The Company
As the second busiest airport in Canada, Vancouver International Airport (YVR)has daily non-stop flights throughout North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. In 2014, there were over 310.000 take offs and 19, 360,000 visitors. Vancouver has won the Skytrax Best North American Airport Award on multiple occasions and in 2013 and 2014, they were the only airport to be in the top ten airports in North America.
Key Drivers
The following Vancouver Airport Authority corporate values were the key drivers at the heart of this project:
- Collaboration and Teamwork – The Airport Authority sought input and ideas from appropriate stakeholders over the years. These include customs officials, security screeners, baggage handlers, and of course airline carriers. YVR recognized the importance in obtaining “buy-in” from all stakeholders, both internal and external, in order to make this project successful.
- Creativity – Alternative solutions were sought in order to improve upon the status quo. The airport business is constantly changing due to market demand, and adapting to it is the key in maintaining an excellent reputation. Striving for originality and creativity, issues were analyzed, technology was leveraged, and most importantly stakeholders have shown adaptability in managing change.
- Accountability – A commitment to achieving results by optimizing airport operations was stated from the beginning. Allowing stakeholders to take ownership of various aspect of the project leads to a natural path of self-motivation. Accordingly, stakeholder feedback was engaged in order to establish trust, build realistic expectations, manage execution of the project, and of course provide the ability to make sound decisions. Performance measures and targets were also published in the corporate business plan. These serve as targets by which the simulation results are measured.
- Passion for Results – All stakeholders shared a common desire and passion to achieving results. At stake is the profitability of the business while maintaining or improving service levels at world-class levels. Successful projects rarely occur by accident and without a great deal of passion. Rather, passion is the fuel that motivates one to keep striving for solutions to a problem.