ACRP IdeaHub Ideas

The USGS will be releasing the Earthquake Early Warning System for public use in 2018. All airports in the west will need to understand how this will directly impact shutdown of critical infrastructure, alerting to the public and changes in the airport safety systems.

Should an airport be run by the City, an Authority, in partnership with a Private party (PPP) or totally privatized (European model). What will be the best option for the airport?

The objectives of this research project are to:
• Create an electronic resources library – preferably a website. This searchable electronic library should provide an inventory of available publications including the abstracts and index of ACRP research documents and non-ACRP research documents related to airside planning, design and operations.
• Recommend a process for keeping the website up-to-date.
• Identify which... more »

This Guidebook would detail what it takes to stand up a full IT Security

and Compliance program at an airport.

Airports have for decades been managing and remediating contamination of soil and groundwater resulting from past practices. However, within the past two years airports have been surprised by a previously unrecognized environmental threat from a family of compounds found in firefighting foam known as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). A synthesis study to provide necessary education on the subject is proposed. It is... more »

Conduct research on airport noise and emissions regulations,

requirements, programs in place at U.S. airports, including the impetus

for each, legal authority and impact.

A Fatigue Risk Management Program (FRMP), specific to the needs of ramp workers, will be developed and implemented in at least one airport with the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of the program evaluated. An implementation schedule should then be devised to provide a successful program to ramp workers in major airports across the country.

A review of the distinctive types of hazard and liability risk that public entities and airports specifically face, and how airport management should address them. This would include: a) identification of risks unique to airports, and those shared with public entities generally b)evaluation of those risks c) risk control measures that can be employed d) the role of airport staff in claims and litigation management and... more »

Progressive design-build (PDB) has proven to generate both time and cost savings on a number of major airport projects because its qualifications-based selection of the DB team, combined with a negotiated construction price reduces the time it takes airports to procure the DB contractor and reduces the contingencies buried in a typical DB lump sum price. An assembly of PDB best practices would provide the foundation for... more »

Perform economic, environmental and social benefits analysis of using plant based diet in airports and flights.
Industrial meat, poultry, and dairy production has a huge footprint of resource consumption--energy, water, and land. As a result the practice produces air, water and land pollution. The practice also causes human health related deceases.

A triple Bottom Line analysis of low carbon plant based food usage... more »

Stipends are used in competitive bids to encourage bidders to submit their best ideas in a procurement. Better understanding of the use and value of stipends would be useful to airport management, boards and policymakers to determine if compensating losing bidders for their intellectual property would advance practice and improve design and project delivery.

Air traveler volume is rising year over year, placing strain on airport facilities' ability to process passengers efficiently and effectively in an operational footprint constrained by long-term capital investments. Additionally, airports must continuously mitigate against the risk posed by the "insider threat." Biometrics (e.g. fingerprint, facial, iris recognition) have the potential to mitigate these risks, capture... more »

If ever there was a time to take a comprehensive look at all the line items in an airport's financial plan - now is that time. As new approaches/solutions to the post-COVID 19 travel experience are developed, many of them will come with upfront costs or long-term maintenance expenses. A deep dive into the various elements of an airport financial plan would be a useful tool for airport managers to use to determine financial... more »

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a safe and efficient system for air passenger and cargo transportation within an urban area, inclusive of small package delivery and other urban Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) services, which supports a mix of onboard/ground-piloted and increasingly autonomous operations. In recent years, UAM has developed rapidly due to advances in technology and with pilot projects underway in Dubai and planned... more »

Create guidance for developing contractual language for building information modeling (BIM) airport projects.