Contribution to the evaluation and optimization of passengers' screening at airports

Security threats have emerged in the past decades as a more and more critical issue for Air Transportation which has been one of the main ressource for globalization of economy. Reinforced control measures based on pluridisciplinary research and new technologies have been implemented at airports as a reaction to different terrorist attacks. From the scientific perspective, the efficient screening of passengers at airports remain a challenge and the main objective of this thesis is to open new lines of research in this field by developing advanced approaches using the resources of Computer Science. First this thesis introduces the main concepts and definitions of airport security and gives an overview of the passenger terminal control systems and more specifically the screening inspection positions are identified and described. A logical model of the departure control system for passengers at an airport is proposed. This model is transcribed into a graphical view (Controlled Satisfiability Graph-CSG) which allows to test the screening system with different attack scenarios. Then a probabilistic approach for the evaluation of the control system of passenger flows at departure is developped leading to the introduction of Bayesian Colored Petri nets (BCPN). Finally an optimization approach is adopted to organize the flow of passengers at departure as best as possible given the probabilistic performance of the elements composing the control system. After the establishment of a global evaluation model based on an undifferentiated serial processing of passengers, is analyzed a two-stage control structure which highlights the interest of pre-filtering and organizing the passengers into separate groups. The conclusion of this study points out for the continuation of this theme

An evaluation methodology for the level of service at the airport landside system

A methodology is proposed for evaluating the level of service within an airport landside system from the passenger's point of view using linguistic service criteria. The new concept of level of service for a transport system, particularly within the airports indicates that there must be strong stimulation in order to proceed with the current stereotyped service standards which are being criticised due to their being based on, either physical capacity/volume or temporal/spatial standards that directly incorporates the perception of passengers, the dominant users. Most service evaluation methodologies have been concentrated on the factors of the time spent and the space provided. These quantitative factors are reasonably simple to measure but represent a narrow approach. Qualitative service level attributes are definitely important factors when evaluating the level of service from a user's point of view. This study has adopted three main evaluation factors: temporal or spatial factors as quantitative measurements and comfort factors and reasonable service factors as qualitative measurements. The service level evaluation involves the passenger's subjective judgement as a perception for service provision. To evaluate the level of service in the airport landside system from the user's perception, this research proposes to apply a multi-decision model using fuzzy set theory, in particular fuzzy approximate reasoning. Fuzzy set theory provides a strict mathematical framework for vague conceptual phenomena and a modelling language for real situations. The multi-decision model was applied to a case study at Kimpo International Airport in Seoul, Korea. Results are presented in terms of passenger satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a variety of different values

Model of reliability of security control operation at an airport

Cilj sigurnosne provjere na aerodromu je sprječavanje unošenja zabranjenih predmeta na ograničeno područje aerodroma ili u zrakoplov. Svi putnici i njihova prtljaga prolaze sigurnosnu provjeru. Sustav te provjere je vrlo specifičan sustav. S jedne strane sigurnosna se provjera mora obaviti učinkovito kako bi se odstranili zabranjeni predmeti tijekom pregleda, a s druge strane treba biti učinkovita tako da zbog putnika koji je prijavio pregled prtljage avion ne treba kasniti. Gore spomenuti kriteriji su proturječni. Zbog toga se u radu predlaže model pouzdanosti sigurnosne provjere s više kriterija koji uzima u obzir pravovremenost i učinkovitost postupka provjere kao i pouzdanost uređaja koji se koriste za sigurnosnu provjeru. Razvijeni je model primijenjen u procjeni funkcioniranja sigurnosnih pultova na aerodromu u Wrocławu. Model omogućuje procjenu utjecaja kvalifikacija djelatnika sigurnosne provjere (njihovu učinkovitost) na pouzdanost provjere.The aim of the operation of the security control system at an airport is the prevention of the introduction of forbidden objects to the restricted area of the airport or onto the plane. All passengers and their luggage undergo security control. The security control system is a very specific system. On the one hand, the security control must be performed effectively so as to eliminate forbidden objects during the inspection and, on the other hand, it should be efficient so that the passenger who has checked in his/her luggage does not cause the aircraft to be delayed by a long wait. The criteria mentioned above are in conflict. For this reason, the study proposes a multi-criteria model of reliability of the security control operation, which takes into account both the timeliness and effectiveness of the control process as well as the reliability of devices that are used to perform security control. The developed model was used to evaluate the operation of the security counters at the Wrocław airport. The model makes it possible to assess the influence of security control operators\u27 qualifications (their effectiveness) on the reliability of the control

Occupancy driven supervisory control of indoor environment systems to minimise energy consumption of airport terminal building

