Date: December 2019

Technologies Utilised: vuejs, electronJS, nodejs, C#, .net core, trbonet, mssql

Asset management tool keeps Auckland Airport running smoothly

Radio devices provide mission-critical support to operations at Auckland International Airport (AIAL). Knowing where radios are being used, and by who, is key to keeping business moving behind the scenes. Lime Digital developed NETiD, a bespoke asset management tool to keep track of this critical asset, streamlining daily operations and stocktake.

Project Scope

Radios are used in operations throughout Auckland International Airport by different departments. Fast easy access to radios is important for staff to get on and do the job, however devices were unaccounted for and management didn’t have a clear picture of which departments and staff were using them. This means getting these mission-critical devices into the hands of those that needed them was hindered.
The asset management system needed to be easy to use, able to be used from terminals throughout the airport, integrate with the existing Motorola radio devices used at AIAL, and give management an overview of who was using the devices. AIAL is a highly secure environment, and this needed to be taken into account, not only in the design of the digital solution, but also the implementation.

Design process

Lime Digital spent time at AIAL understanding the way radio devices were used by the various departments. Cleaners had very different requirements to an operations manager, these differences were taken into account when developing the system. An example of this is any radio that is to taken near aircraft has to be intrinsically safe, which means it cannot create a spark. NETiD had to prevent staff that operate near aircraft from taking an unsafe radio.

The digital solution

NETiD is a full asset management solution for AIAL, encompassing an admin portal where radios can be monitored at all times, a physical terminal where radios are checked in and out, and a custom API allowing terminals to communicate with the radio devices.

Admin portal

The admin portal provides a real-time overview of stock use. The easy to use interface quickly shows which radio has been checked out and who by, how long it had been in use, how many radios are available, high and low use devices, and which terminals are being used to check radios in and out. Radio use can be grouped by individuals and departments and supervisors also have the ability to remotely assign or lock radios.

Physical terminal

Terminals are located throughout the airport for ease of use, and the information from each terminal is fed into one synchronised system, so the admin portal is kept up to date. For the system to be successful it needed to be fast and easy to use. The terminals and application have been designed to integrate with staff access fobs; staff swipe their access fob along with a radio at the start of their shift, and radios are scanned at the terminal to return.

Custom API

This bespoke application needed to work with the existing Motorola devices and staff RFID fobs. The team at Lime Digital built Terminal API to allow terminals to pass commands to TRBONet, which controls Motorola radios over their Tier 3 Capacity Max network.

Outcomes

With the focus on tracking and monitoring radios, NETiD has given radio users more accountability for the devices they use which has reduced misplaced stock. The easy to use system has also reduced the admin load on supervisors.