Global Ground Support, Management Information Database Accounting System (MIDAS)

Global Ground Support is a leading manufacturer of military, airline and airport support equipment. Global manufactures a complete range of sizes and models of mobile deicing/decontamination equipment, catering/cabin service trucks and fixed pedestal-mounted deicing systems, and has produced over 780 units for 64 customers in 132 locations worldwide. ForgeFX first partnered with Global Ground Support in 2007 to build an aircraft deicing training simulator. After the completion of the simulator, Global Ground Support and ForgeFX began working on the MIDAS system, with the first public release in 2011.

Global Ground Support partnered with ForgeFX to develop their Management Information Database Accounting System, or MIDAS, an online system that captures, records, and provides reports on aircraft deicing telemetry data. Deicing telemetry data is the data which is captured during the deicing of an aircraft - a "deicing event".

Return on Investment

With the cost of deicing and anti-icing glycol fluids at their highest price in history, airlines are constantly looking for ways to reduce the amount of glycol they use, and thus lower the overall financial cost of deicing an aircraft. The MIDAS system allows fleet managers to analyze their fleet's performance, identify weaknesses, and make corrections quickly. It is estimated that the worst 15% of a fleet's operators use approximately 50% of the glycol a station uses. If this 15% can be identified and retrained, fleets can improve their efficiency and reduce their glycol use by as much as 25%, cutting costs immediately. The cost for Global's customers to implement the MIDAS system is dwarfed by the amount of money they save in fuel, glycol, and other consumables. Reducing the amount of glycol used per aircraft is not only good for a company's bottom line, but it's also good for the environment.

Aircraft Deicing Telemetry Data Reporting

Taking advantage of the flow meters installed on Global Ground Support's aircraft deicing trucks, MIDAS was initially intended to serve as a fluid level monitoring system. Allowing managers to accurately track the amount of fluids in their fleet of trucks, in real time and from a remote location. Using a small HMI device, equipped with a cellular SIM card, each truck uploads their fluid levels to the online reporting database. Managers logged in to the telemetry reporting web site can see each truck's fuel, deicing fluid, and anti-icing fluid levels in real-time.

Live Fleet Status Information

In addition to utilizing the output from the truck's flow meters, MIDAS takes advantage of all of the other system outputs, and uploads that information to the database as well. The system uploads data from the onboard systems that include the:

• Chassis engine.
• Auxiliary engine
• Cab and truck heaters.
• Fluid levels from all tanks.
• GPS location.

The system is even capable of uploading all of the data from both of J1939s - the vehicle bus standard used for communication and diagnostics among vehicle components. This level of detail allows maintenance crews to troubleshoot and solve problems remotely, reducing the amount of down-time a vehicle will experience. The fleet dashboard prioritizes the live status information of deicing trucks, bubbling critical problems to the top so that managers can stay one step ahead of refueling, maintenance, and service.

Online Performance Tracking System

MIDAS quickly proved itself to be capable of far more than just a fluid monitoring system, and quickly evolved into an automated online performance tracking system. MIDAS allows fleet managers, in remote locations, to easily track and analyze how both deicing operators and trucks are performing. Operator's performance is tracked in regards to variables that include:

• Number of gallons of glycol fluid used per aircraft.
• Average number of gallons used per square-foot of wing surface area.
• The amount of time they spent deicing each aircraft.
• The total number of aircraft sprayed per shift.

Each operator's deicing event performance data is compared to the station average in order to identify those individuals that are performing at a high-level, as well as those that are not and are in need of additional training. The system keeps a running score for each operator so that managers can review an operator's performance over time, allowing them to identify an operator's progress or decline.

Fleet Location and Status Visualization

The Fleet Map, one of the truck performance analysis tools, allows managers to view satellite imagery of their entire fleet at any time. Accessible from any internet enabled device, fleet managers can quickly see where their trucks are, who's operating them, what the fluid levels are, and how other systems like engines and heaters are performing. In addition to monitoring trucks in real-time, MIDAS maintains a history of every deicing event that each truck ever participated in, allowing managers to identify both their best and worst performing trucks. Identifying which trucks should remain in the fleet, and which trucks should be replaced, allows companies to identify where to put their investment dollars to ensure the greatest return.

Deicing Fleet Management System

After a deicing operator has finished deicing an aircraft, all of the data from the completed event is uploaded to the database, and instantly available to fleet managers. Operators need only enter the tail number from the aircraft they've deiced in order to transmit the event's details to the database. When the system receives the data from an event, it cross-references the aircraft tail number with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database and grabs more information regarding the event that has just occurred. This information includes:

• The model of aircraft being deiced.
• The aircraft's total wing and tail stabilizer square-footage
• The airport code where the deicing event occurred.

Once the airport code and time of the deicing event is uploaded to the system, it automatically cross-references the with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database, so that it can document the weather conditions at the time of the deicing event. Managers can sort deicing event operations lists by the categories each event record contains, allowing analysis and comparison of events on everything from temperature, to gallons of fluids used, to type of aircraft.

As MIDAS evolves it is quickly becoming a complete remotely administered deicing fleet management tool. In addition to being able to monitor the fleet's performance, the system will provide tools that allow managers to assign aircraft deicing tasks to operators as they become available, monitor the fuel and glycol tank farms that deicing fleets rely on, and communicate with their entire fleet in real-time via a VoIP network.

Online Management and Reporting Database System

Online management and reporting database systems, like MIDAS, help companies closely monitor and track every detail of their operation in order to identify and address areas that negatively affect their bottom lines. Large corporate operations that spend a lot of money on consumables like fuel, leverage many different pieces of equipment, and employee a large workforce need to closely track their costs in order to find the areas where improvement is possible. Online management and reporting database systems help your company run more efficiently and lead to more overall profit.

For an assessment of needs that are specific to your project, please contact us so we can review your requirements and put forward a project plan, including a technology recommendation.