BEUMER Group’s baggage handling system plays important role in the smooth running of Singapore Changi Airport’s baggage operations

Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) recently released 2018 performance figures make for impressive reading. The multi-award-winning airport is now handling more than 65 million passenger movements annually. Behind the scenes, BEUMER Group’s BHS plays a key role in ensuring the overall smooth handling of passengers’ baggage. "Changi Airport first put its trust in our baggage handling technology in 1998,” says BEUMER Group Managing Director, Klaus Schäfer. He explains that the airport has deployed BEUMER’s baggage handling system in Terminals 2, 3 and 4, and over the years, has also extended the relationship by having BEUMER undertake year-round operational and maintenance support of the BHS as part of the overall care package. The confidence placed in BEUMER’s technology by CAG has paid off. Significantly, the company continues to deliver industry leading BHS reliability using the same number of personnel as when the contract first started in 2001. Furthermore, they have put in some truly noteworthy performances. While the number of bags handled across the whole airport doubled in the last five years, the number of staff employed by BEUMER remained the same. With an average increase of 26,000 bags processed each day, BEUMER’s expertise ensured that the BHS could handle the rising demand on capacity and continued to run smoothly. BEUMER Customer Support Director, Finn Laugesen, is in no doubt as to why Changi Airport’s BHS can operate so reliably, "We build long term relationships with our customers, so we genuinely understand their needs and are thus able to deliver the required performance. As a direct result of customer understanding, we have demonstrated that peak loads on the system don’t require extra staff. Instead, by combining meticulous planning and rigorous on-going system checks we are able to avoid any surprises.” He adds that in terms of passenger satisfaction, Changi Airport continues to receive awards. CAG's Vice President for BHS, Ng Hoe Seng also acknowledges the success of the BHS relies on the strength of the operational relationship between the two companies, " The BEUMER Group has invested time and effort to understand our requirements. They play an important part in our operational ready acceptance tests, most recently at Terminal 4, where the new BHS began operations successfully and on-time, after extensive testing prior to the opening. This included BEUMER Group processing over a million bags in addition to the training of all ground personnel". The original contract was followed by the installation of a CrisBag system in Terminal 3 which undertakes dual baggage sorting and inter-terminal transfer baggage, linking to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Terminal 4, also benefits from the BEUMER Group technology, having its own dedicated CrisBag tote-based system.