A very economical way of reducing the operational energy consumed by large commercial buildings such as an airport terminal is the automatic control of its active energy systems. Such control can adjust the indoor environment systems setpoints to satisfy comfort during occupancy or when unoccupied, initiate energy conservation setpoints and if necessary, shut down part of the building systems. Adjusting energy control setpoints manually in large commercial buildings can be a nightmare for facility managers. Incidentally for such buildings, occupancy based control strategies are not achieved through the use of conventional controllers alone. This research, therefore, investigated the potential of using a high-level control system in airport terminal building. The study presents the evolution of a novel fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller, which intelligently establishes comfort setpoints based on flow of passenger through the airport as well as variable external environmental conditions. The inputs to the supervisory controller include: the time schedule of the arriving and departing passenger planes; the expected number of passengers; zone daylight illuminance levels; and external temperature. The outputs from the supervisory controller are the low-level controllers internal setpoint profile for thermal comfort, visual comfort and indoor air quality. Specifically, this thesis makes contribution to knowledge in the following ways: It utilised artificial intelligence to develop a novel fuzzy rule-based, energy-saving supervisory controller that is able to establish acceptable indoor environmental quality for airport terminals based on occupancy schedules and ambient conditions. It presents a unique methodology of designing a supervisory controller using expert knowledge of an airport s indoor environment systems through MATLAB/Simulink platform with the controller s performance evaluated in both MATLAB and EnergyPlus simulation engine. Using energy conservation strategies (setbacks and switch-offs), the pro-posed supervisory control system was shown to be capable of reducing the energy consumed in the Manchester Airport terminal building by up to 40-50% in winter and by 21-27% in summer. It demonstrates that if a 45 minutes passenger processing time is aimed for instead of the 60 minutes standard time suggested by ICAO, energy consumption is significantly reduced (with less carbon emission) in winter particularly. The potential of the fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller to optimise comfort with minimal energy based on variation in occupancy and external conditions was demonstrated through this research. The systematic approach adopted, including the use of artificial intelligence to design supervisory controllers, can be extended to other large buildings which have variable but predictable occupancy patterns

A holistic review of cybersecurity and reliability perspectives in smart airports

Advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and aviation sector have resulted in the emergence of smart airports. Services and systems powered by the IoT enable smart airports to have enhanced robustness, efficiency and control, governed by real-time monitoring and analytics. Smart sensors control the environmental conditions inside the airport, automate passenger-related actions and support airport security. However, these augmentations and automation introduce security threats to network systems of smart airports. Cyber-attackers demonstrated the susceptibility of IoT systems and networks to Advanced Persistent Threats (APT), due to hardware constraints, software flaws or IoT misconfigurations. With the increasing complexity of attacks, it is imperative to safeguard IoT networks of smart airports and ensure reliability of services, as cyber-attacks can have tremendous consequences such as disrupting networks, cancelling travel, or stealing sensitive information. There is a need to adopt and develop new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled cyber-defence techniques for smart airports, which will address the challenges brought about by the incorporation of IoT systems to the airport business processes, and the constantly evolving nature of contemporary cyber-attacks. In this study, we present a holistic review of existing smart airport applications and services enabled by IoT sensors and systems. Additionally, we investigate several types of cyber defence tools including AI and data mining techniques, and analyse their strengths and weaknesses in the context of smart airports. Furthermore, we provide a classification of smart airport sub-systems based on their purpose and criticality and address cyber threats that can affect the security of smart airport\u27s networks

A Risk-Based Optimization Framework for Security Systems Upgrades at Airports

Airports are fast-growing dynamic infrastructure assets. For example, the Canadian airport industry is growing by 5% annually and generates about $8 billion yearly. Since the 9/11 tragedy, airport security has been of paramount importance both in Canada and worldwide. Consequently, in 2002, in the wake of the attacks, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) put into force revised aviation security standards and recommended practices, and began a Universal Security Audit Program (USAP), in order to insure the worldwide safeguarding of civil aviation in general, and of airports in particular, against unlawful interference. To improve aviation security at both the national level and for individual airport, airport authorities in North America have initiated extensive programs to help quantify, detect, deter, and mitigate security risk. At the research level, a number of studies have examined scenarios involving threats to airports, the factors that contribute to airport vulnerability, and decision support systems for security management. However, more work is still required in the area of developing decision support tools that can assist airport officials in meeting the challenges associated with decision about upgrades; determining the status of their security systems and efficiently allocating financial resources to improve them to the level required. To help airport authorities make cost-effective decisions about airport security upgrades, this research has developed a risk-based optimization framework. The framework assists airport officials in quantitatively assessing the status of threats to their airports, the vulnerability to their security systems, and the consequences of security breaches. A key element of this framework is a new quantitative security metric ; the aim of which is to assist airport authorities self-assess the condition of their security systems, and to produce security risk indices that decision makers can use as prioritizing criteria and constraints when meeting decisions about security upgrades. These indices have been utilized to formulate an automated decision support system for upgrading security systems in airports. Because they represent one of the most important security systems in an airport, the research focuses on passenger and cabin baggage screening systems. Based on an analysis of the related threats, vulnerabilities and consequences throughout the flow of passengers, cabin baggage, and checked-in luggage, the proposed framework incorporates an optimization model for determining the most cost-effective countermeasures that can minimize security risks. For this purpose, the framework first calculates the level of possible improvement in security using a new risk metric. Among the important features of the framework is the fact that it allows airport officials to perform multiple “what-if” scenarios, to consider the limitations of security upgrade budgets, and to incorporate airport-specific requirements. Based on the received positive feedback from two actual airports, the framework can be extended to include other facets of security in airports, and to form a comprehensive asset management system for upgrading security at both single and multiple airports. From a broader perspective, this research contributes to the improvement of security in a major transportation sector that has an enormous impact on economic growth and on the welfare of regional, national and international societies

