Knürr Technical Furniture: air-traffic control workstations at the Tegel and Schönefeld airports

Knürr Technical Furniture: air-traffic control workstations at the Tegel and Schönefeld airports. A year ago, Knürr Technical Furniture installed 20 latest-generation air-traffic control workstations in the new airport control centres (ACC ) at the Tegel and Schönefeld airports in Berlin. One year on, the project has proved to be an outstanding success. The heads of operations at each of the centres feel completely comfortable working at their ergonomically-optimized control desks and the air-traffic control staff can perform their highly responsible duties without problems.

The ACC plans and monitors all moving and stationary traffic on the airport apron and in the terminals and forms the interface to all airport-related services. The duties of the heads of operations include planning the parking positions for aircraft which have already landed, coordinating supply vehicles and determining the order in which aircraft can take off.

All the check-in facilities and other airport services available are managed and allocated here for all terminals and airlines.

Increased Capacity at Berlin-Schönefeld Airport

The requirements imposed on the new ACC at Berlin-Schönefeld were clear. It should be larger than the previous centre, accommodate more members of staff and house not only classic apron monitoring facilities but also air-traffic control, airport-security and police workstations together with a number of different clearance organizations in a single room.

A range of different multi-media walls were also to be installed for video-surveillance and location-display purposes. Planning work for the refurbishment of this ACC began back in September 2006. A Dresden based engineering office was in charge of project management and was able to hand over the new ACC according to schedule in March 2007. During operating hours, the old ACC was temporarily housed in portable office buildings on the viewing deck for the duration of the refurbishment and extension work.

The air-traffic control authority made it clear from the beginning that it attached great importance to the workstations having an optimum ergonomic design. Working together with the planning office carrying out the work, a decision was made to provide electrically-operated, infinitely height-adjustable work surfaces for selected workstations.

Special high-quality swivel chairs, whose armrests, headrests and seat depths can be adjusted to suit users’ individual requirements, were chosen for all of the integrated operator stations. The planners fitted the screens at all workstations using a flexible and individually adjustable fixing system. The technical equipment was either incorporated directly into the large-volume containers at the base of the workstations in a future-proof way or integrated into generously-sized control and display levels. The multi-media screen and chart walls serve as a room-dividing system and at the same time provide excellent acoustic properties.

Customised for Berlin-Tegel Airport

The redesigned airport control centre at Berlin-Tegel airport is very different from the one at Schönefeld in terms of size and design. Various workstations with electrically-operated, heightadjustable work tables were installed there following close consultation with staff representatives. Numerous 32” TFT monitors ensure that the airport aprons and terminal areas can be visually monitored in an effective manner.

Knürr’s services also included integrating these monitors into the room and, with its modular design, the ELICON system furniture will offer the very highest level of planning flexibility until at least 2011.

The Schönefeld, Tegel and Tempelhof airports form the basis of the air-transport infrastructure for the Berlin and Brandenburg region. From 2011, all air-traffic will be handled by the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI) which will serve the capital and the surrounding area. Knürr develops and produces tailor-made console solutions for installation in the demanding safety environment of traffic control centres, control rooms and air-traffic controller workstations.

The company, which is based in Lower Bavaria, is a partner of international airport operators (including Munich, Paris and Los Angeles), leading airline companies (such as Lufthansa and Qatar Airways), DLR (the German Aerospace Centre) and Deutsche Flugsicherung (the German air-traffic control company).

Contact:

Knürr Technical Furniture GmbH,
Münchsdorf, Germany
Tel.: 08723 28111
Fax: 08723 28173
furniture@knuerr.com
www.technical-furniture.com