Answer

Assignment case study : Birmingham international airport

STUDENT NAME : ZAYED HARIB AL JAHOORI

STUDENT ID : 141054

Answer 1
As a manager , inspection of the operations sequence enables me to make a
proper assessment of the operations dynamics ,provide proper feed back to the
department of the current findings , and when necessary recommend or implement
changes .
At the end of the day the before securing my shift , one of my final managerial
duties is the consolidation of the work tour which pertains crew debrief ,
documentation of daily activities, preparation of statistics for those activities such as
total arriving departing flights including a break down to the types of flight activity
international or domestic including passenger flow. With the completions of these
statistics I generate the Daily Revenue Report package which is furnished to the
finance department for revenue collection and processing.
Periodically I am also required to chair the operations briefing with the board
of directors on which various operational aspects are discussed, new strategies are
made and directives are given on a new operational course of action to be followed.
At the conclusion of the briefing I associate board decisions with an executional
plan, and relay this plan for compliance throughout the network of the operations
managers, supervisors and other related subordinate staff.
Operating at a managerial level on one of the biggest international airports has
been rewarding professional experience which has increased my cultural awareness
enabling me to work with a diverse workforce ,has strengthened my abilities to think
critically ,make sound decisions under stressful conditions ,and communicate in a
professional level within all the chains of the industry. It has also enabled me to better
understand the world globalization factor within the industry, its affect on other
related industrial fields, assess and anticipate changes, and take proactive actions
when needed in order to remain ahead of the turning curve of constant change.

Answer 2
The job of the operations director is to oversee and manage about 600 of the BIA
employees, manage day-to-day airports operations, develop short and medium-term
operational planning and plan for long-term design and development of the airport.
He needs to ensure smooth day-to-day operations in and also outside of the
terminal,make the operation as efficient as possible, make a real difference to both
passengers and airlines; and continually improvement to encourage inward investment
and exports.
The main issues he faces in managing the airport is about the decision making. These
include:i.
ii.

Managing and developing the airports operations

Handling emergency situations such as fire, evacuations, bomb threats, ill

iii.

passengers and even deaths in the terminal

Efficient allocation of resources especially whenthings go wrong for example

iv.
v.

schedule fall apart because of plan delays or mechanical problems

Agreeing slot allocations with different airline companies
Planning of new building projects what and when to build, to ensure that the
terminal is able to handle the growing passengers

The key responsibilities of the operations director

1. Manage all services and activities of the Marina Municipal Airport, including
contracted services.
2. Research, evaluate, recommend and write grant proposals and other funding
requests to Federal and State agencies
.
3. Manage daily activities of the airport with major emphasis on safety.
4. Inform tenants of airport, fire department and Administration rules, regulations,
policies, safety measures and lease requirements.
5. Conduct inspections to insure compliance. Document and inform appropriate
authorities of safety hazards, including hazardous waste violations.
6. Investigate and resolve tenant complaints with the objective of positive tenant City
relations.
3

7. Recommend eviction or lesser action where tenants refuse to comply with

established rules, regulation or policies mandated in lease agreements, and coordinate
activities and the management of issues Real Property Coordinator.
8. Prepare preliminary annual Airport Division operating budget to include capital
improvements; administer the approved budget, adjusting expenditures as necessary;
participate in the overall management of the airports financial affairs.
9. Plan, direct, coordinate and review the airport work plan. Meet with City staff to
identify and resolve problems, assign work priorities, monitor workflow, evaluate
work products and adjust work plan as needed due to weather, contractor, funding or
other unforeseen delays.
10. Evaluate operations, maintenance, policies and procedures continuously and make
or recommend changes for improvement to meet established goals and objectives.
Implement changes as needed and in coordination with supervisor, City staff and
tenants as applicable.
11. Research and recommend capital improvements; prepare justifications, grant
requests and other documentation as necessary.

12. Select, train, motivate, supervise and evaluate Airport Division support staff;
assign duties and responsibilities, delegate assignments; make work schedules,
training plans; participate in conducting performance evaluations; work with
employees to correct deficiencies; and participate in implementing corrective actions.
13. Participate in drafting the Airport Master Plan, participate in the coordinate with
various City departments as required; review and revise with supervisor finalization of
the plan.
14. Prepare and present reports as necessary, and present written and oral information
to City departments, committees, Boards and commissions, as necessary.
15. Maintain records of operations, leases, projects, grants and proposals, the budget,
and other documents and records related to the airport.
16. Prepare and post public meeting announcements and agendas; record and/or take
notes to document meeting proceedings.
17. Represent the Airport division or Community Development Director in meetings
with

The task of Richard Heard include:-

i.

Managing and provide leadership the operations team that work at the airport

ii.

to ensure smooth operations in and also outside of the terminal.

Overlook the long term planning and development i.e. construction of new

iii.

building, catering outlets, car parks, people mover.

Provide leadership and co-ordination for the other organisations in the

iv.

terminal such as airlines, handling agents, retailers, cargo handlers.

Co-ordination and setting the safety and customer service standards for

v.

everyone adhere to
Ensure effective operational planning for efficient allocation of infrastructure

vi.

to the airlines
Developing and implementing safety management systems to cope up with
emergency situations such as fire, evacuations, bomb threats, ill passengers

vii.

and even deaths in the terminal

Ensure there are plan in place to deal with the day-to-day problems, such as
changing stand allocations when delays occur or arranging snow clearance
where there is sudden fall

3.Discuss the relationship between the day-to-day tasks and the long-term issues
and explain how Richard manages to oversee both at the same time?
Long-term operational planning is about making the day-to-day operation as efficient
as possible.Good processes and procedures need to be in placed so that everyone
know what to do in their day-to-day tasks, these processes and procedures are not
something that people can make it up on the spot, it has to be thought through and
tried and tested.
Planning for the runways maintaining and agreeing slot allocations with the airlines
will let the plane take off and land as per schedule because the operation team know
their own task, e.g. who is going to get the air bridges, who is going to get certain
stands and who is going to have their passengers bused to the terminal at peak times.

Implementing of safety management systems and keep the fire crew fully trained is
important when the emergency situations such as fires, evacuations, bomb threats, ill
passengers and even deaths happen in the terminal. The terminal duty manager needs
to know how to deal with these emergency situations, know what to do when
passengers report that they have seen someone acting suspiciously and when
passenger try to take prohibited items through security.
Planning of new building projects such as new catering outlets, car parks and people
mover system is to ensure the terminal has enough capacity and resources to handle
the growing passenger rate day-to-day.
Richardmanages to oversee both at the same time because he has different managers
to help him in managing the day-to-day terminal operations and operational planning.
The terminal managers job is to sort out the day-to-day operational problems in the
terminal for example, ensure that the passenger, catering people and information
services people are informed when schedules fall apart because of plane delays or
diversions; and deal with major incidents like bomb threats or stranded passengers at
the airport. The terminal managers work 24x7 with one senior manager overseeing
each shift.
Operations duty manager is the equivalent of the terminal duty managers that look
after the airfield side. His job is to deal with the day-to-day problem such as changing
stand allocations when delays occur or arranging snow clearance if there is a sudden
fall.
Richard has the weekly communication meetings with the terminal managers,
operations duty managers and operational planning department to ensure that his
teams have a great understanding of everyones problems and there is an excellent
spirit of cooperation.