The Impact of Technological Innovations on the Passenger Process at Airports

The use of newer and advanced technologies such as Self-Service Technologies (SSTs), is constantly evolving for various services at airports to enhance the passenger experience, level of satisfaction and overall productivity. However, it is important to examine such developments to ascertain to what extent they fulfil the requirements of the airport operations such as departure and arrival operations from the passenger perspective. Therefore, this study assesses the passenger perspectives toward the implemented SSTs such as the Self-Service Kiosk (SSK) and online/mobile for the departure operation’s passenger check-in process at Sydney airport. To achieve the objectives of this study, three different sub-studies were conducted. In study 1, an online survey was conducted, and the collected data were analysed using Chi-square and T-tests to investigate passenger perspectives toward SST use. Chi-square results showed that the use of SSTs was not associated with passengers' social and demographic characteristics such as gender, flying experience and age, nor with situational factors, such as the presence of staff members at self-service. This was confirmed by T-test results which showed no significant difference between the average use of SSTs by male and female passengers, frequency of travel or whether passengers received staff assistance at self-service. In addition, situational factors such as better signage to locate the service, reduced number of customers waiting for service, less waiting time, and less processing time positively impacted SST usage. Furthermore, the results of study 1 also showed that passengers travelling frequently experienced less processing time at SSKs, and passengers intended to use SSK at the airport arrived closer to the flight departure time. In study 2, the CAST software (terminal simulation) was used to examine the passenger processing time at SSKs, the number of passengers using SSKs, and passenger arrival times at the terminal. The results were used to examine the impact of these factors on the check-in process (i.e., waiting time). The simulated scenarios reflected the positive impact of SSK use on the waiting time. For instance, the replacement of two traditional check-in desks with two SSKs for the check-in process reduced the waiting time from 18.7 minutes to 6.2 minutes for passengers using these SSKs, and this was further reduced to 1.1 minutes with four SSKs. A survey conducted in study 3 included questions where passengers were asked to share their experience after using SSK at the airport. The variables corresponding to these questions were reduced to a manageable and interpretable set of factors using the factor analysis methodology. The results identified five factors, including beneficial, accessible, inconvenient, insecure and ineffective, attributing passenger perspectives toward the SSKs. The findings can be used to improve SST use for seamless passenger processing at the airport and passenger experience by focusing on the passenger characteristics which have an association with SST use. Furthermore, the evaluation of passenger arrival time and the use of check-in mode on arriving at the airport can help with the correct allocation of adequate numbers of traditional check-in desks and SSKs, which consequently will save costs and reduce waiting time for passengers. In addition, the identified five factors could be used in future studies and surveys to measure the passenger experience of SSTs

RFID Technology in Intelligent Tracking Systems in Construction Waste Logistics Using Optimisation Techniques

Construction waste disposal is an urgent issue for protecting our environment. This paper proposes a waste management system and illustrates the work process using plasterboard waste as an example, which creates a hazardous gas when land filled with household waste, and for which the recycling rate is less than 10% in the UK. The proposed system integrates RFID technology, Rule-Based Reasoning, Ant Colony optimization and knowledge technology for auditing and tracking plasterboard waste, guiding the operation staff, arranging vehicles, schedule planning, and also provides evidence to verify its disposal. It h relies on RFID equipment for collecting logistical data and uses digital imaging equipment to give further evidence; the reasoning core in the third layer is responsible for generating schedules and route plans and guidance, and the last layer delivers the result to inform users. The paper firstly introduces the current plasterboard disposal situation and addresses the logistical problem that is now the main barrier to a higher recycling rate, followed by discussion of the proposed system in terms of both system level structure and process structure. And finally, an example scenario will be given to illustrate the system’s utilization

Prevention of terrorism : an assessment of prior POM work and future potentials

© 2020 Production and Operations Management Society In this study, we review POM-based research related to prevention of terrorism. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) terrorist attacks have the potential to be prevented. Consequently, the focus of this study is on security enhancement and improving the resiliency of a nation to prevent terrorist attacks. Accordingly, we review articles from the 25 top journals, [following procedures developed by Gupta et al. (2016)], in the fields of Production and Operations Management, Operations Research, Management Science, and Supply Chain Management. In addition, we searched some selected journals in the fields of Information Sciences, Political Science, and Economics. This literature is organized and reviewed under the following seven core capabilities defined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): (1) Intelligence and Information Sharing, (2) Planning, (3) Interdiction and Disruption, (4) Screening, Search, and Detection, (5) Forensics and Attribution, (6) Public Information and Warning, and (7) Operational Coordination. We found that POM research on terrorism is primarily driven by the type of information that a defending country and a terrorist have about each other. Game theory is the main technique that is used in most research papers. Possible directions for future research are discussed