DUBAI/ISS: After successfully lifting off to the outer space on Sept 25 aboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft with veteran American and Russian astronauts, Hazza Al Mansoori, the first Emirati and Arab astronaut to reach the International Space Station (ISS), began working on 16 scientific experiments he was commissioned to do.
On Sept 29, Al Mansoori shared a series of photos with the team at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) while conducting an experiment on bone status indexes, body composition, and endocrine regulation in astronauts. This experiment on Osteology is conducted in cooperation with the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos reported the Emirates State News Agency WAM.
Al Mansoori and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka were pictured using the station’s equipment to conduct the experiment. The Emirati also appeared in a photo calculating his body mass index to study the impact of microgravity on bone density.
Al Mansoori regularly communicates with the Emirati engineers at MBRSC’s ground station in Dubai and Russia’s Mission Control Centre, to brief them on his scientific experiments and daily routine, and send pictures and videos, while on board the ISS.
Al Mansoori will conduct 16 scientific experiments in cooperation with international space agencies, including Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, ESA, NASA, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.
Six of these experiments will be conducted in microgravity, and the results of the two environments will later be compared. The experiments include studying the reaction of vital indicators of the human body aboard the ISS, as well as other physical, biological and chemical experiments.
“I’d like to thank the UAE’s wise leadership for their vision and guidance, and for the continuous support that we receive from H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre,” said Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Chairman of MBRSC.
“…for the first time, an Emirati astronaut travels to the ISS, carrying the ambitions of the entire Arab region. We congratulate him and congratulate ourselves for being blessed with a country that motivates its youth to reach the highest positions and achieve their aspirations, by supporting them and turning their dreams into a reality that would make every Emirati proud.”
Wexco, a major player in the Australasian GSSA market has joined ECS Group, strengthening its network in Asia Pacific.
Founded in Australia in 1979 and extending into New Zealand in 2003, Wexco has a strong presence in the Australasian market, which ECS Group says was a crucial factor to make the acquisition.
Bertrand Schmoll, chairman of ECS Group says, “Wexco is a well-established GSSA with a very good reputation in the Australia and New Zealand market. We were not previously represented in either country and our strategy involves expanding our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. Wexco is the perfect partner with which to do this, and one of its biggest assets is its unrivalled market expertise.”
Russell Freeman and David Williams of Wexco add, “ECS Group is the world’s leading and largest global GSSA, not only in terms of its network but also in terms of innovation. ECS Group has digital tools that no other GSSA has developed, allowing it to constantly improve the way in which it meets the needs of its airline and freight forwarder clients. Furthermore, ECS Group’s values fit perfectly with our own. It made the decision to join ECS Group a simple one.”
Chris Shelton has joined MSA Security as vice president air cargo as the New York firm looks to develop services for the industry.
He joins MSA following 17 years with the Transportation Security Administration’s federal air marshal service where he most recently served as the supervisory air marshal in charge of the TSA Canine Training Center, overseeing canine explosive detection at the Department of Homeland Security.
He was responsible for training, deploying and evaluating over 1,000 TSA and law enforcement-led canine teams for aviation, multimodal, maritime, mass transit and cargo environments.
Shelton was instrumental in the development of the Certified Cargo Security Program – Canine (CCSP-K9), the TSA program regulating the use of third-party canines for explosive detection screening in regulated air cargo environments.
Glen Kucera, CEO of MSA Security says, “We are pleased to announce Mr. Shelton will be joining MSA’s team of aviation security experts, as we enhance our solutions to address the evolving threat spectrum. With the Certified Cargo Security Program – Canine (CCSP-K9) approaching its first benchmark year, Mr. Shelton will play a strategic role advancing our success within this regulated environment.”
Shelton says, “From early in my career as a canine handler and trainer for law enforcement, I have been passionate about the detection dog world. As I look to this new career chapter, I see a unique and exciting opportunity to enhance air cargo security by combining my experience with MSA’s stellar reputation and meticulous training standards.”
Recently, Bombardier added Brigitte Zypries, to its new supervisory board member of Bombardier Transportation GmbH and Bombardier Transportation (Bahntechnologie) Holding Germany GmbH, participated in the joint supervisory board meeting of both companies.
