Honeywell gets smart with NAVITAS system

The new system is set to assist personnel in visualising and routing aircraft movements – from enhancing situational awareness about traffic conditions and more safely expediting aircraft turnaround times, to automating fault diagnostics for airside equipment – all despite the increasing complexity and stress associated with today’s airport operations.
It is called the Honeywell NAVITAS software suite and it intelligently integrates air and ground traffic control with maintenance operations, so airports can more easily accommodate growing air traffic while promoting safety and on-time performance.
According to Honeywell, on many occasions there are silo operations in place on airports, sometimes leading to confusion. The technology giant has worked across the board to gain approvals for the new software and developed it to comply with the latest industry standards set forth by organisations – including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE).
“Airports around the globe are seeing dramatic increases in traffic and, while that makes the world more connected, it increases complexity to ensure safe and reliable operations,” said Sonja Strand, vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s global airports business.
“NAVITAS helps orchestrate these complex environments like never before through mobile applications, dashboards and heads-up displays that are intuitive. By harnessing the power of the ‘internet of things’, we’re making data user-friendly, and making airports smarter in the process,” she said.
There are four key modules to the NAVITAS system ¬– tower manager, engineering manager, surface manager and performance manager.
According to the company, tower manager helps improve the productivity of air traffic controllers by enhancing situational awareness of airport surface operations. It gives controllers access to rich, real-time information on ground, air traffic and meteorological conditions, presenting the information in a single, easy-to-use interface, and providing visibility into a multitude of traffic events, while reducing the chance for error.
The system helps manage the air traffic controller’s responsibilities, while making it easier to issue and track aircraft clearance information to keep landings and take-offs safer and on time.
Surface manager helps airports get more out of their existing infrastructure by enhancing ground traffic safety, fluency and throughput in a wide range of weather conditions, while helping to reduce their fuel burn and carbon footprint.
The module also provides the software necessary for airports to use all four levels of an advanced-surface movement guidance and control system (A-SMGCS), including surveillance, routing, guidance and airport safety support, along with enhanced movement conflict detection and resolution, which can include ‘follow-the greens’-based guidance that automatically illuminates lighting on the tarmac to guide aircraft to clear taxiways.
Engineering manager is said to help engineers and technicians manage maintenance by enabling them to more effectively monitor system health, perform fault diagnostics and to streamline workflows, which also often helps reduce operational costs.
It features a mobile interface and automates the diagnostics and failure reporting, while simplifying manual tasks and reducing paperwork, giving personnel better visibility into the availability, reliability and performance of airside systems. Personnel can easily create, manage and issue work orders to resolve issues and keep equipment up and running.
Finally, the performance manager features dashboards that allow airport staff to collaborate and analyse operations in line with key performance indicators. The module, which is accessible both on premise and remotely, provides access to a common base of holistic information and allows for the application of big data analytics for real-time and predictive insights, often enabling more efficient and informed decision-making.