Making the Connections

An Owner’s Guide
to Airport Asset
Lifecycle Management
 Guide at a Glance
Click any item to skip to that section
What is Airport Asset Lifecycle Management? Page 3
Digitally Transforming & Connecting All Lifecycle Phases Page 5
Key Capabilities of Airport Asset Lifecycle Management Page 9
Capabilities in Action: Airport Success Stories Page 12
Charlotte Douglas International Page 13
Chicago Rockford International Page 14
Savannah/Hilton Head International Page 15
Milwaukee Mitchell International Page 16
Onward & Upward: Next Steps for Airports Going Digital Page 17
2 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management
ith historically high levels of
federal funding available to
renew America’s infrastructure,
airport leaders have an
opportunity to modernize both
their facilities and their business
strategies. But leaders cannot
create and sustain the airports of the future with the
technologies and methods of decades past.
This guide illustrates how today’s digital technologies are
enabling a new approach to designing, building, operating, and
maintaining airports now and for the decades to come. This new
approach—airport asset lifecycle management—helps owners,
operators, and contractors build public trust by delivering
better project outcomes while lowering total asset costs. The
result is airport infrastructure that is safer, more reliable, more
cost-effective, and more sustainable.
 What is Airport Asset
Lifecycle Management?
For many years, airport leaders and their business partners
have made do with legacy paper-based processes and
antiquated systems pieced together through disjointed
workflows using multiple sources of often unreliable data. It’s
no wonder that these outdated methods and technologies
have dampened productivity and driven up costs.

Airport asset lifecycle management is the process of

connecting all phases of the asset lifecycle—Plan and Design,
Build, Operate, and Maintain—using a single source of
accurate data across integrated workflows that streamline the
handoffs from one team to another.

This unified process improves efficiency and productivity while

reducing waste and rework at every phase, so that projects
can finish on time and on budget. In addition, this full-lifecycle
perspective enables a proactive and coordinated approach to
asset maintenance, with well-timed, cost-saving preventive
actions that reduce the need for expensive, disruptive major
repairs.

3 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 For new or redeveloped airports, an asset lifecycle management approach
supports the successful implementation of Operational Readiness, Activation,
and Transition (ORAT) plans. ORAT is the integrated approach to managing the
transition of a new airport service or facility from project delivery into active
operations. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) defines dozens of
ORAT best practices—among them “integrating new and existing systems,” which
is a hallmark of effective asset lifecycle management.
Siloed vs. Connected Data
Airport teams generate more asset data than ever, but generally lack an
efficient method to access, share, analyze, and report on this data and
use it to make informed decisions. Instead, data typically exists in siloed
systems and in various inconsistent formats, rendering it inaccessible
and/or unusable. The data loss that occurs between these silos leads
to recurring losses in productivity because necessary information is
missing at key points in the asset lifecycle.

Data Loss Causes Productivity Setbacks

Ongoing Challenges: Lower Productivity, Higher
Costs

for Decision-Making
Asset Information
Two troublesome trends persist in fields that are critical to the
stewardship of airport infrastructure: construction and infrastructure
asset management:
+ According to research by economists at the University of Chicago,
productivity in the U.S. construction industry fell by about 40% from Plan & Design Build Operate Maintain

1970 to 2020, even though productivity in the overall U.S. economy nearly
doubled in that same period.
+ In the field of infrastructure asset management, the lack of reliable
data to perform predictive analytics causes inefficiencies that drive up
capital expenditures by 5%-8% and increase operating expenses by
10%-15%, according to global consulting firm Deloitte.
Connecting airport asset data across all phases of the lifecycle
enables team members to leverage the increasing value of the
existing information from one phase to the next, eliminating
duplicate data capture, reducing rework, and increasing productivity.
Connected Data Improves Productivity

These trends underscore the need for airport leaders and their business partners
to adopt infrastructure management strategies that improve productivity and for Decision-Making
Asset Information

efficiency. Airport asset lifecycle management is just such a strategy.

