Counter Terror Gazette

Airport Security: communicating effectively for effective action

20 Dec 2011

Graeme Harrison discusses the importance of building the right technology into airports and how effective communication can be the difference between success and failure during an emergency.

The world of air travel has changed completely over the last decade. Airports around the world have been transformed with the introduction of high tech safety and security systems. Body scanners, biometric readers, iris recognition systems, CCTV cameras and even behavioural screening technology are now all part of a massive safety and security operation that aims to identify and manage issues before they become a problem. Mountains of data are produced not only by these technical systems, but also by human intelligence, which all need to be collated and analysed quickly and accurately by airport staff.

However, while the data is crucial to identify any potential threats, in the event of an alert, what is required is that the right messages be delivered to the right location at the right time. This minimises disruption and ensures a ‘business as usual’ attitude even in a major crisis. This includes transferring the travelling public from the scene to a safe zone and moving experts in as quickly as possible. What is needed, therefore, is a communication system that is able to organise human traffic quickly and efficiently.

All-in-One Communication

In these days of heightened transportation security, clear communication is more essential than ever. Public address, paging, messaging and music systems must do more than facilitate travel. Mumbled passenger announcements over crackling speakers can be hard to understand and easily missed when competing with loud background noises and the multi-sensory distractions within airports. Crisp, clear audio that cuts through audio congestion is vital to managing communications for both everyday and unexpected events.

What is more, airports are structures unlike any other buildings, in that virtually all of their users are unfamiliar with the surroundings. They feature a myriad of terminals, walkways, security zones, lounges, shopping areas, restaurants, runways and even bus and train terminals. Even a frequent traveller that regularly uses a particular airport will only be familiar with a fraction of the vast structure. This means in case of an emergency or security alert, risk managers cannot afford to assume that the public has any familiarity with the surroundings.

It is clear to see, therefore, that the traditional ‘ringing bell’ alarm system for use as a security alert is now woefully inadequate. A bell cannot inform travellers or staff on specific threats and how to act. In case of an incident in one area, it is important to be able to inform people on the ground quickly and efficiently on what to do and where to go, without causing chaos or disruption elsewhere in the facility. Moreover, communication systems need to have the ability to reach different areas with different messages, and even different messages for different audiences. Staff may have to receive a call-to-action, while the travelling public may have to be told to move calmly to a specific location.

Take the scenario of a fire in a restaurant located in the departure lounge. A number of things must be done immediately – contain the fire, send for experts and get the general public to safety.  With a unified communications and Voice Evacuation Alarm System (VES), a command centre is able to respond fast by producing announcements tailored to the specific area, ensuring the location can be evacuated in an orderly manner, with passengers and staff knowing exactly where to go, while clearly instructing the experts at the same time. All this needs to take place whilst ensuring flights can arrive and depart with minimal delays. Clearly, the old bell system is not sufficient for the new, complex threat landscape that exists today. Unfortunately, the infrastructures of many airports have still not caught up with the modern day safety and security requirements.

Old and Disjointed: the communication systems of the past

With a few exceptions of new airports built on green field sites that include state-of-the-art facilities in their construction, most airports have grown organically, adding new terminals, driveways and facilities over time. This has often lead to disjointed, legacy communications systems that have to be managed in isolation from each other. What’s more, making upgrades or reconfiguring alerts are time consuming and expensive as they require a great deal of human intervention. However, with today’s strict security requirements, it is important to have a communication system that is unified and can be centrally controlled. An infrastructure that is fully networked also means that, in case of a fault in the system, the problem can be identified and addressed very quickly, which is more of a challenge with a traditional, dispersed system.

Airports Becoming Networked 

Having realised that their old, disjointed and patchy communications infrastructures are not up to the challenges of the new world order, some airports have already started to take steps towards a unified media system that improves communication and security across their entire infrastructure.

The Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport in Canada, for example, has introduced a network-based audio paging system that uses Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) for a highly networked, flexible and scalable communications infrastructure. Whitehorse benefits from technology, including combined distribution processing and page routing, as well as networked audio and control. Using standard Ethernet networking technology, the system includes a highly adaptable and scalable communication system that is centrally monitored yet can be localised, or zoned, to the smallest of areas.