Brigitte Zypries was the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy from January 2017 until March 2018. She also served as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, where she was in charge of information technology and foreign economics from December 2013 to January 2017. In addition, she was the Government’s Coordinator for aviation and space policies from January 2014 until March 2018 and a member of the supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn AG from 2014 to 2017.
Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman, Bombardier Transportation supervisory board, said, “We are delighted to have Brigitte Zypries join our supervisory boards. She can look back on an impressive political career and will provide us with deep insight into the German economy.”
Brigitte Zypries added, “I’m looking forward to accompanying Bombardier in developing state-of-the-art mobility solutions and supporting the company during its transformation in Germany – while advocating for job preservation.”
Cathay Pacific has appointed Vishnu Rajendran as Middle East Head, assuming the role of Area Manager.
Succeeding Jonathon Ng, who held the position for the past two years, Rajendran has been associated with the airline for over ten years and was previously Cathay Pacific’s Country Lead for Sri Lanka and Maldives, where he steered the airline’s transition from a pure GSA model to an established in-market ground team, oversaw the launch of direct flights from Hong Kong to Colombo, as well as introduced Cathay Pacific’s services from the Maldives. Prior to his role in Sri Lanka, Vishnu spent six years in India in the roles of Regional Marketing Communication Manager and Asst. E-Business Manager. His experience in the marketing and communication field successfully helped strengthen Cathay Pacific’s offering in the region by focusing more on the airline’s products and its connections to destinations across the worldwide, especially to Asia.
“Middle East remains a strong market for Cathay Pacific and I am delighted to be appointed Area Manager of this dynamic region. My key priorities include – ensuring our customers experience the comfort and luxury of our services when they travel with us, re-emphasizing our strong and seamless connections to Asia and beyond, as well as developing our services as we aim to consolidate our presence in our existing online markets of Dubai and Bahrain – while also continuing to explore the potential of the many offline markets in the region,” commented Vishnu.
Cathay Pacific is well known for its exceptional premium offering with the Business Class cabin’s fully flat beds, all aisle access seats, and a world-class dining experience that include our signature dishes Vishnu Rajendran plans to emphasise these qualities and continue to demonstrate Middle East’s importance to Cathay Pacific through both inbound and outbound travel.
Cathay Pacific operates two daily flights from Dubai and one daily service between Dubai and Bahrain, with onward connections to more than 200 destinations through its dedicated terminal at Hong Kong International Airport. Passengers should check www.cathaypacific.ae for full available fares and destinations.
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), the world’s largest air cargo handler, has appointed Paul Carmody as Managing Director of its cargo operations in the United Kingdom.
Paul was Head of UK Operations for WFS in the UK prior to this promotion. He has a wealth of experience in the cargo handling industry, also holding senior positions at Menzies Aviation in Canada and the USA prior to joining WFS in 2009.
In his new role, Paul is responsible for all aspects of the company’s cargo operations in the UK, reporting directly to John Batten, WFS’ EVP Cargo, Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA). WFS’ growing cargo operation in the UK handles close to 600,000 tons per annum for 40 airline customers at facilities in London, Manchester, Glasgow and UK regional airports.
“Paul thoroughly deserves this promotion. With his solid experience and operational skills, he will provide the leadership to grow our UK Cargo business and ensure we achieve our performance objectives in the coming years. Led by WFS’ core values and our number one priority of delivering the highest standards of safety, security and service, Paul will be responsible for building on our long-term success in the UK cargo handling market by ensuring we consistently meet the expectations of our growing airline customer portfolio,” John Batten said.
Global logistics solutions group WiseTech Global has joined Cargo iQ to provide independent freight forwarders with access to industry best practices, through its operational platform, CargoWise One.
CargoWise One users will be able to access Cargo iQ’s quality standards and processes from within the platform, once it is fully integrated, driving significant time savings and removing the need to facilitate Cargo iQ in a separate platform.
Richard White, founder and chief executive of WiseTech Global, said, “Across 150 countries, CargoWise One enables logistics service providers to execute highly complex cross-border and multimodal transactions, and to manage their operations within a single globally capable system.
