooling participants may disagree on when and how to invest in shared resources. There can be challenges with the commercial and financial models, as well as with the practicalities of the everyday operations, which includes maintenance responsibility, downtime for repairs, tracking usage and damage.

The solution

AiQ have undertaken GSE pooling projects for Heathrow airport, Budapest airport and are currently supporting Bristol airport with their strategy moving forward. The success of a GSE pooling initiative hinges on:

• selecting the right approach and strategy to suit your airport operation
• the strength of collaboration and clear, predefined protocols among all Stakeholders
• the quality of the modelling

Strategy

Every airport is different and needs to consider its’ objectives in GSE pooling. Is it driven by capacity, sustainability, performance, safety, etc? Best practice of other airports needs to be studied. Consideration also needs to be given to the different ownership models in use.

Stakeholder management – AiQ are all-round consultants with the proven ability to engage and understand all involved stakeholders. We were able to not only model the benefits and give certainty around ensuring continuation of operations in a common use environment, we were also able to assist with bringing Stakeholders together, defining the operating models and the commercial and business models that support these types of work.

Modelling – AiQ used Big Data and a Monte Carlo approach to ensure we captured an envelope of probability and risk. The AiQ team analysed whole seasons worth of Big Data in order to understand the variation and the need for different equipment to ensure that there was sufficient provision for all handlers in all situations.

It is important that the modelling must allow for the worst case not the best case scenario. The worst case is not necessarily the busiest day, it can be those perturbed days in the schedule when there are a lot of late arrivals, inclement weather or your peak arrivals coincide with your peak departures. Allowances also need to be made for reasonable planned maintenance and breakdown.

The benefits

GSE pooling brings significant cost, efficiency and environmental benefits making it an attractive option for airports and service providers looking to streamline operations and reduce their environmental footprint. By sharing resources, pooling not only optimises the use of available equipment but also enhances flexibility and collaboration, all of which contribute to a more sustainable and responsive airport environment.

When specialised equipment, which can be very large, is pooled, an added benefit is that the pressure of airside space is relieved. This can help with electrification and sustainability goals. For example, the newly found space can be repurposed to provide chargers for GSE, this was a key benefit for Heathrow that we shared with them.

Our award winning team of operational and analytical experts are dedicated to analysing, modelling and optimising every aspect of an airport. Specialising in airport capacity, we are trusted to realise capacity and solve complex operational challenges. For more information about how we can assist you with any of your challenges in 2024 and beyond, contact us today.