January 14, 2004—The Airport Facilities Council, which was formed during a meeting at World Workplace in Dallas, Texas, USA, became official when the board of directors for the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) approved the councils charter on Dec. 12, 2003.
Robert A. Barker, assistant vice president, Energy & Asset Management Department, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, said “Airport facilities are unique because the maintenance and operations requirement of our facilitiesfrom airport terminals to parking structuressimply have no comparative industry standards.”
Since the first meeting, constituencies have been discussed, a slate of officers has been presented and goals have been established. An apparent goal is to conduct studies and surveys to fulfill the need for benchmarking. Another goal is to establish a centralized structure to serve as a resource for airport facility managers. A third goal is to provide networking opportunities to promote the sharing of information with facility managers of airport facilities and airport systems. A fourth goal is to provide an understanding of the “good” and the “bad” in the industry of airport facility management.
“Airport facility managers have a multitude of decisions to make, whether it be in regards to a business decision of when to outsource or addressing a security-related issue; there needs to a place for these managers to go to compare information so they can make the most cost-effective, safest, environmentally-sound decisions possible, especially when millions of people are passing through airports each year,” said Jeff Tafel, associate director of member resources at IFMA.
The council hopes to attract individuals who work in private and public airport and airline facilities, customer service organizations who service airports, baggage handling companies, food and beverage companies that cater to airports, security companies and security manufacturing companies, air traffic controllers and military personnel.
The Airport Facilities Council will host its first meeting on March 25 and 26 at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
For more information about the meeting or on how to become involved in the Airport Facilities Council, contact Leslie Scantlebury, council resource manager with IFMA at 713/632-4362, ext. 142; or Robert A. Barker, assistant vice president, Energy & Asset Management Department, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at 972/574-3313.
