Leverage technology and digital tools to optimize airport baggage and flow management strategy.
As part of a digital and programmatic transformation project at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Equans was responsible for the connections between the airport's old explosives detection system (EDS) to comply with Canadian regulations and the new one. Working closely with ADM (Aéroports de Montréal), Equans had the opportunity to create a solution capable of .
- Implementing a relatively new and unknown baggage handling system (BHS)technology coupled with a new flow management strategy for reliability and stability.
- With the help of a simulation tool (digital twin), rewrite and improve coding standards for integral BHS components - High-quality local IT support.
- Redesign of electrical equipment and systems - Efficient troubleshooting.
Our automation experts implemented a new automation sequence strategy,knowing that the baggage hall was already controlled by programmable logic controllers (PLCs), a computerized system for capturing data and giving instructions to the baggage handling system. The PLCs are coupled to control and data acquisition (SCADA) software. With the help of sensors and actuators, the software collects real-time data from the PLCs to control the processes and conditions of the baggage handling system.
The heart of the innovation lies in Equans' new PLC code, which improves the responsiveness of the network of PLCs essential to the smooth operation of the various components and processes, and of the BHS system itself. Thanks to greater precision in the instructions given to the system, our new PLC code detected indications of a potential problem before it manifested itself as a systemic problem. In addition, the new code enabled the PLCs to interface with any SCADA system, offering flexibility in software changes and/or upgrades. In 2022, the doubling of baggage handling capacity was a direct result of the PLC upgrade, a bold change to the automation strategy that achieved both the customer's and Equans' objectives.