GroundStar eNewsletter

GroundStar for PRM and Security Services
G4S are able to streamline processes and improve services through GroundStar.



G4S Aviation Services UK (G4S) is the largest private aviation security company in the UK, providing a full range of aviation security services to airports and airlines across the country, delivering locally with a service ethos that uses highly trained people and a flexible service to protect our customers’ security vulnerabilities.

G4S employ dedicated personnel to deliver services such as: passenger & flight crew screening, aircraft searching & guarding, Hold Baggage Screening (HBS), secure weapons handling, cargo screening and assisting Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM).

As part of G4S’s commitment and drive to meet the needs of aviation customers, in 2008 G4S worked with INFORM to build a bespoke and technically robust system. This system would ensure to successfully delivery contract requirements for G4S’s customers. GroundStar for real-time task based scheduling and staff planning was implemented over an 18 month period by a senior project group and management team. It was a key criterion in ensuring the extension, renewal and award of contracts.

GroundStar was a significant component of the proposition made by G4S when bidding for the contract to operate the PRM (Passengers with Reduced Mobility) service for BAA at Gatwick airport. GroundStar was rolled out six months after winning the contract and delivered significant benefits in terms of operational efficiency and management information.



G4S chose INFORM as it would deliver a range of benefits in terms of productivity and management information, and allow G4S to:

• Retire the current manual processes
• Contribute to operational cost savings through further efficiencies
• Move to a task based scheduling model rather than a time based system
• Be able to track and schedule work at a lower level of granularity
• Allow tasks and schedules to be updated in real-time as the operation evolved
• Allow G4S to interface directly with airport and airline partners to track events as they change
• Enable mobile handsets to communicate and allocate tasks to front line agents.

GroundStar also provides substantial performance improvements and cost savings for the scheduling and planning processes, and provides a number of additional benefits, such as:

• Streamlining workflow
• Substantially improve G4S’s capability and performance in regards to service delivery and accuracy in scheduling for the tender process.

In December 2007 G4S purchased components from GroundStar, which would work in tandem – GS Planning, GS Rostering and GS RealTime. The system takes care of the planning, rostering and deployment of staff. It interfaces with the G4S payroll and scheduling systems as well as receives data from the customer, to ensure all information is accurate, and duplication is eradicated. The system would also support a fluid integration into new and existing contracts.

G4S have deployed INFORM’s GroundStar on the London Gatwick PRM project, which was a complex contract that involved extensive business modelling, base data collection, workshops, integration testing and user awareness and training.

The complexity of the implementation required INFORM and G4S to form a joint project team. The solution required interfaces to many 3rd party systems and the team had to manage relationships and requirements with a number of companies across the aviation sector. The efficient and constructive way in which G4S and INFORM were able to work together ensured the project was able to deliver all of the functionality and benefits that were expected when the project was initiated.



By working with the INFORM’s GroundStar team, who are focussed on the operational and technical details, made this deployment an excellent (although complex) implementation. The G4S team have been left with a well designed system, which users are now adopting greater control over and providing increased customer service and efficiency.

Martin Rollings, Planning Manager and David Munnery, Project Manager from G4S both provided unparalleled commitment to the project, which enabled this system to be delivered to the business and developed further moving forwards.

Following a rigorous implementation, training and support package provided by INFORM, G4S has been able to deliver a real-time PRM contract to London Gatwick Airport, which now supports:

• 227 staff with a total of 220 mobile handsets
• 21 controllers
• For the month July 2009 G4S averaged 829 passengers per day, 6,270 per week and 25,706 per month.

Peter Watson, Controller, G4S said: “It now enables us to efficiently monitor our staff across the airport and greatly increases our ability to manage resource and time. It also provides a wealth of planning information and problem resolution ability; an excellent visual package for this very busy airport contract.”

The GS Planning component is being implemented across all of G4S’s regional airport contracts, and has been used to model all current work with a view to continue the dedicated efficiency program that supports G4S’s customers, staff and business partners.

G4S look forward to developing this system and strengthening our working relationship with the GroundStar team.



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