Can we do something to prevent such incidents?
The pictures shown in this article tell a story, don't they? It's about baggage claim carousels at airports. According to the latest data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), there are over 44,000 airports worldwide as of August 2023. This number includes both the HUB airports and the small regional airports. How many of these baggage claim carousels are in operation worldwide? We can only guess. The HUB airports operate over 100 and the small regional airports perhaps only 1. A good estimate might be to multiply the 44,000 airports by 5. That would come to over 200,000 baggage claim carousels. The mechanical design is relatively simple. There are two common designs, one with a sprocket and chain and another with a belt friction drive. Typically, such carousels move 100 kg per linear meter. This requires motors that can start a load of several tons after it has stopped. When the carousel is moving, the power required is low. When everything is working well, such carousels work perfectly. But if something goes wrong, in the worst case, mechanically blocked, the powerful motor designed to transport tons of luggage can tear the chain. What does it mean when something goes wrong and what happens in the worst case? Various incidents have been reported where guide rollers were blocked, causing high friction. In addition, foreign objects got onto the rail through the overlapping slats. Incidents have also been reported where a lock fell off a bag and got stuck in front of a guide wheel. Nobody knows how long this lock was pushed around, but the damage was enormous. The rail was totally worn out, thin as paper and collapsed under load.
Okay, these things happen, right? Isn't that just bad luck?
Can we really do something to prevent such incidents?
The answer is yes. What works in our favour here is that such incidents usually develop over a longer period of time. Rollers generate little "noise" when they are in good condition, and conversely the "noise" becomes greater when they wear out. Objects that have settled in front of a roller also generate a typical noise pattern. The motor current also has a pattern (current over position) in carousels in good condition, and the pattern changes when something mechanically changes significantly. With just a few sensors that record motor current, rail vibration and a trigger, enough data is collected to feed a machine learning model. The know-how is in the analysis software. The sensor alone says nothing. Machine learning is perfect at detecting conditions. Machine learning is also perfect at classification. That is, how big is the deviation? Is it only minor or is there something bigger? Do you just have to pay attention to how it develops, or is immediate action required?
Can't we just walk around the arrival hall and listen? Yes, but such carousels are located in public areas and have sound insulation. I am not sure if such problems are perceived by the human ear.
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The install base for carousel monitoring solutions is growing. The advantage is obvious. All carousels are monitored 24/7. Alarms are triggered in case of suspicious occurrences.
Such solutions are ideal for organizations that operate many regional airports, where it would be too costly to employ service personnel. The status of all carousels is displayed on a dashboard and only if a suspicious condition is detected, service can be organized. The solution is also beneficial for airports that operate many such carousels. Especially the feature of detecting an impending failure early is a plus. This means that the staff can fix a small problem before it becomes a major and costly failure.
Thank you for reading this article. Let me know if you have experienced a major failure on one of your carousels. I am available to talk to you at any time and can also conduct a live demo.
Under the link you can see the so-called Smart Service solutions in action (not just carousel monitoring)