The redesign of the Ramp Tower and SOC by WEY Technology Inc. is the result of a thorough workflow analysis by WEYTEC engineers and the staff at Terminal One. In both locations, the WEYTEC Solution design had to accommodate logistical and infrastructural limitations and create a fully effective but cost-effective solution. According to Wolfgang Ritter, VP of Sales at WEY Technology in New York, “The combination of the ultraFLEX miniPCs and the WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM did the trick, on one third of the footprint.” 

ultraFLEX miniPC

In both the Tower and the SOC, all the workstations under the desks and racks full of additional PCs and switches have been replaced with WEYTEC ultraFLEX miniPCs, high performance industrial mini PCs. For the Tower, they are located in a secured system room connected to the Tower by fiber where they only take up 6U of rack space. For the SOC, the workstations are in a small system rack that also hosts the video wall controller.

WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM

The WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM, an intelligent KVM-over-IP solution, connects the workstations without delay to IP Remote Receivers at the operator desks, which are also used to interconnect the monitors and the MK06 Multifunctional Keyboards. Each operator can now access every group of workstations he is assigned to using a single keyboard. WEYTEC first introduced this technology for trading floors on Wall Street where brokers need access without delay to multiple workstations, and cannot host these PCs under their desks. 

David Cayenne, Senior Engineer and Project Manager at WEYTEC adds, “Virtualization does not allow you the processing power or give you the compatibility with the myriad of applications we deal with here. The WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM supersedes all other remote technologies in terms of speed, compatibility, redundancy and TCO.” 

Free Seating

The “free seating” concept allows operators to view their set of dedicated workstations from anywhere in the secure network. Now supervisors and management can access or monitor work progress from their own offices. They can interact anytime. 

SkyRec BlackBox

Specifically for the Ramp Tower operations, the management at JFK also decided to include a SkyRec BlackBox recording solution from Skysoft-ATM and WEYTEC. This enables them to constantly log screen content, mouse and keyboard input and radio communications for all operators. “You cannot beat forensic evidence in case of an incident“ says the Manager for Information Technology at Terminal One. “Debriefing of a critical situation with all this time-synced information helps us enormously in the ongoing training of our staff, and improvement of operations and security.”

Video wall

In the SOC, the previous large screen display has been replaced by a high-resolution 8x2 video wall, which has been seamlessly integrated into the WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM switching matrix. The operators have access and can send screens per multicast to other users within the WEYTEC distribution network. All sources, both local and remote, can be displayed at defined alarm settings with audio notification. The operators also have an improved view angle to the video wall from the vantage point of their new SBFI consoles.

The improvements for the operators in the Tower and the SOC are substantial. The previous noise level created by workstation fans under the desks and in the system room is gone. The rooms are quiet. Heat emissions have been reduced by about 22,000 BTU in the Tower, and 15,000 in the SOC. 

Instead of operating 3-4 keyboards, each user now has 1 keyboard with an LCD panel that indicates which workstation he is working on and features quick access buttons to the most commonly used applications. The MK06 Keyboard perfectly accommodates all VMS, access control, fire and other alarm systems by interacting with these applications without adding a software layer. 

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Although Ground Movement operations will never be a “relaxed” working environment, one of the operators comments that he can “feel the difference at the end of my shift.” 

The combination of the WEYTEC distributionPLATFORM and the ultraFLEX technology is saving JFK Terminal One more than $23,000 per year in electricity costs alone. According to Wolfgang Ritter, VP of Sales at WEY Technology in New York, “We overturned every rock, looking to make daily operations and processes more effective and give JFK a future-proof, expandable and fully redundant solution. And the goal was also to include a financial advantage. The way we designed it, the project pays for itself.”