“Joining Cargo iQ lets us take its standards and processes further across the industry, helping members to measure success, and ultimately improve the value of airfreight for forwarders large and small, as well as their customers.”
Cargo iQ is currently rolling out its new SME Solution, which provides independent freight forwarders with planning and control options for its member airlines.
WiseTech Global will enable more small and medium enterprise (SME) forwarders to take part.
“Innovation is transforming air cargo and WiseTech Global is one of the companies at the forefront of that change,” said Cargo iQ executive director Ariaen Zimmerman.
“At Cargo iQ, we collaborate to improve the industry’s sustainability with a focus on control through end-to-end transparency of up-to-date planning and shipment progress.”
Swissport Cargo Services has turned its processing in a smooth digital flow, using Nallian’s Check-it for Air Cargo. The application helped them increase process execution quality, reduce administration and eliminate costs of corrective actions ensuring compliance with stakeholder and IATA standards.
Lucas Deschouwer, Operations Support Manager Swissport Cargo Services, highlights how it helped them achieve a wide range of benefits, such as:
Operational efficiency: Ease of execution with an all-in-one application enables them to save on average 33h/month on export only
Better informed customers – Real-time notifications using standard, clear message templates eliminate back and forth calling and mailing and ensures first time right information
Less corrective actions – Compliant execution and communication avoids costly re-checks
Easy reporting: Having data readily available in the platform (on number of shipments handled, the number of refused shipments, etc.) instead of compiling manually in excel sheets helps them save more than 10h/month on reporting
Extension of ecosysten of collaborative apps for air cargo
The app has been added to Nallian’s ecosystem of collaborative applications following the acquisition of Sky Fresh (now rebranded to Check-it) by Brussels Airport Company earlier this year. Several ground handlers are already using the application, airlines and logistics service providers, amongst other at Brussels Airport’s cargo community. The application will integrate seamlessly with other apps in airport’s cargo clouds, such as BRUcloud.
All cargo that enters the warehouses of Swissport Cargo Services at Brussels Airport’s cargo hub is being checked. Depending on the type of cargo, specific checks are being executed: pharma acceptance, dangerous goods, perishables, every unit is also checked on damages. These checks used to be run on paper, which led to heavy administration and other inefficiencies. Since 2015 all checks are run digitally using Nallian’s Check-it app and platform. The application is also used for a number of internal processes such as safety checks of the buildings and ramp checks.
“In the web platform we set-up the checklists according to our process. By scanning an AWB barcode or manually entering a reference number , operators are presented with the relevant checklists. Via the mobile application that runs on tablets, handling staff complete the checklist: these can include YES/NO questions, open text questions, specific tasks such as taking a picture, … Every check is linked with a time stamp and geolocation. All info is then automatically converted to the customer’s template. In case of non-acceptance, real-time alerts are released to the customers to notfify them on the issue and its cause. In the web portal we keep the overview of all actions, shipments and their status.
“Our paper-based checking process was heavy on admin: it involved a lot of data duplication, scanning, making copies, emailing, … With Check-it we have an all-in-one solution: the completed checklist is automatically converted to the airline’s template, real-time alerts are sent automatically to notify customers (e.g. the reasons why cargo is not accepted), pictures are taken on the mobile device and attached automatically to the relevant file, … When working paper-based, in case of non-acceptance of a shipment the process to log this and alert the customer would take on average 10 minutes. Today this happens in real-time. Knowing that we are handling on average 2000 export shipments a month of which 9% are refused, we are saving on average 33 hours per month on export only.
An issue with paper-based checklists is that manual markings are sometimes unreadable or not compliant with the customer’s standards (e.g. boxes not exactly ticked as required). This would lead to unacceptance by the airline and costly re-checks. Today all checks executed using the app are automatically converted to the airline’s template, with neat markings in the correct fields. Using Check-it we ensure compliance with the airline’s standards and avoid costly re-checks.
“Every month, we pull various reports, on a number of shipments handled, the number of refused shipments, etc. This used to be a very manual process with data being compiled in excel sheets, a process that easily took half an hour per day. This data was then consolidated at the end of the month. Today, all data is available in the platform in a click of a button, saving us more than 10 hours of reporting admin per month.”
