Volan Technology Blog

Runway incursions remain one of the most critical safety challenges for airports, with incidents often stemming from unauthorized access by vehicles or personnel unfamiliar with airport layouts. Current manual systems are increasingly strained by labor shortages and high turnover, exposing vulnerabilities in safeguarding restricted areas. Adopting advanced real-time location technology can address these risks, ensuring proactive monitoring, precise intervention, and enhanced operational safety across the airside environment.

Ramsey Nuwar highlights how new micro-location tracking technologies, like the system developed by Volan, can revolutionize airline on-time performance by offering real-time visibility of ground operations. Traditional manual tracking methods have often led to inefficiencies and delays. With Volan's system, wearable devices for personnel and USB-connected trackers for vehicles provide precise data on the location and movement of resources such as fuel trucks, baggage handlers, and cleaning crews. This allows proactive delay prevention, optimized resource allocation, enhanced safety, and better accountability. 

Airport Improvement Magazine interviewed Brian Cobb, the chief innovation officer at CVG Airport, and Michael Bettua, CEO of Volan Technology, to delve into their collaborative project utilizing Volan’s Bluetooth-based tracking system for airport operations. The Volan Positioning System (VPS), which employs Bluetooth badges and a solar-powered wireless mesh network, enabled real-time tracking of construction workers and equipment. This system not only minimized the need for costly safety escorts but also provided valuable data for post-incident analysis. Additionally, VPS enhanced security by sending alerts when personnel entered restricted areas, significantly improving both operational efficiency and safety at the airport.

Ramsey Nuwar, an aviation expert and consultant for Volan Technology, discusses how post-pandemic passenger traffic has prompted airports to adopt technologies like micro-location to enhance operations and customer satisfaction. Micro-location technology, which accurately tracks the location of employees and assets within the terminal, can significantly improve the passenger experience by optimizing resources such as golf carts for assisting passengers, predicting demand, and reducing wait times and missed connections.

Imagine airport CFOs having a digital window offering complete transparency into contractor work hours on construction projects, eliminating reliance on self-reported time cards. Micro-location systems, like the Volan Positioning System, ensure precise tracking of contractor presence and movements, mitigating financial risk from potential overpayments. This technology aligns digital records with construction invoices, providing CFOs irrefutable proof of labor accuracy before payments, enabling airport leaders to optimize resource allocation and better anticipate labor demands.

In a bid to enhance safety, ensure FAA compliance, and reduce costs, one major U.S. airport is pioneering a groundbreaking solution utilizing smart badges and advanced geofence-based positioning systems. By equipping construction workers with these badges, one person can effectively monitor the location of 40 workers using just a laptop, eliminating the need for the traditional 1:5 escort-to-worker ratio. This innovative approach slashes projected escort costs by a staggering 82%, as illustrated by a detailed cost analysis.

Airports are taking a hard look at modern technology solutions to help meet the FAA's new extensive Safety Management System requirements. This 60-page ruling mandates that airports significantly improve their detection, analysis, data capture and reporting of safety incidents to maintain compliance. Volan has the answer.

One of the major challenges in airport operations post-April 2023 is ensuring compliance with increased FAA regulations mandating comprehensive reporting and data collection for all incidents. Volan positioning system can provide automatic data collection capabilities, seamlessly meeting these regulations.

Warehousing and fulfillment operations today are faced with more challenges than ever in seeking higher operational efficiency in an increasingly competitive market. Location intelligence is changing how warehouses operate, from optimizing profit margins to ensuring safety compliance. Location intelligence software can help your company improve efficiency, reduce unproductive hours and increase profits.

What is the difference between Asset Tracking vs. People Positioning? Asset tracking locates physical objects while people positioning locates people. Know what to look for in each solution and how each solution drives different benefits. Asset tracking is defined as the method of identifying and locating physical assets. Physical assets are typically computers, vehicles, tools, and equipment. People positioning is defined as the method of analyzing the location and movement of people over time.

In this guide, we walk through how to set up a time and motion study to maximize your labor and improve workforce productivity. What’s the best way to perform a task? Time and motion studies are a scientific way of cutting to the core of that question. Simply put, “motion” entails the movements related to a task, and “time” is the duration it takes to complete a task. If we’re all doing the same task independently, the person who finishes the fastest, using the most effective “movements,” creates the best way of getting the job done without continuous observation.

RTLS is used across many industries with specific applications such as workforce optimization and automatic rostering. We've compiled some of the most important terms related to Real-Time Location Services (RTLS).

Bluetooth Low Energy differs from its parent technology because it remains dormant until a connection is initiated. Where Bluetooth is best suited for a constant exchange of larger amounts of data, Bluetooth Low Energy excels at exchanging smaller amounts of data over a much longer period of time. Bluetooth Low Energy uses a reduced amount of power through faster connection times than traditional Bluetooth devices, reducing connections from 100mS to 6mS.

What is a time and motion study? What’s the best way to perform a task? Time and motion studies are a scientific way of cutting to the core of that question. Simply put, “motion” entails the movements related to a task, and “time” is the duration it takes to complete a task. If we’re all doing the same task independently, the person who finishes the fastest, using the most effective “movements,” creates the best way of getting the job done without continuous observation.

Workforce optimization is center stage in the conversation about how organizations can make better decisions regarding their resources and employees. In a time of unprecedented change, organizations are tasked with fundamentally rethinking how they work. From medicine to manufacturing, employee productivity remains more essential than ever. In this sea of change, industry-leading companies are finding opportunities for innovation and efficiency—and workforce optimization is a vital component of these processes.