Plan & Design Build Operate Maintain

4 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Digitally Transforming
& Connecting All
Lifecycle Phases
Successful airport asset lifecycle management starts with
digitally transforming each phase of the lifecycle and then
connecting them all together in a seamless ecosystem of
integrated people, processes, and information. To support this
transformation, interconnected digital technologies redefine
each lifecycle phase.

5 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Plan and Design
Digitized capital planning
automates the process of
coordinating stakeholders;
maintaining historical, current,
and potential planning data; and
managing cash flow. With digital
design, capital improvement
project owners manage the
design workflow from a single
controlled data set: the 3D design
model. The model automatically
maintains version control for all
design inputs and updates, and
enables the owner to more easily
track and process submissions
and approvals.
Build
By sharing a 3D design model
with those who build from it—the
contractor team—the owner
helps optimize the design for
real-world building conditions,
technologies, and means and
methods. Combining that
building information modeling
(BIM) information with digitized
project management platforms
eliminates data silos by enabling
real-time tracking and visibility
across the whole project. The
owner can then better assess
how changes will affect costs,
schedules, and project quality.
Operate
Up-to-date, digitized asset
information—from as-built
documents to warranty details
to BIM reference models—helps
team members make better-
informed decisions to ensure
assets perform optimally for their
public. This also helps owners
with future planning by enabling
them to take information
about asset performance into
consideration for the next
project.
Maintain
Using advanced analytics and
predictive modeling, asset owners
create optimized work plans
to improve productivity and
performance while maintaining
assets more cost-effectively across
their service life. Connecting
maintenance information with
other asset lifecycle data helps
owners optimize all phases of
an asset, from design through
construction, operations, and
maintenance.

Digital design also helps airport Here, too, digitizing the

owners improve the execution
of their ORAT plans because it
allows them to integrate past,
current, and predicted asset
management information into
the new design to drive a more
future-focused design process.
management of the Build phase
enables airport owners to more
readily implement their ORAT
plan, because they can rely
on as-built data to inform the
transition to an operational facility
or service.

6 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Digital Technologies Support Part 139 Compliance
Part 139 Inspections Are Critical to Airport Operations
Each day, airports perform a variety of FAA-mandated inspections. Most airports conduct FAA-required airfield inspections several times a day, as well as
whenever an issue may require a runway inspection. The FAA 14 CFR Part 139 inspection involves the examination of airfield assets, including lights, signs,
pavement, navigational aids, security items, and more.

When an airport does not meet its Part 139 obligations, the FAA may impose an administrative action—or worse, a financial penalty for each day the airport
continues to violate a Part 139 requirement. In extreme cases, the FAA may revoke the airport’s certificate or limit the areas of an airport where air carriers can
land or take off (see FAA Order 2150.3, FAA Compliance and Enforcement Program).

Revoking an airport’s Part 139 certificate would interrupt the entire aviation system, as closure of one airport impacts multiple other airports in the network and
disrupts business activity and passenger travel.

Simplifying Inspections with Digitized Workflows

To support Part 139 compliance, Trimble Cityworks enterprise asset management solution provides an easy-to-use system of record for electronic logging of
Part 139 inspections. Flexible search capabilities and a unique map interface makes the airfield inspection process easier. Simple tools allow authorized users to
share reporting data with FAA inspectors before they arrive on site.

To accommodate multiple assets in an inspection, the Cityworks solution provides a work order template with multiple tasks that serves as an inspection form.
Work orders resulting from each inspection are linked to the inspection as child work orders. This workflow allows users to track work tied to a specific inspection
while managing open work orders produced from subsequent inspections. With easy real-time search, reporting, and data dissemination capabilities, this digital
solution eliminates the need for paper files, which saves time and effort while also improving data accuracy and accessibility.

Digitizing the inspection process brings many benefits for airport operators. One benefit is to decrease labor hours for repetitive tasks, which allows field workers
to focus on higher-value activities and can also help reduce operating costs. Additional advantages of digitization include providing the airport authority with
critical operations information and the ability to gain insights from benchmarking data to better mitigate and address airfield safety risks.

