{"id":558462,"date":"2023-01-24T06:32:55","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T14:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&p=558462"},"modified":"2024-05-06T09:39:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T16:39:02","slug":"miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation","title":{"rendered":"Digital Transformation of Airport Inspections: Miami International"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[386562,581,18742,482912],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[482902],"esri_blog_department":[478202],"class_list":["post-558462","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-airports","tag-digital-transformation","tag-inspections","tag-miami","esri-blog-category-ports-and-airports","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"Miami International Airport transforms inspections with mobile mapping apps, which spurs tracking construction progress.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"At MIA, an agile approach solved a tough digital transformation of the inspection process and led to an expanding role in location intelligence.\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n\u2022 Airfield inspectors at MIA now have an easy-to-use tool that records data and streamlines maintenance.\r\n\u2022 The Enterprise GIS team from Miami-Dade County implemented the solution using off-the-shelf components.\r\n\u2022 Executives at MIA have embraced how GIS has allowed them to visualize and become more proactive and look to expand the solution into other areas.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Miami International Airport (MIA) serves 1,000 daily flights to 176 destinations\u2014moving more than 140,000 passengers daily\u2014which makes it the 10th busiest airport in the US. For international travel and cargo, it\u2019s the top US gateway. MIA\u2019s flow of people and goods creates a critical economic engine for Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida.\r\n\r\nGiven the importance of keeping all that commerce and tourism in motion, MIA prioritizes quick mitigation of any issue involving any of its four runways.\r\n\r\nCrews work in shifts all day, every day to inspect, maintain, and clear the airfield\u2014including all paved areas where planes take off or maneuver\u2014of even the tiniest piece of loose pavement; trash; or a part, such as a lug nut, that came off an airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calls these hazards FOD (foreign object debris), and FOD is a central element of FAA Part 139 inspections<\/a>. FAA conducts regular reviews of airfield maintenance and can levee large fines if an airport fails to conduct regular inspections and keep detailed records.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe can\u2019t fail,\u201d said Maurice Jenkins, MIA\u2019s division director of Information Systems and Telecommunications. \u201cSo we make sure to have all the tools and resources available to ensure we rapidly address, respond to, deal with, and mitigate any disruptions in the most efficient and effective manner.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[558942,561082,558512,561072,558492]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Recently MIA adopted an all-digital workflow, replacing a paper-based inspection process with tablets running apps built with geographic information system (GIS) technology. The apps capture the location of every data entry, use pull-down menus to streamline record keeping, and can append a photo to text descriptions.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear cut, it\u2019s concise,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cNo one has to worry about deciphering an inspector\u2019s cryptic notes or interpreting what that individual meant when they made that notation. There\u2019s no paper to worry about\u2014it can save hundreds of trees\u2014and there\u2019s no wait for someone to input the data. There are so many benefits, but mainly it\u2019s about the processing speed and the increased accuracy that allow us to focus on what\u2019s taking place on the airfield.\u201d\r\n

A Change to Streamline Airfield Maintenance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nJim Murphy, the airport supervisor who oversees Part 139 inspections at MIA, has been involved in airfield inspections there for 40 years.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were getting ready for my first FAA inspection, and my supervisor asked me to look at the grass areas adjacent to the runways to make sure there weren\u2019t any holes,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cAnd I found a vault with a wood roof over it that was rotting away. When I think of how far we\u2019ve come, that\u2019s my starting point.\u201d\r\n\r\nOver the years of daily inspections, Murphy and his crews have conducted inspections at increasingly finer detail, creating a safer airfield. \u201cThe regulations may not change much, but the level of what\u2019s acceptable keeps getting tighter and tighter,\u201d Murphy said.\r\n\r\nBefore the digital tools, Murphy wouldn\u2019t see an inspection report until the next day, but now, he can see the data as it comes in. \u201cThe output from this inspection tool allows us to drill down further, focus more, track better,\u201d Murphy said.\r\n\r\nWith the change from paper to iPads, there\u2019s more flexibility for anyone to record any foreign objects they pick up during daily rounds. It\u2019s a quick process. \u201cThat\u2019s the flexibility we wanted for FOD because if we\u2019re traveling across the airfield for a meeting and see anything, like a plastic bottle, we stop and pick it up,\u201d Murphy said.\r\n

