Hong Kong’s largest independent air cargo handler Hactl has opened its new ground and cargo handling command centre, dubbed the Integrated Hactl Control Centre or iHCC.
Manned 24 hours, 7 days a week, all year round, the command centre will centralise operations control, systems control and maintenance control of the entire SuperTerminal 1 facility—from traffic management at the terminal’s truck parks through the functional areas of the terminal up to cargo dispatch activities at the airside area.
The command centre will provide real-time data and workload forecasts for the next eight hours, allowing instant adjustments on staffing and resources to cope with any unexpected workload peaks.
“iHCC provides totally-comprehensive, accurate and instantaneous information on every aspect of Hactl’s giant operation; this is available to those managers with the required access rights, providing them with a holistic view of operational status of both cargo and flights,” said Hactl’s executive director for operations, Paul Cheng.
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The new iHCC is equipped with state-of-the-art systems and equipment to keep SuperTerminal 1 running smoothly and seamlessly, including Hactl’s own cargo management system COSAC-Plus, which connects all air cargo stakeholders and processes around one million data transactions each day.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive 3D schematic display system graphically shows the position of cargo and equipment in the terminal’s cargo handling systems, with details and status available by just a click.
The command centre is also equipped with a CCTV monitoring system covering over 1,000 cameras located throughout the terminal. There is also a flight tracking system that can assist in predicting aircraft arrivals, and a unit-building monitoring system that shows the progress of building and breakdown of units at the terminal’s 466 workstations.
Cheng said the current capacity crunch in the air cargo industry has led to a surge in ad-hoc charter freighters and ‘preighters’.
“Airlines demand more agility and sustainability in ground handling to support their businesses, with more short-notice flights, later cargo cut-off times, last-minute manifest changes and shorter turnaround times driven by crew schedule changes,” he added.
Hactl said that the new iHCC also serves as a ‘fully integrated’ emergency centre that is similar to those found in many airlines and major airports around the world.
The ground handler noted that before the opening of the command centre, monitoring and controlling functions were decentralised to the individual departments, which created a time lag in data collection and sharing.
