october2021 - 31

AIRPORTS
H
olism, the idea that individual parts
of a system should be viewed in
conjunction with the whole, may
not be the philosophy that springs
to mind when thinking of boarding bridge
replacements - but maybe it should.
Norfolk International Airport (ORF)
undertook a 17-boarding bridge replacement
project with a holistic approach - saving them
time and money - and allowing them to add
on another bridge to the project for a final
total of 18.
The project was lead by AERO BridgeWorks,
Inc, who coordinated and managed
multiple layers of subcontractors and equipment
manufacturers, including a combination
of ground support equipment providers.
" We wanted a holistic approach that would
really streamline everything for the project
and take some of the coordination of going
back and forth between the manufacturer and
the general contractor out of the picture, and
let them talk directly since they're contracted
together, " says Jeffrey Bass, director of facilities,
Norfolk Airport Authority.
Bass says that they were able to cut out a
significant amount of time from the project.
Originally, ORF scheduled the project to take
about 950 days and they finished six months
ahead of schedule.
" We were six months ahead of schedule on
the project because of the way that we did the
approach with letting the general contractor
push with the manufacturer to get the passenger
loading bridges here faster. And then they
coordinated all the equipment that needed to
be onsite during the installation. The contract
also allowed them to pick and choose
who the manufacturer was on particular
equipment that's associated with a passenger
loading bridge based on the specifications.
This approach saved over $2 million on the
project, " Bass says.
" The original project was 17 gates, " adds
Jason Pearson, vice president at AERO BridgeWorks.
" We were able to deliver the project
under their budget and over six months ahead
of schedule. The cost and time savings allowed
the airport to replace an additional gate. "
Bass says altogether, the final cost of the
project came to $17.8 million not including
consultant fees.
Kraig Taylor, site superintendent with
AERO BridgeWorks, says that ORF opting
to include not just the bridge equipment, but
also all the foundations, site/civil, building
infrastructure upgrades and terminal exterior
modifications in a single contract ensured
the entire project was fully coordinated. This
approach significantly reduced the airport's
risk and was key to the overall project success.
" Norfolk included all of the infrastructure
related to the bridge in one package and
this decision was paramount in our ability
to ensure the project was well coordinated,
completed safely and with the highest level
of quality. When it's all under one contract,
then there's one point of responsibility and it's
much simpler for the owner to coordinate it
and much easier for us, quite honestly, to do
our job and work with all of the stakeholders, "
Taylor says.
New Bridges, New Tech
The driving forces behind the project were
the age of the existing bridges, some dating
back to the 1980s, and ORF official's wish to
bring the maintenance of the bridges under
their control.
" We had a lot of different jet bridges made
by different manufacturers, being maintained
by different groups. And the consistency
was just not there, and the level of quality of
being maintained was not there for it, " Bass
recounts. " We changed our program here at
the airport to include the maintenance of all
jet bridges so that the airport would then own,
operate and maintain the jet bridges for all
of our airline tenants. The ultimate goal was
to basically create a better experience for our
passengers, cleaner jet bridges, well-maintained,
and just a better appearance overall.
And that was something that in the past we've
had problems with leaking jet bridges, and
rusty jet bridges. "
Bass adds while the airlines are great at
maintaining planes and moving passengers,
airlines have limited staff at a small hub, making
it difficult to maintain a piece of equipment
like a jet bridge.
" And so, we changed our approach to be
more holistic from the airport's perspective.
Because we're good at maintaining facilities,
and we're good at keeping an appearance that
we want to set for the overall airport. And
I think that this was an opportunity both
for the airlines to relinquish some of their
responsibilities and focus in on their business
models, and for us to focus in on what's kind
of our core responsibilities, too, " he continues.
The upgrade to new bridges also gave
ORF greater technology than their 1980s
equipment.
" When you compare 1980s era equipment
to current equipment, there are significant
upgrades and technologies, " says Pearson.
OCTOBER 2021 AviationPros.com 31
All photos courtesy of Norfolk International Airport
http://www.AviationPros.com
october2021

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