Inspection Improvements Lead MIA\u2019s Digital Transformation <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe digital transformation<\/a> of MIA\u2019s Part 139 inspections was implemented and refined by Miami-Dade County\u2019s Enterprise GIS team, who configured components of ArcGIS, including ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Survey123, and ArcGIS Dashboards to create shared maps.\r\n\r\n\u201cWith process change, getting a better map is always key,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cIf I\u2019m looking at a map, I\u2019m getting the detail to know what we\u2019re dealing with. And dashboards give senior management a great level of visualization to know what\u2019s going on as well. Everyone can engage and comment at one time rather than getting data later on, and we\u2019re all working off the same sheet of music, so to speak.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[558582,558592,558562]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Miami-Dade County has been a GIS leader for more than 30 years, pioneering enterprise GIS approaches such as the sophisticated asset management system<\/a> for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, which maintains the largest water network in the southeastern US. Before the inspection apps, MIA used GIS for planning and land-use decisions but not for operations.\r\n\r\nAdriana Sanchez, the senior software developer and GIS analyst from Miami-Dade County\u2019s Information Technology Department who led the implementation, shared that she's learned a lot about airports and the complex and rigorous workflows that are required. Staff at MIA had learned about the predefined airfield inspection tool<\/a> other airports are using and asked the county to investigate.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe want to leverage all of the innovation possible to get a good, strong, integrated model of the airport footprint to maximize the delivery of our services,\u201d Jenkins said.\r\n\r\nBefore the latest digital tools, a few prior attempts to replace paper didn\u2019t work out. While there was frustration about that, it did capture an inventory of the different areas of the airfield, which meant the GIS-based inspection tool could be implemented more quickly."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[558612,558602]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Being able to visualize the data captured with Part 139 inspections has been a great help. When the FAA visited MIA for its twice-yearly review of inspections, instead of poring over papers to review inspections, the auditors could view all inspections in ArcGIS Online, look at inspections for any given day, and conduct their review more efficiently.\r\n\r\n\u201cNobody likes having to sit there and read a lot of paper,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cHaving a visual representation and seeing everything within a dashboard lets us do better empirical decision-making on-the-fly to improve our operational efficiency.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnd with these results, there\u2019s momentum to apply GIS to other challenges at MIA.\r\n\r\nAs Jenkins related, \u201cWe want to dive deeper, get training, and develop a GIS strategy for the airport.\u201d\r\n

Airport Modernization Fuels Digital Twin Approach<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nBig changes are coming to MIA to meet its continuing growth and projected demand of 77 million passengers and 5 million tons of freight annually by 2040.\r\n\r\nIn 2019, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved a $5 billion airport improvement plan to take place through 2035<\/a>. The plan includes concourse improvements, the construction of two on-site hotels, and the expansion of the airport's cargo capacity.\r\n\r\nTo monitor the complex and carefully sequenced construction and renovation work, MIA has been developing a GIS-based digital twin<\/a> to create a single source of truth for information and digital models.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs we look at the digital twin, we\u2019re going to go from 2D to 3D, 3D to 4D (adding time and scheduling), and potentially 5D (cost estimates and budget analysis),\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on getting rid of one-off solutions and mitigating disparate systems to tightly integrate business processes. We can create the go\/no-go model to look at everything.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nDiscover more about how GIS streamlines inspections and improves asset maintenance and management for airfield operations<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":558952,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"

Agile App Development<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nThe airfield inspection apps that MIA crews use to inspect the airfield daily have been in use for roughly a year. It\u2019s on Version 3 now, with regular input from inspectors and managers driving improvements and the updated schedule.\r\n\r\nVersion 1 was the off-the-shelf tool other airports were using, Version 2 addressed user input, and Version 3 automates text messages and emails to report issues. Now, an automated text goes to supervisors if an inspection hasn\u2019t been completed by the end of a shift, and an automated email goes to the fire department for any pressing issues in their domain.\r\n\r\nVersion 4 is in development to add special and periodic inspections, including a workflow to capture any impacts from the frequent tropical storms and hurricanes that hit the area. Another special inspection will capture details of any aircraft incidents or accidents.\r\n\r\nVersion 5 will integrate with the airport\u2019s work order management system to generate a ticket if anything needs maintenance or repair. A work order must be input manually now, but after the integration, it will become automatic. And a solution for wildlife inspection and mitigation will likely be addressed in Version 6.","snippet":""}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nDigital Transformation of Airport Inspections: Miami International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Miami International Airport transforms inspections with mobile mapping apps, which spurs further location intelligence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Digital Transformation of Airport Inspections: Miami International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Miami International Airport transforms inspections with mobile mapping apps, which spurs further location intelligence.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T16:39:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/MIA-Aerial_MDAD_826.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation\",\n\t \"name\": \"Digital Transformation of Airport Inspections: Miami International\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2023-01-24T14:32:55+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2024-05-06T16:39:02+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Miami International Airport transforms inspections with mobile mapping apps, which spurs further location intelligence.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/miami-international-airport-inspection-transformation#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Digital Transformation of Airport Inspections: Miami International\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad23580b2658589de4ea5107d75cb52\",\n\t \"name\": \"Matt Ball\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Matt Ball\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Matt Ball is the editor of the Esri Blog and writes about applications of geospatial technology for all its departments. 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