Programme

All session times are in British Summer Time (BST), UTC+1

If you are interested in submitting a paper for the conference then please email your idea to max@groundhandling.com

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

09:10 - 10:10

The Big Debate: Ramping up safely – how do we combat the heightened risks of a post-Covid world?

Gary Thistlethwaite, Head of Health, Safety & Compliance, Stobart Aviation Services

James Skerritt, Manager Aircraft Turnaround, dnata

Kim Meldgaard, Area Sales Manager, Power Stow

Matthias Huettner, Senior Vice President Global Operations, Swissport

Extra strain on resources, a loss of employee expertise and heightened complexity. The pandemic has unleashed a perfect storm of accident risks onto our stations. This session will investigate how the industry counter measures the challenges and ensures safety isn’t compromised as we begin to contemplate recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Topics will include:

  • People: how to reintroduce ramp teams safely after furlough and the lessons learned. Addressing skills gaps and managing ground damage risks with a loss of experienced employees, less resources and steeper performance pressure than ever before
  • Automation/digitisation: how can tech help us mitigate the pressures created by the pandemic?
  • GSE strategies/equipment solutions: technology solutions for a safer ramp; tackling injury risks and boosting productivity through smarter GSE
  • Complexity and change: staying safe amid enormous variability in work demands and process design created by the pandemic
  • How Covid-safe are you?: strategies and product solutions for ensuring virus risks are eliminated from cabins, crew rooms and check-in areas. The role of testing/screening, PPE and SOPs in keeping your passengers and your people protected

10:10 - 10:40

Human Factors: Bringing our employees back safely – stories from the frontline

Gary Thistlethwaite, Head of Health, Safety & Compliance, Stobart Aviation Services

Jakub Iwanowski, Safety, Quality and Compliance Manager, Air Dispatch

From team leaders to PCAs, aviation businesses have been bringing back thousands of employees to active service after months of furlough or reduced hours working. How do we familiarise our teams with a very different operating environment to the one they left, quickly but safely? This session will invite case studies from aviation operators.

10:40 - 11:40

Autonomous GSE: How Covid will accelerate the age of driverless tech and more automated turnarounds

Cyril Lobut, Sales & Project Manager TractEasy (developed by TLD/EasyMile), Smart Airport Systems (SAS)

Nick Heemskerk, Director Global Product Development - GSE, JBT Aerotech

Sebastian Hoyos, Autonomous Technologies Growth Manager, Charlatte Manutention

Join the debate as GHI brings together leading GSE manufacturers to offer the latest updated on autonomous vehicle technology. Does the pandemic signal a sea-change in attitudes towards adopting new tech as ground handlers desperately seek ways of achieving more with less? What are the safety considerations we should be aware of as our employees interface with machines?

11:40 - 12:10

Cargo: Mastering the safety challenge from preighters to freighters

Justin McDonald, Senior Manager – Airport Excellence & Rest of World Airports, Virgin Atlantic

Robert Fordree, Executive Vice President – Cargo, Menzies Aviation

Air cargo has boomed during this pandemic with airlines rapidly reconfiguring pax fleets to carry cargo and capture essential revenue. What safety challenges does cargo in the cabin create in terms of immediate hazards like slips, trips and falls as well as longer term occupational health risks like back strains, hernias and musculoskeletal injuries? And with the rise of cargo tipped to last well beyond the pandemic- what are the wider safety challenges we need to address with aspirations of handling more air freight?

12:10 - 12:45

Safety and sustainability

Jelmer Melissen, Chief Technology Officer, Smart Solutions by Viggo

Robert Powell, VP Technical Services, dnata

The spotlight will be on our sector like never before to embrace more environmentally friendly practice once the pandemic rescinds. So, what’s the relationship between electric/more sustainably powered GSE and safety? Is a greener ramp automatically a safer one?

12:45 - 13:30

Lunch break

13:30 - 13:35

Interactive Virtual Roundtables

Delegates to join breakout groups which will focus on key safety themes and explore the challenges with a GHI facilitator. Sessions are 30 minutes and will then repeat with the groups swapping. Each delegate can attend a maximum of three roundtables.

13:35 - 15:00

Roundtable 1: Human Factors - Communication and Interface Management

Ross Priday, Chairman, Kura Human Factors

A breakdown in communication somewhere along the line is a causal factor in the majority of accidents and incidents.  This roundtable will explore the concept of mental models and how a perception of the turnaround plan can be affected by experience level, culture, language and environmental conditions, amongst many other things. How do we, as operators, remove the risk of misunderstandings particularly in an operating climate which is prone to sudden flight changes and a haven for the unfamiliar. The session will explore the importance of roles & responsibilities and regular team debriefs in diffusing the dangers.

Roundtable 3: Stakeholder Collaboration

Wolfgang Fasching, Founder & Owner, Agora Consulting

Every player in the aviation supply chain finds themselves facing up to a new operating environment in 2021. What role can closer collaboration play in managing resulting safety risks. This session will ask delegates to share their aspirations.

Roundtable 4: Enhancing a Culture of Safety

Desiree Perez, Leadership Coach & Aviation Consultant, Level Up Your Potential

James Wyatt, Aviation Consultant, aeroconcept

Safety has always been and will always be the No.1 priority in our industry. No matter if during times of normal operations or a pandemic, safety is the utmost priority for any operation. How do the challenges of retaining safety change during different times? How are human factors affected and consequently, how is safety potentially influenced?
Join us to explore the methods and attitude required to retain and grow a culture of safety and ensure that the safety platform reduces risk to the maximum extent possible.

15:00 - 15:30

Group summary and learnings

Workshop facilitators will report back on the keynote findings from the roundtable discussions to the main group and identify key learnings.