The networked approach eliminates a single point of system failure, allowing for decentralised design and a system that is expandable from a single paging station and can be amplified to a more complex paging system across several zones and multiple buildings. In terms of end-user benefits, staff can produce live, delayed and recorded announcements, take advantage of system-wide alarms and event logging, message store and forward as well as background music routing. This type of system architecture enables airports to combine their general entertainment infrastructure, as well as their security and safety communication, all under one stable, reliable and highly resilient network.

While Wellington International Airport in New Zealand has also taken a similar approach to Whitehorse, at Hong Kong International Airport, Cathay Pacific, which owns several large lounges widely dispersed across the airport, has implemented a network-based system in order to share music channels between lounges, as well as having the ability to make system-wide pages in the event of an emergency. For implementation, the airline was able to harness the existing fibre backbone already in place in the airport’s building fabric.

Evacuation Strategies: what to look out for

An integral part of an airport’s communication system is an evacuation procedure that is tightly integrated with the overall communications infrastructure. It goes without saying that any system with such a vital part to play in the welfare of passengers and staff must be completely resilient. For this reason a network-based, decentralised system is the clear choice. As noted earlier, a centralised system introduces the risk of a single connection failure bringing down the entire system. In the case of a large airport, a decentralised system can make all the difference. For example, using a centralised alarm infrastructure over large areas increases the risk of a system failure. But the self contained, intelligent end-points of a decentralised, network-based system remove this risk making it substantially more reliable. Scalability is another key benefit; as airports are expanded or renovated it is a smarter investment to ensure any safety system is able to scale upwards to meet future needs.

A sophisticated VES can use real-time information to make sure that passengers are directed along an exit route that best avoids danger. For example in the case of an airport terminal evacuation, the technology manager may wish to direct people of one terminal to the west exits while at the same time work to move the passengers of an alternative terminal towards the eastern exits. In this instance it is vital that a VES provides zone management capabilities. This will allow location-appropriate information to be accurately communicated as needed.

Adaptability

Part of the difficulty in providing technology for airport evacuations is that each facility is unique and constantly evolving. This means any solution must ensure that it is both bespoke and future proof.

Any communications system used must include both a highly customisable interface and hardware. In terms of the interface, it must be equipped with an easily tailored paging feature to provide both pre-recorded and live voice messages. The mapping or zoning of these messages need to match the current schematics of a building, as well as any changes that may be needed should structures be added or the facility’s design reconfigured in any way.

What’s more, when evaluating a potential communications system, a technology manger should look for one that has remote supervision capabilities. Being able to access the system remotely allows the technology manager to properly and effectively monitor the entire system real-time – gaining greater resource efficiencies.

Arguably one the most advanced ways voice alarm technology can contribute to a safe and orderly evacuation is through ambient noise detection. By sensing and measuring sound levels within a space and adjusting subsequent message sound levels, the VES ensures that messages can be heard and are not drowned out by a loud environment. This guarantees that a facility’s occupants are notified as quickly and as clearly as possible. Similarly, in quieter areas the system is able to accommodate the message volume in order to prevent startling or panicking passengers.

Standards

Given the complexity, sophistication and importance of a media system that has an integrated voice alarm network, it is imperative any system installed comes from a partner you can trust. Moreover, any technology partner supplying you should be one that can ensure the network will not only be installed correctly but will be fully maintained and supported throughout its usage. It’s also vital to ensure that any prospective system is fully up to date with all current compliance standards and guidelines, including EN 54-16 product certification.  This is a standard for all new buildings that incorporate a VES – if the system does not have the certification it cannot be used for emergency voice evacuation purposes. Standardising the industry means that users can be sure that no matter what the product, it will perform as they require it, in conjunction with the rest of the system. Without standardisation and product certification, users run the risk of investing in expensive systems that do not perform as needed when required – a potentially fatal flaw when it comes to airport safety and security.

Conclusion

Unlike any other public space, an airport is probably the most difficult public facility to control and secure. With thousands of passengers moving through a myriad of corridors and walk-ways, they are likely to be unfamiliar with their surroundings, while the vast, disjointed building structures may prove to be difficult to monitor.

While most of the focus placed in airports lies with identifying security alerts, it is just as important to put a communication system in place that enables for fast response times and orderly evacuation in case of a security emergency.

Expecting varied communication systems to work together, be centrally managed, and be highly flexible in message distribution means an airport will be able to deal quickly and efficiently with any security alert or emergency situation. A networked voice evacuation and paging system should therefore be an integral part of the security and control infrastructure command of any airport. 

Graeme Harrison is Vice President for International Sales at Biamp Systems 

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