Liverpool John Lennon Airport plans for future with simulation tool from Lanner and Human Recognition Systems

Lanner Group, the business process improvement company, today announced that Liverpool John Lennon Airport has invested in MFlow Forecast to help with its redevelopment programme. Based on Lanner’s simulation tool WITNESS, the system was developed in partnership with Human Recognition Systems (HRS), the biometrics and behaviour analytics specialist.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport originally appointed HRS to help with a new £12.4 million re-development programme. The airport needed to prepare for a significant increase in passenger numbers and a security screening facility which is three times larger in capacity than the previous screening area.

Lanner and HRS have together developed WITNESS in order to deal with the particular requirements of the airport’s project. Technology such as X-ray machines and biometric systems for screening staff and passengers is both complex and expensive. The airport needed to model various different scenarios to optimise space, security requirements and budgets before committing to investment.

Jim Slevin, Transport Business Unit Manager at HRS, said: “As well as being complex and expensive, security technology – and the regulatory requirements for it – is changing all the time. Investment decisions are a critical element of developing a business case, and simulation can play a vital part. We chose WITNESS because it was already being used successfully in the air transport sector. But we were also highly impressed by the confidence and experience shown by the Lanner team – they were very supportive and easy to work with.”

The airport has now invested in its own WITNESS toolset, developed in partnership with HRS and Lanner and is using it to aid with scenarios, such as when variables such as flight schedules change.

Jim Slevin added: “The project has been successful because simulation has become an intrinsic part of business planning at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Without that planning, the airport ran the risk of over-investing in unnecessary and expensive security equipment. It also needed to ensure that the higher numbers of staff and passengers moving through the airport following the re-development programme will not be caught up in queues, either at check-in or in the retail areas.”

David Jones, CEO of Lanner Group commented: “We are delighted that our WITNESS technology is playing such a vital role in the redevelopment of one of the UK’s busiest airports. We plan to collaborate on similar projects with HRS in the future – our experience of simulation in the air transport sector with clients such as BAA, Air France and British Airways is a good match for HRS’ expertise in the biometrics and passenger security space.”

Lanner’s simulation software enables business managers to model, analyse and optimise processes to make superior decisions in a risk-free environment, however complex. Lanner is organised across industry sectors including the police and public sector, energy, defence, aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing and healthcare. The Lanner portfolio is based around the leading business improvement products; WITNESS, L-SIM, Px-Sim and PRISM.

www.lanner.com