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6An automated people mover is a transportation system with fully automated operations that features vehicles on guideways with an exclusive right of way. About 44 APM systems are oper- ating at airports worldwide. APM systems are implemented at airports to facilitate passenger and employee movement, gener- ally within the confines of the airport. They typically operate from passenger check-in areas to airplane gates and between gates, allowing more people to move more quickly over longer distances, connecting large, often dispersed airline terminals. More recently, APM systems have been designed to connect airport terminals with parking facilities, car rental services, regional transportation services, hotels, and other related employment and activity centers. APMs are vital to the operation of many airports in that they provide the fastest and sometimes the only means to travel within the airport. Serious problems arise when an air- port APM system does not operate well or stops entirely. Given the critical importance of APM systems in the operations of airports, it is essential for APM operators and decision makers to evaluate and manage their systems using a representative complement of performance measures. Today, owners/operators of airport APMs routinely collect system data and develop performance measures to monitor and manage their performance. The measures typically address service reliability, availability, and main- tainability as well as operations and maintenance con- tract compliance. Currently, however, there are no perfor- mance measures or data-collection practices common to all airport APMs, and research has been needed to develop meaningful tools for measuring and comparing their per- formance. A key challenge to conducting meaningful com- parisons is that no two airport APM systems are identical. For example, systems have different sizes, configurations, technologies, maintenance provisions, ages, and operat- ing environments. In addition, performance comparisons must be based on comparable performance measures using comparable data. 2.1 Purpose The objective of ACRP Project 03-07 was to develop a user- friendly guidebook for measuring performance of APM systems at airports. This guidebook identifies a set of perfor- mance measures and associated data requirements for airport APM operators to assess and improve performance, compare APM systems, and plan and design future APM systems. The performance measures address the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of APM systems at airports. 2.2 Who Should Use This Guidebook? This guidebook was developed for use by airport APM sys- tem owners and operators having the responsibility for the recurring operations and maintenance of the APM, as well those with the responsibility for future expansion of the existing APM system or for a separate APM at the same air- port. It is assumed that the user of this guidebook will be well versed in the operations and maintenance of airport APM systems, their capabilities, and the details concerning perfor- mance measurement of these systems. Those responsible for collecting, tracking, calculating, and reporting performance measures will also benefit to a great extent from the material in this guidebook. 2.3 How to Use This Guidebook This guidebook is generally targeted for the audiences de- scribed in Section 2.2. Those responsible for contracting oper- ations and maintenance (O&M) services for an airport APM system, planning the expansion of an existing system, or plan- ning a new APM system will benefit from the content in Chap- ter 3 (Transitioning from APM Planning and Implementation to APM Operations and Maintenance); Chapter 4 (Perfor- mance Measurement of APM Systems at Airports: The Current Situation); Chapter 5 (Performance Measures for APM Systems C h a p t e r 2 Introduction
7 at Airports: Recommended Approach); Chapter 6, Section 6.2 (Measures for Planning and Designing Airport APM Systems); and Chapter 7 (Implementing an Airport APM Performance Measures Program). These individuals should familiarize themselves with this content to be prepared to appropriately structure O&M contracts requiring performance measures to be tied to compensation and to understand how the measures that will be tracked and reported during the O&M phase of an airport APM system will affect and drive the planning and de- sign of future expansions or new systems at the airport. Those individuals who are responsible for collecting, tracking, calculating, and reporting the airport APM perfor- mance measures will benefit from the content in Chapter 5 (Performance Measures for APM Systems at Airports: Recom- mended Approach); Chapter 6, Section 6.1 (Internal Measures for Assessing and Improving Performance of Airport APM Systems); and Chapter 7 (Implementing an Airport APM Performance Measures Program). These individuals will need to be intricately familiar with the details of the content in these chapters since the mechanics of the performance measures are contained therein and since they will be the ones responsible for the accurate calculation and reporting of the measures. 2.4 Other ACRP Reports ACRP carries out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating agencies. It undertakes research and other technical activities in a variety of airport subject areas, including design, construction, maintenance, opera- tions, safety, security, policy, planning, human resources, and administration. ACRP produces a series of research reports such as this guidebook for use by airport operators, govern- ment agencies, and other interested parties to disseminate findings. This guidebook is a follow-on document to ACRP Report 37: Guidebook for Planning and Implementing Automated People Mover Systems at Airports. Other ACRP research reports and projects that deal with performance measurement are: ACRP Report 19: Developing an Airport Performance Measure- ment System; ACRP Report 19A: Resource Guide to Airport Performance Indicators; and ACRP Project 02-28, âAirport Sustainability Practices: Tools for Evaluating, Measuring, and Implementingâ (in process).
