Industry
Airport
Application
X-ray conveyor/baggage inspection
Product
Flexco® Alligator® Spiral Lace Fastening System
Objective
Minimize stoppages and downtime
Conveyor Detail
Smooth-top belting
Problem:
A major airport was experiencing problems during the regular baggage X-Ray inspection process, with bags or their contents exhibiting false positive images of metallic devices that appeared to be long and pointed. X-Ray equipment operators familiar with the equipment knew that the metallic conveyor belt fasteners and pins will sometimes alter the image on the screen. However, during peak travel season when less experienced operators worked the equipment, a larger number of secondary inspections were being performed by the security personnel because of apparent sharp devices being identified. This elevated number of inspections created a bottleneck where a noticeable number of passengers were held for an additional three-to-five minutes in order to inspect their bags manually, with no hazards being found. The port authority tried to train personnel in the use of the equipment, but scheduled personnel rotation and variations on the shifts of the operators made it impossible to always have trained personnel with the skill needed to discern between a potential problem and a regular part of the scanning equipment. To add complexity to the problem, the equipment manufacturer recommended installing the belt lace at a bias angle (diagonal across the belt) to guarantee smooth and quiet operation of the equipment. This made the challenge to find a solution a complicated task.
Solution:
The use of the Flexco® Alligator® Spiral Lace (ASL) Fastening System was suggested in order to minimize the risks of false positive screen readings. By allowing the X-Rays to pass through the spiral lace splice, the scanner did not identify the actual fastener joining the belt. This created an invisible lace that was transparent to the equipment and discrete to the equipment operator. The equipment manufacturer was also pleased with the fastener selection since spiral lace can be installed in a bias angle, resulting in almost silent operation and extending the life of the splice for trouble-free performance.
Result:
Installing the ASL from Flexco in these areas resulted in a reduction of false positives and the elimination of unnecessary carry-on baggage. Two of the inspectors were reassigned to other operations within the airport, and passenger flow through the security checkpoint returned to normal. The airport authority also reported that workforce scheduling and assignments were made easier, because they could assign highly-skilled operators to areas where they were truly needed. During peak travel season, less skilled operators could easily run the equipment and minimize delays as passengers traveled through the security checkpoint.