7 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Manage Safety & Reduce Risks with Integrated Solutions
Safety is an operational imperative for all airports. For Part 139 airports, the implementation of a
Safety Management System (SMS) is an FAA requirement. Trimble Cityworks provides a safety
management solution to help identify hazards, mitigate the associated risks, and report on Safety
Risk Management (SRM) and Safety Assurance (SA) efforts.

Whether maintaining the safety of airfield pavements, fleet vehicles and equipment, or other airport
facility assets, airport staff rely on Trimble’s integrated solutions to support the end-to-end process,
from inspections and work order management to future risk assessment, analysis, mitigation
planning, and reporting.

Federal Grant Funds for a Safety Management System

For airports looking to procure SMS software, federal grant funding is available. Airports that have
used Trimble digital technologies to help secure funding are now implementing projects to improve
airport safety and compliance.

Collaborate on Grants & Projects

Trimble’s team of specialists in public grant funding, airport
management, and technology solutions can help you identify
grant-eligible projects, apply for funding, and develop and
execute your airport safety and compliance strategies.
Contact us for more information.

8 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Key Capabilities of
Airport Asset Lifecycle
Management
While complete digital transformation may seem like a daunting
long-term goal, airport organizations can take steps now to
achieve that goal successfully over time. In fact, now is an ideal
time to start your airport’s digital transformation, when federal
funds are abundantly available for infrastructure projects that
can advance your asset lifecycle management strategy.

9 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 A key first step toward digital transformation is to adopt an organizational technology strategy that supports the three critical capabilities
of airport asset management: 1) digital project delivery, 2) enterprise asset management, and 3) a connected data environment. Trimble’s
extensive ecosystem of solutions and services provides these capabilities.

1 Digital Project Delivery 2 Enterprise Asset Management 3 Connected Data Environment

Digital project delivery is the use of digital data to
plan, design, construct, inspect, and record as-built
conditions throughout a construction project. With
digital project delivery, owners build public trust
by coordinating stakeholders and using reliable
data to deliver projects on time and on budget.
In addition, the resulting data—when carried
forward to later phases of the asset lifecycle—
empowers owners to manage their assets for better
performance and cost-effectiveness, lowering the
overall cost of ownership.
Enterprise asset management is the ability to cost-
effectively plan, manage, and optimally maintain a
portfolio of assets for maximum performance across
the lifecycle. This means avoiding costly, disruptive
repair projects by staying proactive with preventive
maintenance—and in the process, increasing
public confidence by ensuring asset reliability
and longevity. For Trimble customers, a GIS-
centric asset management solution streamlines
maintenance activities by integrating office-to-field-
to-office workflows, enabling teams to improve both
operational efficiency and asset performance.
A connected data environment is a digital information
platform that enables asset owners to accelerate
productivity by getting high-fidelity data into the
field through an open, 3D object-based collaboration
environment. By centralizing data across the asset
lifecycle, Trimble’s connected data environment
eliminates the information gaps caused by legacy
proprietary data formats and antiquated file-based
systems. Multidisciplinary stakeholders have access
to consistent, comprehensive, up-to-date information
about the asset—from its design and construction
history all the way to its projected future performance
and maintenance needs.

GIS-Centric Asset Lifecycle Management

Asset lifecycle management is only effective when airport organizations know what their assets are and where they are located. By using a GIS as the
authoritative system of record, airport leaders can better visualize their public assets and the associated data, work activities, and business processes. Trimble
Cityworks enterprise asset management solution is the original and leading GIS-centric asset management system and is built exclusively on Esri ArcGIS®.

