AIR-21's impac
Staffing shortages, bureaucratic inefficiencies are cause for concern
By John F. Infanger, Editorial Director
May 2000
RENO — With the long battle for airport infrastructure funding over, the challenge begins for accomplishing some $10 billion in improvements. During the recent Airport Planning, Design, & Construction Symposium held here, AIRPORT BUSINESS sat down with Paula Bline, executive director of the Airport Consultants Council, and Faith Varwig, ACC board member and president of Ross & Baruzzini Transportation Services, to discuss challenges AIR-21 presents. Here's an edited transcript.
AIRPORT BUSINESS: At this point, are there any particular aspects of the bill that raise concern?
VARWIG: AIR-21 is such a large bill and there are so many attachments to it that nobody really knows about. I think the push for the year, especially for the ACC, is education on how it's going to affect all of our lives — how we get the money; how it's allocated; the timeframe for spending the dollars; what the dollars can be spent on.
BLINE: The meaning of the provisions isn't necessarily known. The language is in there; the next phase is to determine what they mean and FAA's interpretation.
AB: Any particular examples?
BLINE: Sure. Section 155, entitled ’Competition Plans', requires that beginning in 2001, 15 large hub airports must submit competition plans that include information concerning, for example, the availability of airport gates and related facilities. Because these studies have not previously been required, there is uncertainty concerning, among other things, how in depth they need to be.
Another example is environmental streamlining. There are environmental studies that need to be conducted when airport development projects are coming up. They oftentimes take an extraordinary amount of time.
In addition, regarding the consulting firms involved in environmental projects, some firms also do design work. And, they aren't permitted to compete for the design work unless the environmental project is entirely completed. So, part of environmental streamlining is helping the environmental process so that it takes less time because agencies are more efficient, working more logically together, and also that they don't take as long in the selection process for the design work after the environmental study is over.
VARWIG: Our expectation, though, is that the different FAA regions probably will find it as challenging to become familiar with these provisions as the consultant or airport communities do. Yet those regions are going to be the people that are going to interpret the provisions and the requirements.
It's just like when they enacted FAR 107.14, which is the security requirement. Here we are, years after its initial release, and interpretations of its provisions vary dramatically across the country.
AB: A theme of this conference seems to be, now that we have all this funding coming into the system there may be a shortage of airport consultants. Can you elaborate?
BLINE: It's all the more crucial that the process, the procedures followed, to develop airports be streamlined. FAA has already experienced that significantly in the last ten years. They used to review all the technical drawings of engineers and the plans. I can remember in the ’80s getting a two-page letter of comments on the master plans that I did; design engineers would get the same thing. They don't do that anymore because their technical staff is retired and they've not been replaced. They're administrators of contracts now.
But there will need to be a continuation of the change in procedures in order for AIR-21 and additional money to be efficiently spent. It's not just the money; the real issue is the tremendous need for increased capacity at airports.
Air traffic control complications are very critical and are going to be solved sooner than the airport shortage in capacity — particularly runways and terminals — because the lead time required to expand these airport facilities is greater. That's why we've got to get going, and get serious, and be creative, and be smart about how airports are developed.
AB: So, what are you telling airport people regarding how all of this is going to affect them?
BLINE: One is, perhaps FAA is going to choose to fund projects that are larger, instead of piecemeal, and that way make the process more efficient. Instead of funding a taxiway at one time and an apron at another time and then a runway extension, package them as a single project.
AB: But it seems an airport manager might be hesitant to ask for $50 million instead of $5 million.
BLINE: What has changed is the money is there now.
I don't think airports have been shy about asking for money. I think it's been more an issue of whether or not the money is there — with AIR-21, it's more likely to be there.
VARWIG: On the staffing side, what we're seeing is that it's going to take more, not less, teaming relationships with companies that maybe don't have as much aviation experience to get the bodies available for the projects.
BLINE: I mentioned that FAA doesn't do all the technical review that it used to. The airlines similarly have seen a change. In the ’80s when I would do a planning project, there would be an airline rep in on all the meetings. With all the low-budget airlines that have come in, they have fundamentally changed. They no longer have the in-depth technical expertise that they used to. So, we work more closely with the airlines; they need us more, turn to us, as does FAA. We need each other more. We need to work more closely together, and we're already doing it.
VARWIG: The only way we're going to get this job done is collectively.
BLINE: It sounds so mundane, but fundamentally that's it.
AB: Do you foresee a situation in which funding is there but projects won't get done?
BLINE: A very fair question. I think we'll find a way as an industry.
VARWIG: An area that's going to have to be changed, I think, is there's so many state and local agencies involved in the airport procurement process.
BLINE: This is a major one — put it at the top of the list.
VARWIG: In order to get the work done in the time period in which we need to get it done, airports are going to have to challenge their local or state agencies that are mandating the procurement process. They stay away from that.
Every time we've gone in and said, y'know, there's a much easier way to get this job done. They say, that's the way it's been done for 40 years. They're going to have to be able to step up to the table and lobby for change in their own municipalities. Or, we're not going to get the projects done when they need to get done, or we're not going to have the lattitude to use creative ideas.
AB: And exactly what change is it that they will lobbying for?
VARWIG: In some areas, it might be the procurement process where it takes 180 days from the time a job is bid to when they can give somebody a contract. That's ridiculous.
BLINE: There is a tendency to hire a firm based on cost without initially considering the capabilities and qualities of the services being provided. And when that happens, the product is not going to be of the quality that it otherwise would be, which leads to inferior results and oftentimes extensive change orders and delays, and getting back to a bid process to find someone who can correct what was done wrong.
AB: What other guidance can you offer airport managers and others?
BLINE: RFPs come out of airports requiring costs as part of the selection procedure where federal dollars are being used, which is illegal. Federal law prohibits cost being a factor in the selection of consultants when federal dollars are being spent.
AB: Anything else about the impact of AIR-21?
VARWIG: I think a lot of this money is going to help us expand the Category 1 and 2 facilities that begin to have available money to expand.
Consultants, FAA to Meet
On July 17-19, in Washington, D.C., FAA officials and airport consultants
will meet for the ACC/FAA National Management Conference & Specialty Workshops.
This year's focus will be AIR-21 and it's impact, among other issues.
For information, call ACC at (703) 683-5900.
