We end 2020 focused on the two key pillars of our work, now more important than ever with the COVID-19 pandemic: cybersecurity, the key to protecting knowledge; and entrepreneurship, which is essential to make progress and improve the quality of life of the community as a whole.

In helping improve the cybersecurity of organisations, we have had to develop measures and action plans to resolve incidents on rail networks, satellite navigation systems and critical infrastructure. In an increasingly digital world, ensuring security is as crucial as in the physical world: both worlds converge in ground-breaking projects such as ERTMS, the subject of an article focused on our most recent work for the EU with on-board systems for trains and the European Galileo satellite system, where we have now been involved for ten years.

We have come to the end of 2020, a year in which our priority has been to ensure the safety and well-being of every team at Ineco, focused on the two essential pillars of our work: cybersecurity and entrepreneurship

Contributing to improved transport safety has made us resilient entrepreneurs, capable of recognising failure and providing solutions. That has been one of our main aims as the Supervising Agent of the Guadalajara-Colima highway in Mexico, a strategic route on which the latest data show a marked improvement in the accident rate. The inspection and servicing of the former Renfe trains that will provide regional services in Nairobi and the digital systems developed to improve aircraft information at Abu Dhabi airport are further examples of our work to improve safety.

Our entrepreneurial drive and passion make us adaptable and give us the capacity to carry out projects within Spain aimed at creating more sustainable, appealing and efficient transport. Examples include the new La Sagrera station, in Barcelona, a megaproject led by Ineco based on multimodality that will radically change transport in the city; and improvements to stations in Extremadura and in freight access to the port of Castellón.

And to conclude with entrepreneurship, with an eye on sustainability, we now share with our readers an overview and the specific steps taken by the company around Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, one of the foundations of our Strategic Plan and a shared project that has involved every department and every person in our organisation.

Aeronautical information publication  (AIP) is the package of data originating from multiple sources that makes air navigation possible. For example, pilots can know which part of the air space they can use (the airway, similar to a road on the ground), what obstacles there are, whether they are following the correct route (radio aids), whether they are going to encounter fog or wind (meteorological information), if there are other aircraft and where they are, etc. The Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) in each country gather, verify and disseminate all of this information.

AIXM is a digital model that is being implemented at airports worldwide. It establishes a common language and system among the different Aeronautical Information Services in each country. Not just to codify aeronautical information but also to manage, distribute and verify the information and provide traceability from source to publication.

Ineco and ADAC teams after the project kick-off meeting in February 2018. / PHOTO_ADAC

In 2018, the government airport manager, ADAC (Abu Dhabi Airports Company) commissioned Ineco to research the process to implement AIXM services at its airports and the impact on its existing systems. The analysis also identified what would need to be done under ATM (air traffic management) requirements and to address the ADAC environment, but also to identify the gaps in its existing systems.

Ineco had worked previously in the emirate: from 2014 to 2019 it worked with Aena Internacional on operational readiness and transition (ORAT) for the new MTC (Mildfield Terminal Complex) at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Similarly, from 2015 to 2019 Ineco worked in collaboration with PMDC as project manager on the expansion of Fujairha Airport, also for ADAC.

AIXM is a file format for modelling and exchange of aeronautical information in digital format for global use

The Ineco study

To assess the implementation of AIXM in Abu Dhabi’s airports, we started by reviewing data management based on the current situation. We identified the different sources of information and determined what process was being used for the communication with the Emirates civil aviation authority (GCAA) for each AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control) cycle, (an aeronautical information system that shows operational changes to facilities, services and procedures, published every 28 days) for permanent changes; and notification of temporary changes or NOTAM.

Various processes were also reviewed, such as the preflight information service, flight planning, management of NOTAM information, the collection and publication of aeronautical information from Abu Dhabi’s airports, etc.

Controllers at Abu Dhabi International Airport. PHOTO_ADAC

The next task was to test the implementation of AIXM, which incorporates a definition of the data chain, including data originators and aeronautical information itself, commercial providers and end users. That definition introduced two key concepts for aeronautical information: timeliness and quality, on which the efficiency of the process depends to a large extent. Key performance indicators (KPI) were also set, measured at the time and projected following implementation of the model.

Subsequently, a number of scenarios for AIXM implementation within ADAC were defined and a transition plan was developed. For the scenarios, various lines of communication were reviewed and analysed: between ADAC/AIS and Civil Aviation, between the airports and ADAC, between ADAC and air traffic control, and others. Having determined that continuity of the client’s business during the change was essential, functionality, maintainability and safety indicators were established, based on the ISO/IEC 25000 standard.

The control tower, 110 metres tall and opened in 2011. / PHOTO_GERT MEWES (FLICKR)

With the aim of selecting the best option for each line of communication, Ineco prepared a questionnaire for stakeholders. Based on the answers to the questionnaire, we fine-tuned and selected a final scenario for each line of communication. The final step consisted in drawing up the technical and operational specifications for ADAC to launch a bidding process for the installation and commissioning of a fully AIXM-compatible system. We also drew up a human resources plan and listed the suppliers of the tools in the model.

Ineco participated in the Spanish pavilion at the 26th edition of the World Road Congress held in Abu Dhabi from 6 to 10 October. With the participation of more than 1,200 international experts, the Spanish pavilion hosted a presentation of Ineco’s RONIN project –a tool for comprehensive road safety management– and its A-76 motorway project, in which Ineco has, for the first time in Spain, integrated BIM methodology with the GIS system on a road infrastructure.

The company is carrying out the project management and supervision of the design and construction of the enlargement works of Fujairah international airport, in Abu Dhabi (UAE), which plans to triple its cargo operations over the next decade.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the project developer, has taken charge of the works to adapt the infrastructure to the predicted growth and their implementation is planned for the end of the year 2018.

The works to be performed by Ineco along with its partner PMDC (Project Management and Design Consultants) involve the comprehensive management of the project and the supervision of works, which include the building of a new air traffic control tower, the enlargement of the runway, and the building of a new emergency runway, as well as new rapid exit taxiways. Furthermore, the traffic guidance equipment and the meteorological system will be completely updated, a new electrical power plant and substations will be built and the existing CNS systems will be improved (ILS, DVOR). Ineco’s tasks cover both the project management –control of deadlines, costs and contractual aspects– and the supervision of the whole project, from the design phase to construction and implementation.

Ineco is managing and supervising the expansion work being carried out on Fujairah Airport in the United Arab Emirates alongside its partner PMDC (Project Management and Development Consultants). The project awarded by Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC) will be carried out over a period of three years; the contract includes enlargement of the current runway as well as construction of a control tower, a taxiway, an electrical substation, a fire station and new navigation aids.

The Emirate of Fujairah presently finds itself immersed in a plan for tourism development in the region, in which the airport’s expansion plays a key role. In addition to this project, Ineco has also been in charge of the Operational Readiness and Transfer (ORAT) of the new Abu Dhabi international airport terminal infrastructure, the Midfield Terminal Complex, alongside Aena since 2014. The company has also had the support of a branch office in Abu Dhabi since 2014 which attends to the UAE as well as to the rest of the countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).