Together, Trimble Cityworks and Esri ArcGIS empower airports to:

+ Understand exactly where assets are located + Establish and streamline workflows
+ Visually track historical work activities + Schedule preventive maintenance
+ Gather real-time data on airport assets + Create meaningful data visualizations and GIS-centric dashboards

10 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Digital Transformation Connected Integration Services
of the Asset Lifecycle
OPERATE
As airport asset owners know all too well, disconnected
applications that use proprietary data formats limit the
visibility of information necessary for data-driven decision-
making. Connected integration services solve that problem
by providing the strategic and operational expertise to
securely connect systems of record, leveraging open
Enterprise Asset
data standards to streamline workflows and create the
BU I L D Management
transparency needed to make informed decisions. Many
Trimble customers call on Trimble Digital Services and
CDE business partners to enable a unified technology ecosystem
CONNECTED DATA
that not only eliminates process bottlenecks, but also
ENVIRONMENT
MA
I N TA I N mitigates security threats through standards such as SOC2
Digital Project and FedRAMP compliance.
Delivery
Trimble Analytics
Effective airport asset lifecycle management depends on
DESIGN having access to accurate, trusted data to consistently
make the right decisions—whether for one asset or the
entire asset portfolio. Through more than four decades of
innovation in the field of industrial technology, Trimble is
uniquely positioned to provide airport owners with a curate
business intelligence solution that promotes confident
A connected data environment makes critical information decision-making across every lifecycle phase, no matter
available to owners and their collaborators over the entire asset the size or location of the asset portfolio. Through their
lifecycle. The result: Better project outcomes and lower total successes, Trimble customers confirm the value of having
asset costs. the information they need, when they need it, to achieve their
goals for productivity and project outcomes.

11 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Capabilities in Action:
Airport Success Stories
The airport success stories featured in this guide provide a
variety of examples of the capabilities enabled by Trimble
solutions and services. As these stories demonstrate, even
incremental progress toward complete asset lifecycle
management helps airports improve productivity and project
outcomes while delivering more cost-effective, reliable, and
sustainable airport infrastructure.

12 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Charlotte Douglas International Airport:
Modernizing with Asset Lifecycle Management
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is one of the top ten busiest airports in the world, serving
more than 47 million passengers annually, with over 700 daily flights. To keep pace with the growing number
of travelers and address the need to modernize outdated infrastructure, CLT is undergoing a monumental
expansion. This 10-year, $3.1 billion capital improvement program—initiated in 2016—includes new terminal
roadways, an expanded terminal and lobby, more gates, and a fourth parallel runway.

The need to deliver these new assets successfully and operate them efficiently while continuing to maintain
and operate its existing airport assets led CLT to look for ways to maximize effectiveness through digital
transformation. CLT is using two digital solutions: Trimble Cityworks, a GIS-centric enterprise asset
management solution that supports maintenance operations, and Trimble e-Builder, a digital project delivery
software that helps manage the airport’s capital improvement program. These solutions are playing a crucial role
in the airport’s success to date, helping to streamline workflows, eliminate data and communication silos, and
foster cost-effective project and asset management.

Since adopting Trimble solutions, CLT has created more than 50 new processes that support a broad range of
departments, and field crews are successfully completing hundreds of inspections and work orders on a daily
basis. Using these solutions helps CLT save time and money while also improving the safety and efficiency of its
airport operations.

Read CLT e-Builder case study

13 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Chicago Rockford International:
Streamlining Inspections and Reporting
Like most airports, Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) operates like a small city, complete with its own
infrastructure, facilities, and regulations that need to be managed and maintained. For years, the airport used
spreadsheets, paper-based forms, and an outdated legacy system to manage its assets and track FAA inspection
reports. This time-worn approach resulted in communication silos, data backlogs, and time-consuming
workflows.

RFD adopted the Trimble Cityworks solution to help track compliance reporting and inspections, such as the
daily Part 139 inspection reports, Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMS) reports, FAA 14 CFR airfield inspections, fuel
inspections, perimeter check audits, TSA security audits, and more. Airport teams also use Cityworks to support
all asset management activities, including facility maintenance, mowing, and other preventive maintenance
activities, with digitized work orders and service requests.

RFD staff members can now access relevant data in one centralized digital environment and can submit
inspection reports with ease. Digitized workflows eliminate data loss and increase confidence in operational
accuracy.

“The data we can capture in Cityworks proves every day that the investment in Cityworks is saving time and
money,” said Seth Nygen, Operations Manager at RFD. “We have become less reactive and more proactive
as an organization and have better efficiency and greater understanding of our operation overall.”

