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COURSEWORK 2 1. Airport terminals are “people processing plants” (T5 output is 40,000 per day). No other processing system would be switched from zero to 100% output on the first day operation. The opening of a new airport or terminal carries a significant degree of risk. Many major opening have been affected by problems such as those experienced at Heathrow Terminal5. The difficulties were later blamed on a number of problems with the terminal's IT systems, coupled with car parking.[ British Airways chief Willie Walsh agreed and blamed the problems principally on a failure to familiarise BA staff with the terminal as a result of building work over-running its September 2007 deadline. “We believed T5 was ready to open on March 27,” he said. “It is clear we made mistakes and compromised on the testing regime. There was insufficient familiarisation because of delays in completing the building.” Staffs were not as familiar with the terminal as they should have been. "There were also software issues. It would be unfair to say the baggage problem was to blame. The design of the baggage system is good. It was a combination of problems.” Walsh went on: “We understand at least 95% of the issues on the opening day. We planned six months of full testing from September to March and we compromised on that. If there was a single issue, it was that.” Most problems occurred due to staff being unfamiliar with new equipments. Willie Walsh revealed that IT problems and a lack of testing played a large part in the trouble. Problems experienced at the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, which led to hundreds of cancelled flights and thousands of passengers losing their luggage, "could and should" have been avoided. Most of the issues were caused by poor system testing, poor communication between British Airways and airport operator BAA, and poor staff training. Unless we are 100% sure, we can not switch from zero to 100% out put on the first day of operation. 2. There is too much reliance on IT in processing systems. Great use of human resource would have lowered the risk of failure.     Technology is—and has been—a blessing, but before we go to that well too often, we also need to realize that it is not the answer to every problem, and it does not obviate the need for common business sense.   When we ask for help with a problem, the proposed solution will often depend on the training and talents of the person you ask. So, when you ask an information technology person about a business problem, the solution is very likely to center on technology.   The better we educate ourselves and obtain a foundational understanding of technology, we'll be able to reap the benefits of technology instead of getting caught up in the dangers. While we are learning, it's important to also not become completely reliant on technology since complacency is probably one of the biggest dangers associated with it. It appeared on the 27th March 2008: · Baggage handlers' IDs were not recognised by computers and they were not able to log on to the handling system, resulting in the three flights taking off without bags · Amid confusion over the layout of the new terminal, bag handling teams were unable to make good the delays, which left passengers in arrivals while their bags waited on planes · By the afternoon, the already crammed system became overloaded and a ban on checking-in luggage was issued · Delays in loading and unloading planes led to delays in departures and arrivals, forcing BA to cancel 34 flights to ensure that its jets start in the right positions to run a normal timetable. Looking at the above factors we can argue that if only there were use of human resource, things could have been handled differently. Even if the process could have been longer BAA could have cancelled less flight and could have lower the risk of failure. 3. Operation of the building product is paramount. Some experts believe the “big” news would have been if T5 operated perfectly on day 1. (Hong Kong took a year of operation to perfect-particularly with baggage systems Once again it needs time to familiarise with an IT system as things can go wrong at any time, things which are not completely under our control. Terminal 5 opened on 27 March 2008, and immediately ran into problems, with 23,000 bags ending up misplaced and over 500 flights cancelled. There is always testing time for a new system before it goes live. This was not the case for Heathrow terminal5 where people were shown some sort of film or slides and told this was what it looked like. They were given training for three days to cover a very large area. That was not sufficient at all. For that reason people were totally confused. British airways failed in the ultimate objective of getting the system to a point where it worked well enough to cope with the opening successfully. The chaotic scenes of opening day could, and should have been avoided through better preparation (enough time in training and familiarisation with the system). British Airways accepted that the training had not been sufficiently thorough. They should have delayed the move on 27 March to allow the full programme to be completed. Willie Walsh, British Airways’ Chief Executive, recognised that they did compromise on the testing programme; they knew this was a risk. Since the opening, BAA and BA have instigated a daily Terminal 5 operations meeting to review each day's performance, and a weekly joint meeting to review the baggage system's performance.