IGHC Innovator 2018

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its IGHC Innovator awards at the IATA Ground Handling Conference in Bangkok earlier this year, with the aim of promoting new ideas and solutions in ground handling. Nominations for 2018 are now open

The winner of the first iteration of the contest was Denmark’s BBHS, whose Intelligent Baggage Handling system tackles the problems of rough baggage handling, injuries and time lost in manual baggage lifting and prioritising of baggage. The BBHS system transports baggage from check-in to loading/unloading at the aircraft without the need for manual lifting.

Erik Andersen, director sales at the company, notes: “IGHC Innovator is important because the industry needs to move forward and change. It’s not feasible to do things the same way today as we did 50 years ago.”

Considering the role of automation in baggage handling, Andersen wonders: “How do we get people to work in the airside environment? Airports often can’t get local manpower because the cost of living is too high for the wages they are offered. In these circumstances, you have to automate.”

In addition, staff injuries can make a manual approach to baggage handling a costly business for employers. With BBHS’s system, the only lifter is the one inside the aircraft. That is difficult to change because of the restricted space, Andersen points out. “Automating that job could be the next step but it’s tricky – you have to work with the aircraft manufacturers on things like that.

“The dog is biting his own tail now,” he believes. “We are reaching the point where it all comes together and [we] have to change the working environment.”

Yves Tuet, president at IGHC Innovator 2017 finalist Deolan, agrees that the award is an important driver of change in the industry. “We believe the industry can do significantly better in terms of optimising its operations, providing better customer service and adhering to safety and security regulations; new digital technologies are the principal means of achieving this.”

France-based Deolan’s own entry this year was Clip, a real-time messaging system for air transport that seeks to streamline data from various legacy systems. The company plans to enter both Clip and Logbook (a system along the lines of Facebook that allows operation teams to record and centralise information about significant events occurring during their shifts) in the 2018 competition.

The other finalist in 2017 was Australia’s Qantas Airways, which put forward its virtual reality (VR) human factors ramp training. Paul Ferguson, head of regional airports at the carrier, comments: “Being from the other side of the world and often forgotten it was important to me to let other operators know what we have been up to in Australia.

“[IGHC Innovator] was extremely beneficial and an opportunity to share a new innovation that is only limited by your imagination; since the conference I have had a number of other operators contact me to discuss our experiences with VR. Overall the Innovator awards are a great opportunity to share the world’s best practices and ideas.”

Nominations for IGHC Innovator 2018 opened on 1 November 2017, with the award being presented at the IGHC conference in Doha next May; more details may be found at www.iata.org/ighc-innovator

Submissions in 2017