C.T. Male Associates, P.C., founded in 1910

C.T. Male Project Profile: Albany International Airport GIS-Based Pavement and Facilities Management

GIS PROJECT PROFILE  

Albany International Airport GIS-Based Pavement and Facilities Management
 

The first part of this project, dealing with GIS-Based Pavement Management, won a 2002 Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence, through the New York Association of Consulting Engineers (NYACE).  It subsequently won a National Recognition Award in the National Competition of the Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

 

C.T. Male’s GIS involvement with Albany Airport began with an initial Pavement Management System (PMS) in 2000.  Our original PMS proposal suggested an integrated solution to the problem of Pavement Management at the Airport. This involved using Environmental Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) Geographic Information System (GIS) as the basis for the PMS, and using the US Army Corps of Engineers MicroPaver software, a Trimble Pathfinder Pro XR GPS Receiver, ESRI ArcPad software and a Fujitsu Pen Computer.

This original GIS-based Airport Pavement Management System has been acclaimed for its innovative technology and unique approach. It won a 2002 Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence through the New York Association of Consulting Engineers (NYACE). Subsequently, it won a national recognition award in the competition of the Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). An article on the project, “Albany International Airport, New York, Uses GIS for Pavement Management,” appears in the 2002 Summer edition of ESRI’s (600,000 circulation worldwide) ArcNEWS. 

C.T. Male continued to expand and update the Airport’s GIS to include Facilities Management. We have been proud to feature the Albany International Airport’s GIS at various conferences, including the FAA Airport Conference in Hershey, where both FAA and Albany International Airport representatives have acknowledged that Albany does in fact have the “Cadillac” of Airport GIS’s in the Northeast sector.

    

Figures 1a, 1b: C.T. Male’s GIS/GPS Technician, Pat Rooney, inspects Albany Airport’s airside pavement.

To date, the airport has used its GIS for applications such as:

  • Installation of new fiber optic conduit
  • Proposed locations for the new EZ-PASS parking
  • Proposed rooftop antenna locations
  • Taxiways A, C & G rehabilitation
  • Blast/Security wall
  • Air cargo facility de-icing
  • Executive hangar utilities
  • Wetland delineation survey
  • Southern surface parking contract (Lot E)
  • Runway 1/19 test borings
  • New fiber optic duct bank
  • Proposed Southwest ramp expansion
  • West apron expansion
  • Potential gravity sanitary line
  • Southwest area ramp leases
  • New run-up enclosure (Hush House) site evaluation
  • Latham water district upgrade
  • Spoils pile volume determination using GPS/GIS
  • Revising the airport ALP maps to keep current with FAA requirements
  • Enterprise Rental surface parking conceptual plans and graphics
  • Proposed second FBO conceptual plans and graphics
  • Area calculations for existing and proposed ramp leases
  • GPS survey and layout of aircraft parking positions
  • Revising FAR 139 certification maps to comply with FAA requirements
  • Creation of airport parcel GIS database and maps
  • Creation of airport building GIS database and maps
  • Graphics for airport board meetings
  • Graphics for press conferences
  • Shuttle bus exit conceptual plans and graphics
  • Noise abatement maps using GIS noise contours
  • Determining coordinates for FAA Form 7460-1
  • Various engineering tasks not exclusively GIS
  • Pavement re-inspection, 2004
  • Use the airport Trimble Pathfinder GPS receiver to locate wetland delineation flagging on numerous occasions to add to their GIS database
  • Have uploaded GIS wetland limits to navigate back to previously delineated wetland areas
  • Use wetland GIS data to calculate area take-offs for the airport engineer in preparation of contract documents
  • Use wetland GIS data to create graphics for the Airport Planner Steve Iachetta and Airport Strategic Business & Economic Development Manager Denise Zieske for board presentations, etc.
  • Use wetland GIS data for CTM environmental for graphics (maps) to support their project needs
  • Use wetland GIS data to map stormwater outfalls to assist the airport planner for his varied requirements. 

Currently, Pat Rooney, our GIS/GPS technician, spends one full day per week at the airport, where we have set up a GIS office.  His work encompasses GPS locating of utility, infrastructure and other geographic features as needed, mapping for FAA compliance, production of marketing maps for airport property leases, and producing maps for the fire and emergency crews.  Figure 2 shows utility line, water valve and manhole information in the Albany Airport GIS.  This easy availability to airport staff of this type of highly accurate geography information has saved thousands of dollars during construction projects alone, and has doubtless prevented costly catastrophic digging errors. 

 

Figure 2: Albany International Airport GIS data, showing drainage and water pipe locations as well as some water, sewer and manhole point locations.