Airport Passenger-Related Processing Rates Guidebook (2009)

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106 A P P E N D I X E Example Training and Orientation Materials

Appendix E: Example Training and Orientation Materials 107 HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PEAK WEEK 2008 TERMINAL OBSERVATIONS PRIMER Background Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (H-JAIA) is the busiest airport in the world. Last year, 89 million passengers used the airport and 994,000 flights landed or took off. The City is currently in the midst of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar development effort designed to provide the facilities needed to meet long-term growth. A significant data collection effort is being undertaken which consists of a departing passenger survey, MARTA survey, other surveys, and terminal observations. The surveys and observations are being conducted in July 2008 (a busy mo nth) and will involve surveying passengers on approximately 280 departing flights and observing various functional elements of the terminal to obtain data on processing rates and quality of service. A staff of more than 120 people will be participating with up to 40 surveyors and data collectors working simultaneously. Field Objective The objective of Peak Week 2008 is shown below: ** To accurately collect the data needed to help long-term planning efforts. ** General Procedures Our success at meeting this objective will require all team members to: Bring a good attitude —Depending on your assignment, you may be here early in the morning or late in the evening or on weekends; you may be stuck out in a place where the sun is beating down on you; you may be asked to do something as simple as click a tally counter for three hours. Take it all in stride and roll with it! : ) Remember to bring your security ID badge —If you’ve been asked to get a badge, remember to bring it; if you don’t have your badge, you may not be able to participate and you won’t get paid. Bring something to write with —In fact, bring several things to write with . Wear appropriate clothing —Wear comfortable shoes and clothes that are professional but washable. Some events are outside—and it’s hot out there! Also, minimize jewelry and accessories because all that stuff has to be removed and screened when going through security. It will just slow you and everyone else down.

108 Airport Passenger-Related Processing Rates Guidebook Be on time— The days and start/stop times of each event have been carefully coordinated to occur at a scheduled peak period and we have no cushion for makeup. If you’re late, you may end up holding up dozens of your teammates or cause a teammate to have to double-up and do your share of the work, possibly jeopardizing that portion of the study. Give yourself time for highway traffic backups, MARTA delays, time to find a parking space (lots are often full or even closed in the summer), using the restroom, etc. Also, it takes time to do training and to position staff. If you’re late, you won’t know where to go because the rest of the team will already be at the site and you won’t know what to do. And someone will have to go back and get you and position you and train you. (And that someone is usually me, and I’m getting old and tired!) If you can’t make it or are going to be late, call your supervisor as soon as you see trouble brewing —Your supervisor’s primary responsibility to me is to ensure that the number of people they committed to providing are there at the specified time and ready to go. By telling your supervisor. Listen to and explicitly follow directions —If you misunderstand what you’re asked to do, all your data may end up being unusable. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Also, for most of the observations, there is a precedence for how the data are collected, so it would be a mistake for you to start doing something differently. However, if what you’re being asked to do doesn’t make any sense to what’s happening on the ground, trust your instincts, make adjustme nts, and note accordingly on the form. Write neatly —Remember, someone has to translate your data into a spreadsheet. Hard-to-read writing slows down data entry and may be misinterpreted; impossible-to-read writing means your data won’t be useable. Make sure you know how to use the PD A —This year, we’re using handheld data collection devices (personal digital assistants or PDAs) to collect a lot of our data. The devices have multiple programs on them, so be sure you’re using the right one. Put your name, date, company name, and location on all forms —If we don’t know where and when your data was collected, or even what exactly you were timing or counting, we can’t use it. But if your name and company are on the form, and we need you to clarify something, we’ll be able to get in touch with you at a later date. Pick a good spot for your observations—one with a good line-of-sight —Don’t be afraid to fine- tune your position when recording data. If someone gets in your way, move or ask the person to move. You must be able to see whatever you’re supposed to be observing , otherwise, your error rate and amount of lost data will go up. Minimize distractions when recording data —Don’t use your cell phone, do your homework, or engage in conversations with others. If you’re timing things, use your stopwatch and make sure to record the time in hours, minutes, and seconds and specify AM or PM —Don’t use your cell phone because it may not be in synch with everyone else’s stopwatches. Also, most cell phones don’t have seconds on them, so you will not be able to effectively time short-lived events. Don’t use an analog watch/clock (i.e., with a face and hands)—How do you time a car stopping for 45 seconds with a minute hand?

If you’re making tallies ( ), record them the right way. Feel free to jot down occasional notes—For example, if there’s a big line of people waiting to be checked-in and the line is blocking people from going in and out of doors, make a note of it. These kinds of notes help pepper the report with interesting pieces of information. Stay for the duration of the scheduled data collection event—If you’re scheduled to stay at your post until 2:30 p.m., stay until 2:30 p.m. and then head back to the office. If you’re scheduled to be relieved and your replacement is late, try to stay at your post if at all possible. Coordinate with neighboring teammates to ensure you’re not double-counting something or not counting something you’re supposed to. Promptly return to designated meeting place at conclusion of data collection event—The longer your data is “out there,” the higher the probability it will get misplaced. Also, your clipboard, stop watch, tally counter, or PDA may be needed for another event. Appendix E: Example Training and Orientation Materials 109

110 Airport Passenger-Related Processing Rates Guidebook HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PEAK WEEK 2008 TERMINAL OBSERVATIONS Contact Information Name: Name: Company: Company: Phone: Phone: Name: Name: Company: Company: Phone: Phone: Name: Name: Company: Company: Phone: Phone: Name: Name: Company: Company: Phone: Phone: Name: Name: Company: Company: Phone: Phone: