Arup - Shaping a Better World
We could tell you that we are an international firm, with the best and brightest minds, with all the tools and techniques you could ever want. Like others, we can give you advice on what “you should do”.
But right now, what really matters is that you have the support of people who are committed to the recovery of your business. People who work with you to give practical and pragmatic solutionsto the questions and challenges you are facing.
There are going to be several steps in recovery: tentative steps with relatively low passenger numbers, through a phase when greater numbers of passengers want to fly and physical distancing requirements seem to be incompatible, and then a possible future with widespread health checking or certification.
We are working with airports to show them what throughput they can expect to support in the current situation, including assessing airport capacity with physical distancing in place. And using a risk-based assessment methodology, combined with our Pandemic Measures Comparative Analysis Tool, we are showing how to increase this throughput in the short-term with a wide range of possible interventions. We back this up, where necessary, with detailed modelling: our proprietary MassMotion© passenger movement simulation and visualisationtool show you how interventions will manifest in terms of passenger flows. This modelling can be augmented with proximity analysisto determine how effective the interventions are in achieving physical distancing. This simulation allows you test interventionsbefore trials and/or deploying measures with staff and passengers and it allows us to target mitigating measures where they have most value for you.
We all recognise that the situation is developing quickly, with policy at national and international levels constantly evolving. This calls for agility in planning. You want to balance the need to be ready to serve as many passengers as possible with minimising the costs and risks of the early adoption of certain interventions. We are helping by sharing our insights and knowledge of what is happening around the world – at other airports and regulatory bodies. We are answering airports’ questions on how recovery is manifesting itself in other regions to help them form plans for different recovery scenarios. And we are helping to shape roads mapsfor them that are flexible and responsive to an uncertain future.
We know that capital programmeshave been suspended. Greater clarity on the trajectory of recovery is needed before new, robust plans can be defined but we are supporting airports who are using ready access to assets to bring forward maintenance programmes, establish digital twins and improve their asset managementprogrammes including assessing the effectiveness of ventilation systems in order to understand how air-transported pathogens can move through buildings, enabling the design of infection-controlled spacesand adding to our understanding of overall infection risk.
Source: Arup
We continue to measure our impact on society, the environment and the economy using the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals as a framework. These goals compel us to act for the long-term and think about how we collaborate with our clients to drive positive and sustainable change. Some of the short-term changes we expect to see – more use of cars, less use of public transport, to reach an airport – are but small examples of the wider challenges that airports will face. Whether it is noise, air quality, carbon, or surface access, we are drawing these themes together to help you plan for a sustainable future.
Together we will shape a better world.
