Airports

McCarran International Airport streamlines operations with IBM asset and service management software.

Challenge

• Managing asset information in silos across different divisions wasincreasing costs, hampering compliance reporting and complicating efforts to improve service

Why IBM?

• IBM offered a unified solution for asset and service management based on IT Infrastructure Library®(ITIL®) best practices

Solution

• An asset and service management solution that unified data and automated the workflow of critical processes

Key Benefits

• Significantly improved technician productivity; accelerated resolution of repairs; helped reduce IT costs; increased revenue through accurate chargebacks; helped enhance security efforts and streamline compliance reporting

While the Las Vegas slogan proclaims that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," staff at McCarran International Airport, the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County, Nevada, hopes that a positive airport experience is one travelers will talk about long after they return home. And indeed, the airport, which is the nation's fifth-busiest and ninth-busiest worldwide with 46 million travelers each year, is succeeding. In an industry where customer experience is central to success, McCarran is widely recognized for its leadership. In fact, J.D. Power selected McCarran as the #1 ranked airport in customer satisfaction, citing its implementation of new technologies as a key factor.

Across all areas of operations - from runway resurfacing and climate control to concession store closed-circuit TV security systems and the terminal's Wi-Fi network - McCarran must deliver a quality experience to a diverse customer base while facing tough maintenance and operational demands.

Like many organizations, McCarran had deployed a number of operational and financial solutions over the years to manage its services. There was little or no integration among them beyond what could be accomplished with labor-intensive and largely manual processes.

"We had old legacy systems for work orders and financials, smaller niche applications for managing assets, and numerous custom spreadsheets and database applications for IT asset and service management," explains Doug Wardle, an enterprise resource planning systems consultant at McCarran. "Nothing was integrated and this lack of integration was increasing costs, hampering compliance reporting and complicating our efforts to introduce new technology to improve service."

Unifying management of IT and enterprise assets

In 2005 McCarran embarked on a major IT initiative to increase efficiency and service quality by consolidating its various legacy financial and operational systems. Airport staff looked for a professional services firm having proven experience with airport processes; deep knowledge of facilities and IT asset and service management; and experience in implementing supporting technology. Based on input from other airports and airport authorities, McCarran invited Electronic Data, Inc. (EDI) to offer recommendations for the implementation of an enterprise-wide asset management system.

Working with EDI (www.edatai.com), McCarran International Airport chose IBM asset management software - which includes both IBM Tivoli® and IBM Maximo® products - for facilities and IT asset management. IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager, part of the Maximo unified platform, was selected for IT service management. "Anything that can be moved onto the IBM platform has or will be moved there," says Wardle.

IBM software was selected for its ability to unify the management of all airport assets - from facilities (including terminal operations, landside operations and airside operations) to IT assets (including network components, servers and PCs) - and combine this information with the service management capabilities of Tivoli Service Request Manager. The solution's support for ITIL and its provenability to seamlessly integrate with SAP and other key enterprise applications were also important selection criteria. This integration allows McCarran to choose best-in-class applications countywide.

"By unifying the management of all our IT and operational assets with IBM asset management software, we can maintain an industry leadership position and improve quality of service for travelers," says Wardle.

Integrating work management speeds repairs

Hundreds of work orders daily - being generated from all areas of the airport - are now consolidated into a single system. An online portal enables virtually any Department of Aviation employee, airline representative, concession vendor or authorized third party staff to easily submit work orders from a PC. Whether there's a broken slot machine in the airport's casino, a problem with the baggage handling system or a leaky bathroom sink, IBM asset management software automates the notification and reporting process to help staff track progress and accelerate resolution.

All work order and inventory information is accessible to technicians in the field wirelessly through handheld devices. Field technicians can view the repair history for each project, the parts they'll need to take and the estimated repair time. Additionally, because IBM asset management software is integrated with the airport's geographic information system, technicians can quickly view the precise location of a problem. If a part is unavailable, the software automatically triggers the initiation of a purchase order in the airport's SAP system. "Staff productivity and work order processes have significantly improved since going live with IBM asset management software," says Wardle.

Reducing costs through IT service management

Tivoli service management software provides McCarran IT service staff with an ITIL-enabling platform for automating the management of changes, configuration and processes for several thousand IT assets. Many of these are advanced IT systems critical to airport safety, security and the comfort of visitors. Automating key IT service management processes has been critical in helping reduce IT costs and enabling staff to efficiently manage software licenses. Additionally, because the solution serves as a single source for a huge range of data and the integration point with critical operational systems, executives have fast access to comprehensive information for decision making - without having to integrate the data manually.

Efficiently responding to regulatory requirements

Airside regulatory compliance was another key driver of the initiative. The FAA's Part 139 Inspection regulation mandates that McCarran airfield operations staff inspect the airfield, runways and other outside physical elements several times a day. With IBM Maximo Asset Management software, airfield operations staff can now capture inspection information wirelessly using handheld devices. The system then automatically generates and routes a follow-up work order to maintenance, which upon completion is then routed back to operations for verification. Any inspection findings requiring the generation of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is also automatically routed as necessary.

Increasing revenue through accurate chargebacks

With so many vendors operating across McCarran, staff must quickly evaluate each tenant's request and determine who is responsible forpaying for repairs?the airport orthe tenant. Because IBM softwareis integrated with the airport?s SAPenvironment and its lease managementand customer billing system, itautomatically identifies whether thereis a provision in the requester?s leaseto recover the cost of work. It can alsoautomatically calculate the cost of therepair and generate an invoice for thetenant. "IBM solutions have helpedus realize a higher percentage ofrecoverable fees and directly improverevenue as a result," says Wardle.

Extending airport applications to meet changing business needs

IBM asset management softwareprovides McCarran enormousflexibility in tailoring applications toairport management needs. Forexample, lock and key requests arecritical to airport terminalsecurity, particularly in this post-9/11era. Continuously tracking who hassecurity access to specific securitydoors had become an enormouschallenge. Maximo software providesa centralized database of all securitydoors and their authorized users andautomates the workflow of all lockand key requests and changes.

"We are tracking all administrativework with IBM asset management software, from schedulingconference rooms to the complexreporting required to meet FAA inspection regulations," says Wardle."With these solutions, we have beenable to consolidate our many siloed information systems into a single,efficient system. This efficiency makesus more responsive, better preparedto address problems and able toprovide travelers with a better airport experience."