By Lonna Whiting
For airports large and small, leaders spend a lot of time prioritizing capital work, advancing strategic initiatives, and maintaining regulatory requirements.
It’s a constant challenge, and anytime you bring a runway construction project into the mix, it doesn’t take long for overwhelm, deadline stress, and budget anxiety to follow.
Like many airport leaders today, Ben Clendaniel, senior airport manager at New Castle Airport (ILG) in Delaware, understands why AOA construction projects are particularly stressful and sheds light on why you might feel the same.
“There are lots of moving parts with any construction project, and it can be hard to wrap the lasso around all of them. … We must always assume that if a mistake can be made, it will be made.”
So what can airport directors and AOA leaders do to reduce the burden on internal teams—and themselves?
Collaborate early and often with outside experts.
“If you want to do it without major impact to operations, passengers, revenue and stakeholders, it really takes early partnering and a lot of communication upfront,” an industry leader said in an article for the Engineering News-Record.
That’s something the FAA gets behind, too.
“Airport construction activities can be difficult and dangerous, so airports must take appropriate precautions to reduce the potential risks. … Close communication and coordination between all affected parties is the key to maintaining safe operations,” the FAA wrote in “Operational Safety on Airports During Construction.”
Third-party safety support services have emerged as a practical solution to that challenge and represents a strategic enhancement to how airports manage complexity.
Bonus: They also complement and elevate an airport’s existing Safety Management System (SMS).
Just as the FAA notes that a solid SMS “allow(s) an organization to adapt to change, increasing complexity, and limited resources,” a third-party team with specialized operational expertise is increasingly valuable for airport directors navigating modern aviation demands. Here are a few reasons why.
Operational fluency
Third-party safety professionals bring a working knowledge of active airfield environments that goes beyond general construction experience.
“At Alder, workers understand runway operations, taxiway movements, communication protocols, and the timing sensitivities that define aviation activity,” said President and CEO of Alder Airfield Services Ali Munzer. “Our team’s operational fluency allows us to anticipate conflicts before they occur and support seamless project execution in live environments.”
Explaining how they achieve this, Munzer said it comes down to finding out how best to reduce disruptions and delays, a process that is a little different for every AOA construction project, but something her team has deep knowledge in.
“One of the ways we make sure we’re working with our AOA partners and leaders to create an environment of efficiency is by assisting in the sequencing of safety needs around peak activity periods,” Munzer said. “We prioritize high-impact areas and schedule work during windows that make sense from a safety standpoint.”
Munzer said this does two things: it ensures airport functions continue uninterrupted and construction continues at the same time.
Often, this has additional benefits.
“We hear from airport directors and construction contractors that working with us reduced supply chain issues and even equipment failures,” Munzer added. “We view this as a very positive result of close and early collaboration with stakeholders.”
Collaboration Across Stakeholders
We know that airfield projects require coordination between airport operations, engineering teams, contractors, and regulators, and a whole other host of professionals.
Munzer said Alder helps close the circle with a boots-on-the-ground team that reduces the risk of accidents and incursions — often eliminating them altogether.
“Of course our goal is to reduce and eliminate incidents related to construction, and a core piece of our work as third-party construction safety experts is to provide our partners with multi-level supervision ranging from senior QA managers to field inspectors,” Munzer said.
Being well-versed in FAA guidelines is crucial, too.
“Airport construction must comply with state and federal FAA guidance just like pretty much every other area of an airport anywhere in the world,” Munzer said. “Third-party safety teams align requirements with tracking and reporting that makes sense for all AOA environments.”
Third-party safety teams also centralize critical documentation such as safety logs, insurance certificates, and compliance records.
“We like to think we help contractors and stakeholders be prepared for audits, inspections, or incident reviews,” while significantly reducing burden on your internal AOA teams, Munzer said. “Just like safety, it’s the details that matter.”
Want to learn more about AOA third-party construction safety?
For more information about how Alder Airfield Services can help reduce heartburn during your airport’s next runway construction project, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us today!
Lonna Whiting writes for purpose-driven companies like Alder, providing them with comprehensive, research-driven communications that support their industry expertise.