ACRP IdeaHub Research Projects

The objective of this research is to improve airport employee
performance under conditions of task saturation. While task saturation
is listed as a top 10 safety concern, there is little to no evidence
that there are interventions in place to mitigate its impact on human
performance. This research will produce an intervention (training, tool,
etc.) that will be made available to airports nationwide for
their use. The... more »

Airport Emergency Plan requirements do not fully recognize the impact on airport employees and business partners in times of disasters or emergency events. Lessons can be learned from aviation organizations such as Jet Blue who have models for anticipating employee and business partners family needs for emergency support. Essential employees need support for their families in order to assist the airport and community... more »

Perhaps one of the greatest untapped resources available for understanding the challenges of managing airports can be found among the many senior and retired airport leaders. There needs to be an opportunity to assemble the collective wisdom of these successful leaders and to share their insights and experiences gained during their careers.

Customer experience is a key driver of passenger satisfaction, airport revenue, and the overall ranking of an airport. Helping airports to become more people-oriented, to listen to the voice of their customers, and proactively meet the needs of diverse customers, particularly international passengers, will enhance the overall airport experience, and allow American airports to better compete with top international airports.... more »

Long haul flight patrons (may be age specific), how to prepare the body for extended sitting time.

This may be effective for discounting falls and mishaps whilist on Airport grounds.Therefore better management of humans movement within and around airport facilities,including leaving and entering the home before departure and arrival home.

Convert an already-developed tool for preparing NIMS/ICS compliant airport emergency plans (AEPs) to a web-based product and to host and maintain the tool/website for 3 years.

This project will develop comprehensive guidance for advancing social equity at airports, including example programs and initiatives, how to address equity in project management and staffing, and best practices for airport executives.

This research would produce a guidebook to help airports educate new employees on their on environmental procedures and practices. research would produce a guidebook to help airports educate new employees on their on environmental procedures and practices.

Develop a talent cultivation "playbook" that would provide the aviation industry with inspiring, tested, and rapidly-implementable techniques front line managers and senior staff can use to enhance talent cultivation and knowledge transfer in their organizations.
The playbook would be designed for people on-the-go who can pick it up, read it for a few minutes and take away key talent planning ideas that can be implemented... more »

Airports need to understand the best ways to preserve institutional knowledge as large scale industry changes occur and both leaders and experienced employees at all levels of the organization are eligible for retirement and leave the airport. Knowledge management and institutional knowledge transfer should be incorporated into all aspects of airports, including the culture, training delivery platforms, and automated... more »

The purpose of this idea is to engage in a research process to develop an airport industry Guidebook and Toolkit on topics related to implementing a positive culture and enhancing the employee experience within airports. The end product would be a set of user-friendly products to guide airports in enhancing their culture and employee experience to improve retention.

Determine uniform certification standards in DBE/ACDEBE certification programs between airports and other local entities to ensure a smooth process and better understanding of the requirements.

Research on what drives employee satisfaction.

It's a common refrain: Organizations work to reshape their workforce and organizational structure, transform their business model, or move in a new strategic direction. But a year after the launch, they still have not realized the anticipated benefits. As airports look to make dramatic and unanticipated changes in response to the COVID-19 virus, they will need practical guidance on how to make needed changes "stick."... more »

The purpose of this research is to support the airport industry in building a pipeline of talent that will result in skilled, long-tenured airport employees. This will be accomplished through a focus on recruitment and hiring practices that improve awareness of the industry, increase the number of interested and qualified applicants, and focus on increasing diversity and inclusion within the workforce pipeline.