(St. Louis, MO) The FKI Logistex® Airport, Post and Parcel Division (www.baggagehandling.com), a global leader in providing total baggage handling solutions, announces the commissioning of a new baggage handling conveying, sortation and security screening system in the recently opened $310-million (USD) airline passenger terminal at the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW) in Ottawa, Canada.
FKI Logistex was selected for the $11-million (USD) project by the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority (www.ottawa-airport.ca) and PCL Construction Group (www.pcl.ca), the project’s main contractor, in February 2002. The three-level, 15-gate terminal effectively doubles the capacity of the airport to now accommodate seven million passengers per year. It also doubles the airport’s baggage handling capabilities.
Consulting engineering firm, Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited (www.mmm.ca) served as partner to FKI Logistex in the project’s design process. Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited also worked as part of the project management team.
The FKI Logistex baggage handling installation includes two international inbound systems feeding two FKI Logistex Maxiclaim® sloped-plate sorting-and-claim conveyors; two domestic inbound systems feeding two more Maxiclaims, with a provision for a third; and two domestic/international outbound systems featuring 50 scale-and-dispatch conveyors feeding an additional two Maxiclaims.
Baggage sortation is controlled by Allen Bradley PLCs (programmable logic controllers). All baggage handling systems are integrated into an FKI Logistex MDS (maintenance diagnostics system), which allows Ottawa airport personnel to monitor system operation and performance on a real-time basis.
The airport terminal construction was completed on an accelerated schedule.
“In August, it looked as though there was simply too much work to do by all trades to meet the scheduled opening date,” said Ottawa airport project manager, David Caufield. “I guess that shows what committed professionals can accomplish when they pull together for a common goal. We were particularly pleased with FKI Logistex’ response to the challenge. They put the necessary technical expertise onsite to test and debug the systems, and it all came off like clockwork. The terminal simply could not have opened without the baggage systems.”