“Operators have only presented that checklist that are relevant to them. During execution additional info can be provided in case of specific checks, for example by showing a picture of the type of symbol that needs to be verified. This guided execution help avoid making errors.”
Dematic has completely automated the new distribution centre of the Dutch wholesaler of packaging solutions for Dillewijn Zwapak B.V. flowers and floristry items in Amstelveen. There, the intralogistics specialist has installed a custom solution with an automated guided vehicle transport system (AGVTS) consisting of self-propelled narrow aisle trucks and automated guided vehicles (AGV), pallet racking and a paternoster picking system. The systems enable fully automatic pallet loading and unloading as well as semi-automatic package and product picking. There is room for up to 14,000 pallets in the distribution center, with 10,000 square meter floor space and up to 18 meter high ceilings. Dillewijn Zwapak currently takes an average of around 300 pallets daily in and out of storage. As a result of the new building, the company is now combining its previous four warehouse locations at its headquarters. At the Dematic Customer Day on November 21, interested parties will be able to see the solutions and how they work live on-site.
“The Dematic system allows us to store much more in a smallerarea,” says Mark de Krosse, CEO of Dillewijn Zwapak B.V. With the new building, the company is realizing three of its strategic goals: sustainability, digitization and automation. “By digitally mapping all information and logistics processes, our processes and supply chains are not only more transparent, but also more efficient than before,” summarizes de Krosse. Dematic had been awarded the contract because it was the only provider to offer the supply and integration of the complete warehouse layout and the necessary automation technology from a single source.
The solution optimizes three logistics tasks with fully automatic pallet loading and unloading, semi-automatic parcel picking and semi-automatic product picking. The AGVTS includes nine AGVs, a conveyor for accessing and checking the pallets and an automated paternoster picking system. “In this way, we can handle all orders flexibly,” says de Krosse. Among the AGVs are three automated STILL MX-X narrow aisle forklifts, four Dematic Counterbalance-AGV in special version and two semi-automatic STILL EK-X forklifts. As part of the KION Group, Dematic has a complete range of intralogistic solutions in its product range and, as is the case with Dillewijn Zwapak, equips forklifts with automation packages from its sister company, STILL.
A special feature of this logistics project is the height of up to 18 meters and the choice of narrow aisles. As a result, the packaging specialist benefits from compact storage capacities. The new central warehouse provides space for 14,000 pallets. Around 11,000 of them were stocked with goods in the spring of 2019, leaving Dillewijn Zwapak with 25 percent of its capacity for further growth.
In addition, Dematic has installed its E’wms Warehouse Management System at the wholesaler of floral and floristry packaging solutions and connected it to the existing Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system. All logistic orders are transferred to the E’wms from the ERP system of Dillewijn Zwapak. It not only optimizes the planning of the routes, but also controls the autonomosly moving narrow aisle forklifts and AGVs at the same time.
Interested parties can see a convincing demonstration of the automation solutions during the Dematic Customer Day at Dillewijn Zwapak in Amstelveen on November 21. In addition to a live tour of the facilities, the advantages of the systems in the pallet warehouse will be explained during technical lectures. In addition, Dematic will provide information about the impact of software and service on the performance and life of a material handling system. The event will also offer an opportunity to exchange ideas, make new contacts and to network. Participation is free. The language of the lecture will be in English.
Air France is the first airline in the world to choose Safran Cabin’s latest ECOS luggage compartments to equip its A320 and A321 single-aisle short and medium-haul aircraft.
The ECOS ‘Efficient Cabin Open Space’ system offers up to 60% more storage capacity than the luggage racks currently available. It consists of new bins, ceiling and cove panels that provide a lower shelf height for ease of loading and visibility. The new luggage compartments are also equipped with easy to reach doors, which do not encroach into the cabin aisle. Robust, lightweight and easy to maintain, the ECOS system is simple and fast to install, requiring no aircraft modifications. It provides an easier and smoother boarding experience, greatly reducing the time spent searching for luggage space on board or the need to put certain bags in the hold. Aircraft turnaround times will also be reduced to improve efficiency and on-time performance.
In total, Air France plans to gradually equip its 40 A320s and 11 A321s with 1,342 new luggage compartments between September 2020 and September 2022.
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