Read more about RFD

14 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Savannah/Hilton Head International:
Boosting Fieldwork Efficiency
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) began the process of replacing its outdated software systems
to improve communication, workflow, and asset management. SAV wanted to make the transition from an
office-centric system to one that supported seamless office-to-field-to-office workflows using integrated mobile
capabilities. The airport engaged Woolpert, a leading architecture, engineering, and geospatial consulting firm
and Trimble business partner, to help with the process.

Before implementing the Trimble Cityworks maintenance management solution, SAV employees would come
into the office, check a mailbox for daily assignments, fill out associated paperwork, head out to the field to
complete the task at hand, and return to the office to record that job as complete. Now, SAV workers receive and
complete work orders digitally, by phone or tablet, while in the field. The Trimble Cityworks mobile app puts real-
time information right in the palms of their hands.

“Cityworks has excellent capabilities in GIS integration, performance indicator reporting, visualization of work,
tracking costs associated with work, project budgeting, and forecasting,” said Jessica Smith of the Savannah
Airport Commission. “We were able to create and customize inspections critical to our operations.”

“The entire airport staff touches the system in one way or another,” said Eric Risner, Geospatial Project Manager
at Woolpert. “With the airport’s growth, establishing one efficient, economical system will benefit SAV in the short
and long term.”

Read the full story: New Heights for Airport Asset Management

15 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Milwaukee Mitchell International:
Putting Part 139 Data to Work
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) realized its Part 139 inspection data was valuable for more than
FAA reporting requirements. This data also plays an integral role in the airport’s asset lifecycle management
strategy. MKE replaced its antiquated spreadsheets and logbooks with Trimble Cityworks solution, a GIS-centric
maintenance management system.

Work orders resulting from FAA inspections are now linked, allowing staff to track associated labor, materials,
and equipment while managing open work orders produced from subsequent inspections. By tracking consistent
data in a single geospatial database, MKE has gained new insights into its daily operations, enabling the
maintenance team to better identify trends, prioritize projects, and adjust work schedules, material usage, and
equipment utilization for optimal cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

“We’re able to collect information that wasn’t even considered before, such as material use, who performed
work, who is inspecting, who requested the work, and more,” said Timothy Pearson, GIS Manager at MKE.
“We’ve developed a much better way of communicating everything from outages to issues, and we can
distribute accurate information quickly to the people who really need it.”

To find out more, watch the video:

Cityworks: Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

16 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Onward & Upward: Next Steps for Airports Going Digital

Implementing asset lifecycle management capabilities at your airport is a long-term process that starts with digital transformation of the organization. By adopting an IT
strategy that supports digitization and centralization of asset data from all sources, airport teams can begin to connect workflows from one phase of the asset lifecycle to the
next—improving accuracy, productivity, and efficiency.

Then, using a technology platform that provides a connected data environment with a digital twin of each asset, the organization can adopt a digital-first approach to every
lifecycle phase—from planning, design, and construction through ongoing operations and maintenance. Integrating technologies such as capital program management and
project delivery software, GIS and enterprise asset management software “closes the loop” on asset lifecycle management, enabling airports to seamlessly connect their
design/build and operate/maintain processes to achieve better project outcomes with lower asset ownership costs.

Airports that are adopting the asset lifecycle management approach are already demonstrating improvements in safety, compliance, and maintenance operations. As a long-
term strategy, asset lifecycle management supports the delivery of more cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable airport infrastructure.

17 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

 Acknowledgements
Special thanks to the following industry experts who contributed to this guide.*

Headshot Headshot

Jonathan Green MAS, PMP CM Doug Reichard

Director, Airport Solutions Director, Industry Strategy
Trimble Owner & Public Sector Federal & State Government
Trimble Owner & Public Sector

Connect with our team.

To explore next steps for digital transformation at your airport
with a member of our team, contact us.

*
Portions of this guide were adapted from Asset Lifecycle Management: A Guide for Capital Project & Infrastructure Owners.

18 | Airport Asset Lifecycle Management

Learn More
For more information on airport asset
lifecycle management strategies and
solutions, visit Infrastructure.Trimble.com.