4 Airport GSE Fleet Management Tips for Electric Ground Vehicles

Ground support equipment (GSE) is key for efficient airport operations — and it’s big business, too. The GSE market is expected to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 7% over the next several years, largely propelled by innovations in electric vehicles and material handling equipment.

But if your airport is investing heavily in modernization, it’s important to make sure you’re using that brand new equipment in ways that make sense. In this article, we’ll discuss a few basic concepts that can help administrators get more from electric GSE. 

1. Optimize Your Airport’s GSE Charger Placement

Don’t underestimate how charger placement affects your fleet’s efficiency. The time spent navigating lift trucks and other equipment to chargers can quickly add up, and while major infrastructure changes require heavy investment, you can often make smaller improvements that pay quick returns:

• Consider placing chargers near ramps, cargo holds, baggage claims, and other frequently used areas. While basic, many airports skip this step, particularly when adding new electric vehicles to the fleet.
• Combine centralized charging hubs (i.e. battery rooms) with decentralized charging points. All-weather pedestal chargers like the BHS EV Charger Pedestal have a small footprint and can accommodate most common Level 1 and Level 2 EV chargers.
• Invest in high-quality, reliable charging equipment. Use cable retractors (included with the aforementioned EV Charger Pedestal kits) to keep travel paths clear and protect cables in the long term.

Of course, charger placement optimization is much easier with data — and telematic fleet management can help you gather the data you need to make key decisions.

Related: Choosing an EV Charger Stand: 5 Questions to Ask

2. Use a GSE Fleet Management Platform with Telematics

In this context, “telematics" simply means that your fleet management platform supports the remote collection and transmission of data from vehicles. It’s similar to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies that have powered warehouses, distribution centers, and other logistics businesses for more than a decade. 

Fleet management solutions can help you optimize travel paths, place chargers intelligently, and monitor energy consumption. After you’ve identified a few key performance indicators, you can optimize your charging schedules (and if necessary, change the location of your chargers). 

Related: Airport Ground Vehicles: Choosing Electric GSE

3. Implement a Preventative Maintenance Plan

Electric GSE, while often more reliable than their combustion engine counterparts, still require regular maintenance. A robust preventative maintenance plan is crucial for maximizing uptime and minimizing costly repairs.  This plan should include regular inspections of batteries, charging systems, tires, brakes, and other critical components.  

Leverage the data from your telematics platform to anticipate potential issues and schedule maintenance proactively. For example, monitoring battery health can help you identify batteries nearing the end of their lifespan before they cause unexpected downtime.  

A well-defined maintenance schedule, combined with readily available spare parts, ensures that your electric GSE fleet operates reliably and efficiently.

Related: EVs for Airports: 5 Benefits of Electric GSE

4. Plan for Scalability

As your airport and its operations evolve, your electric GSE fleet will likely need to grow as well. It's essential to plan for future scalability when designing your charging infrastructure and selecting your fleet management system.

Choose solutions that can accommodate future growth, such as modular charging stations and a fleet management platform that can handle an increasing number of vehicles and data points. Consider the long-term projections for your airport's growth and choose systems that can readily adapt to those changes without requiring complete overhauls.

Solus Group can assist you in developing a long-term charging strategy that aligns with your airport's growth plans, ensuring a seamless transition and avoiding costly retrofits in the future. 

Call (314) 696-0200 to discuss your airport GSE strategy with an expert.