179 “We can’t fail,” said Maurice Jenkins, MIA’s division director of Information Systems and Telecommunications. “So we make sure to have all the tools and resources available to ensure we rapidly address, respond to, deal with, and mitigate any disruptions in the most efficient and effective manner.” MIA adopted an all-digital workflow in 2022, replacing a paper-based inspection process with tablets running apps built with GIS technology. The apps capture the location of every data entry, use pull-down menus to streamline recordkeeping, and can append a photo to text descriptions. It’s clear-cut, it’s concise. No one has to worry about deciphering an inspector’s cryptic notes or interpreting what that individual meant when they made that notation. There’s no paper to worry about—it can save hundreds of trees—and there’s no wait for someone to input the data. There are so many benefits, but mainly it’s about the processing speed and the increased accuracy that allow us to focus on what’s taking place on the airfield. — Maurice Jenkins, division director of Information Systems and Telecommunications at MIA A Change to Streamline Airfield Maintenance Jim Murphy, the airport supervisor who oversees Part 139 inspections at MIA, has been involved in airfield inspections there for 40 years. “We were getting ready for my first FAA inspection, and my supervisor asked me to look at the grass areas adjacent to the runways to make sure there weren’t any holes,” Murphy said. “And I found a vault with a wood roof over it that was rotting away. When I think of how far we’ve come, that’s my starting point.” Over the years of daily inspections, Murphy and his crews have conducted inspections at increasingly finer detail, creating a safer airfield. “The regulations may not change much, but the level of what’s acceptable keeps getting tighter and tighter,” Murphy said. Before the digital tools, Murphy wouldn’t see an inspection report until the next day, but now, he can see the data as it comes in. “The output from this inspection tool allows us to drill down further, focus more, track better,” Murphy said. With the change from paper to iPads, there’s more flexibility for anyone to record any foreign objects they pick up during daily rounds. It’s a quick process. “That’s the flexibility we wanted for FOD because if we’re traveling across the airfield for a meeting and see anything, like a plastic bottle, we stop and pick it up,” Murphy said. Inspection Improvements Lead MIA’s Digital Transformation The digital transformation of MIA’s Part 139 inspections was implemented and refined by Miami-Dade County’s Enterprise GIS team, who configured components of ArcGIS, including ArcGIS Online, Survey123, and Dashboards to create shared maps. “With process change, getting a better map is always key,” Jenkins said. “If I’m looking at a map, I’m getting the detail Infrastructure All the elements found during inspections get added to the MIA Inspections web map.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2NTE0Mw==