A State-of-the-Art Airport Can't Get Off the Ground
...gan in mid-1988, airport construction work was already well under way, and Mr. Almada was forced to accept an accelerated schedule. He agreed to the tight schedule but only with the provision that no changes be made to the plans. Mr. Almada claims that in the following months city officials repeatedly made changes. City officials deny the charge. The baggage system problems did not surface until the first test in September 1990, just a month before the airport was initially scheduled to open. Tested under realistic conditions, the system generated unexpected power surges that tripped the electrical circuit breakers, automatically shutting down the motors. The city of Lisbon, TAP (Portugeses Transports Airlines), and BTA all hired their own consultants. Special filters that could maintain an even power supply were needed to repair the problem, but the city delayed ordering them. As a result, the original airport opening was postponed until March 1991. Although electrical glitches were the main reason for postponing the opening of the airport at that time, Mr. Almada said that too little testing had been done to establish the reliability of the system. On March 9, 1991, with the surge problem corrected, a second full system test took place with hordes of reporters, photographers, and TV crews in attendance. When the system ran at full speed, bags flew everywhere, and many fell and broke open. About two-thirds of the bags were shunted to the hand-sorting area because the bar codes on the tags were too smudged to be read by the computer. The test was a dramatic failure, and the opening was again postponed. Other problems added to the complications caused by the snarled baggage system. Television monitors that flash flight information were not ready. A sign directing passengers to the baggage claim area led instead to a concrete wall. In the meantime, the new airport cost Lisbon $200,000 each day it remained closed. Conclusion The airport did not open officially until February 28, 1992. The delay of 16 months and the need to correct its baggage-handling problems put overall costs at $3 billion, nearly $2 billion more than originally projected. Airport authorities decided to operate the baggage system on a small scale at first, moving only 30 to 60 bags per minute, well below the rate of 400 bags per minute estimated for a fully operational system. A year later, the Portela airport reported very few problems. Statistics show that baggage loss and damage in Portela falls well below the national average. 1.1 What information system problems are addressed in this case? Problem analysis is the first step in problem solving model. Once the problem is defined, the perspective from which the situation is viewed is substantially narrowed (indeed, that is one of the reasons you define the problem). Any situation has several ways that a problem can be defined. For example, for this case study I could define the problem as how to provide fast delivery of travelers' baggage between airplanes and baggage collection areas. With such a problem definition, the baggage handling system developed by BTA would be the solution. For the purposes of demonstrating the case study approach, the information system problem is that Portela International Airport's baggage handling system failed to operate as expected, delaying the opening of the new airport. Specifically, the failures included power surges that tripped circuit breakers, with the result that baggage handling motors quit operating, excessive speed of operation resulting in bags flying off of the conveyor, and unreadable bar codes intended to show baggage destination. 1.2 Decision Making 1.2.1 Would an Information System solution improve the problem? This problem appeared to be a political problem (asking for more than the current technology can support) and a technical problem (engineering of the system is not adequate) as opposed to an information system problem. 1.2.2 Solutions that were needed: There were several solutions called for depending on the specific problem: First, there was the problem of "flying" baggage. The proposed solution was to construct a traditional baggage handling system so that the airport could open as soon as possible. When enough of the complications associated to the automatic baggage handling system had been solved, the automatic baggage handling system was to be implemented at a lower speed. The remainder of the problems could be worked on over several years until the baggage handling system could operate at its specified capacity without problems. The second problem was that of illegible bar code strips. The solution proposed was to replace the bar code creation equipment with equipment that produces bar code labels that could be read by the scanners. Finally, the problem of power surges required attention. To deal with this problem, special power filters were installed to maintain an even power supply, thus demonstrating a proposed solution that was also implemented. 1.3 How does the problem and/or solution affect the goals of the organization? This case study has a somewhat unique issue, namely to decide who was responsible for the various problems. Candidates included BTA, Lisbon city government, or the consortium of airlines that was the general contractor for the baggage system. However, all three organizations were affected the same way, the new Portela International Airport could not open until the baggage system functioned properly, making it impossible for the organizations to achieve their customer service or profitability goals. 1.4 What are the factors of the problem? The possible contributors to the problem were the people working on the project, the management of the project, the technology of the machines themselves and the environment in which the system was to be installed. 1.4.1 Management considerations Listed below the subcategories described for the people component of a system. Issues with probable relevance to the problem are listed under the appropriate subcategory with the second-level dash. Subcategories for which no relevant issues were identified in the case study description have no issues listed below them. • Ergonomics • Employee evaluation and monitoring • Training - BTA installers were inexperienced with baggage handling system this large - Truncated training and testing period • Employee attitudes and involvement • Legal and regulatory compliance 1.4.2 Organizational considerations Among the organizational components for any system, we consider culture, project management, politics and bureaucracy. The case study required targeted consideration in these areas in order to properly address possible organizational difficulties. As far as general culture is concerned, assignment of blame seemed to be a higher priority that resolution of problems. Of course this priority deserved to be shifted. Concerning the project management, Lisbon city government failed to establish a project structure that ensured accountability. This can be illustrated by the variety of organizations responsible for certain as can be illustrated by the variety of organizations responsible for certain aspects of the process. One company built the baggage system. The city owned the system. Another company maintained the system. And finally, a consortium of airlines leased the system. BTA management also planned poorly. BTA agreed on an accelerated construction timeline despite their lack of experience with the scale and complexity of this system. Furthermore, their budget overruns were symptomatic of poor management planning or control. In this situation, the initial conditions stimulated an awkward polical situation. Namely, a loser in the power struggle was assigned a key role in the implementation of the solution. How enthusiastically committed would BTA be to the project under the circumstances? BTA was underbid to construct and operate the baggage system. The successful bidder then subcontracted the construction to BTA. It was not surprising that the relationship between BTA and City of Lisbon was poor. The city of Lisbon complicated the bureaucracy in that they made changes (as alleged by BTA) to the system despite their agreement not...