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Mr. Pairote Varophas, Executive Vice Chairman of Samart Telcom PLC expressed that its ICT solutions subsidiary, Samart Comtech, partnering with a global giant under Airport System Integration Specialist Consortium, to be awarded the installation of the Airport Information Management System (AIMS) to install a 2 billion Baht IT system at Suvarnabhumi airport. The consortium consists of Samart Comtech, Siemens, Satyam Computer Services, ABB, and ATT Airport Technologies. The project has taken place for under 3 years since the commencement in November 2003, which includes the installation of IT management systems from the planning, control, decision making, human resource management, equipment, facility, as well as the complete system integration of the 45 subsystems.
“Regardless of the technical difficulties during the first week of commercial operation, e.g., check-in system, our expert team has quickly solved the problems until the system was back to normal operation. At present, Samart Comtech’s IT system still remains fully functional. However, we still constantly meet and exchange necessary information to assess all possible problems and produce solutions from the very first day of operation in order to provide completely satisfying services”, said Mr. Pairote.
Samart Comtech’s IT system at Suvarnabhumi airport consists of 3 subsystems, e.g., Airport Operation Database (AODB) that links to all other front office subsystems within the airport, Airport Management Database (AMDB) which runs the back office subsystems in finance/accounting, clerical, personnel, and purchasing, etc., and the Check-in system (Cute) which supports ticket issuance, and luggage tags to and from Suvarnabhumi airport.
In addition, the departure control system (LDCS) that provides passenger information in each flight including the PBRS that tracks passengers’ luggage, i.e., a luggage can be removed from the departing flight when a missing passenger is reported, and the Flight Information Management System (FIMS) which is AODB’s subsystem that manages all other departure and arrival information by linking with other international airports. These systems are networked together via the Enterprise Application Integrations (EAI) under Samart Comtech’s provision and connects these networks throughout the 40 buildings within the airport including the passenger terminal to the central computerized data center and network management center.
The 3 main control rooms in the IT building consists of the Airport Operation Center (AOC) that monitors and controls every single equipment within the airport 24 hours a day including ground, air, and security control center (SCC) for passenger service operations that links CCTV systems within the airport, and crisis control center (CCC) that operates under the control of airport executives. Additionally, there is a backup system designed by Samart Comtech that operates as a ring configuration.
"After the completion of all systems, we still have a 2-year contract in system warranty and another 1-year contract in supporting functions with AOT. There have been applications trainings for AOT staff assuring the passengers of system management efficiency to provide passengers with speedy services and convenience to the fullest extent", added Mr. Pairote.
Regarding the future projects in Suvarnabhumi airport, Mr. Pairote further revealed that in addition to the first stage of the IT system installation, Samart Comtech also plans to bid in the second phase of the IT expansion project for Suvarnbhumi airport, which does not require large investment or a new installation since the system fully supports future upgrades. The first phase of the airport operation can serve up to 45 million passengers annually and with continuous expansion to support 120 million passengers in 2026. Apart from continuous expansion of the airport, Samart Comtech also plans to offer IT system installation in other airports within Asia Pacific.
Having been contracting with Suvarnabhumi airport, Samart Comtech has been chosen as a strategic reseller of SITA Information Network Computing (SITA, Inc.), an IT application service provider for global airports, to offer IT solutions for local and regional airports. That leads Samart Comtech to share experience with a global partner including training and technology transfer in order to offer the system installation service in the future.
“We see opportunities and the possibility in the market since aviation business in Asia is in the rise bringing expansion to every country within the region. Each airport needs to adjust the service level to support the increasing passengers. However, that all depends on the policy and budget within each country. In the first stage, Samart group plans to concentrate on the check-in system as our core expertise. Although we are to compete with several global service providers, but we are certain that we can utilize our experience and expertise from the Suvarnabhumi project as well as through global partnership to become one of the accepted leaders to provide such service global airports”, commented Mr. Pairote.
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