Introduction

For airports handling millions of passengers annually, maintaining visibility and availability of assets from trolleys to wheelchairs is critical for smooth operations.  When they go missing, it is not just an object that is lost: time, money, and service quality are all at risk.

Despite continuous investment in infrastructure and equipment, many airports still face the same challenge: mobile assets that disappear or become unavailable during peak demand. The lack of visibility translates into high costs, service failures, and difficulty holding external providers accountable.

This is where Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) play a central role. Unlike technologies such as GPS, BLE, or passive RFID, which suffer from limitations in power consumption, range, or reliability in metallic environments, the Azitek RTLS technology specifically provides more than six years of battery life, wide coverage, and plug-and-play installation. More than just tracking, it turns data into actionable management decisions.

The Problem

Airport asset management faces recurring challenges. The frequent loss of trolleys and wheelchairs forces costly replacements that can reach hundreds of thousands of euros per year. The unavailability of assets during critical moments leaves areas without sufficient equipment, directly impacting KPIs and SLAs. Added to this is the lack of accountability from service providers, as there is no data to prove response times or adequate resource usage. Moreover, traditional technologies used so far present limitations: GPS is inefficient indoors, Wi-Fi and BLE require dense networks, and passive RFID struggles with metallic structures, failing to guarantee continuous tracking.

Without visibility, managers end up operating “blind”, reacting to problems instead of anticipating them. This lack of control leads to less effective decisions, a weaker passenger experience, and wasted resources, which directly impacts the airport’s sustainability commitments.

The Solution

Azitek’s RTLS solution offers a robust and scalable approach to airport management. RTLS tags installed on assets provide more than six years of autonomy and location updates every minute. To guarantee wide coverage, fixed gateways with a range of up to 200 meters are used, covering large areas, as well as mobile gateways on service vehicles equipped with 4G and GPS, extending coverage to external areas around the airport, including parking lots and other critical zones.

Complementing this, a real-time software platform provides asset location, alerts, and usage metrics, allowing for full operational control.

The advantages of this solution are clear: lower energy consumption compared to GPS, greater range than Wi-Fi and BLE, reliable performance in metallic environments where passive RFID fails, and a plug-and-play architecture that simplifies adoption.

Results and Benefits

The implementation of RTLS in airports has brought tangible benefits, starting with the reduction of losses and replacement costs. There were significantly fewer misplaced trolleys and wheelchairs, which resulted in relevant annual savings on asset replacement. In addition, there was a reduced operational disruption, as teams spent less time searching for missing equipment. Another important point was the sustainability impact, by extending the useful life of assets and reducing the need for unnecessary manufacturing and transport of replacements.

Another clear benefit was the increased asset availability. Real-time monitoring enabled faster replenishment in critical zones and automatic notifications when a trolley or wheelchair remained outside its designated location for too long. This ensured that assets were always available where and when needed. As a result, it was possible to prevent operational bottlenecks during peak periods, enhance passenger satisfaction, especially for those with reduced mobility, ensuring continuous access to essential services, and improve resource allocation, avoiding equipment being underutilized in low-demand areas while critical zones remained underserved.

Finally, the accountability of third-party service providers stood out. Real-time data provided objective metrics on response times, asset usage rates, and alerts for prolonged retention or route deviations. This level of visibility ensured greater contract transparency, giving airports the necessary data to validate supplier performance. It also ensured stronger accountability, keeping service providers responsible for delivery, and promoted best practices, by highlighting opportunities for operational and efficiency improvements. Additionally, it contributed to reduced waste and improved sustainability, eliminating inefficiencies and unnecessary resource use. To complete this, the technology ensured shared visibility with service providers, with dedicated platform access and real-time alerts that allowed them to monitor their own tasks, act immediately, and deliver more personalized and timely services.

Real Cases

One of our projects in Portugal clearly demonstrates the impact of RTLS in airport operations. In less than a month of usage, the system ensured full visibility and control of all assets, something that had never been achieved before.

The observed results included:

• 97% reduction in losses, drastically lowering replacement costs and generating over €100,000 in annual savings;

• 18% improvement in operational efficiency, with faster response times and optimized resource allocation.

By using Azitek’s technology, even third-party operators gained clearer insights into where their assets were located, improving not only asset management but also time efficiency and the ability to anticipate operational needs. They were also granted access to the platform through dedicated logins, enabling them to monitor their own tasks in real time. This resulted in more personalized services and ensured on-time delivery.

These benefits were achieved with fast installation and no disruption to daily operations, thanks to the plug-and-play architecture and long-life tags.

Conclusion

The next generation of airport management depends not on more equipment, but on greater visibility. Real-Time Location Systems have already proven their ability to transform operations: fewer losses, higher efficiency, stronger accountability, and data-driven decisions.

At the same time, they support two strategic goals of any modern airport: providing passengers with a smoother, safer experience and aligning operations with sustainability objectives by reducing waste and maximizing resource use.

In a sector where every minute counts, real-time visibility is not just an operational tool, it is the foundation for airports that are more efficient, sustainable, and truly passenger-focused.

Now, imagine all this data combined with Artificial Intelligence. Could the next step be predicting where assets will be before they are even needed?

In the complex environment of manufacturing, the need for efficient, accurate, and timely tracking of internal processes is critical. Manufacturing facilities handle countless moving parts, from production line machinery to assets that travel through various stages of production. Manual tracking methods often fall short with these processes moving quickly and constantly evolving. As companies strive for greater efficiency, reduced downtime, and increased responsiveness to market demands, process visibility within their facilities has become a fundamental challenge.

The Complexity of Manual Monitoring

Monitoring internal assets in a manufacturing facility is usually a nightmare. Facilities must track the location, usage, and condition of assets such as tools, machinery, and materials that are frequently relocated throughout the day. Businesses often rely on manual methods to record this movement, whether through paperwork, whiteboards, spreadsheets, or even verbal updates. This approach is time-consuming and error-prone, leading to delays, inaccuracies, and a lack of real-time visibility in their daily operations.

Manual tracking can also hinder decision-making. Without instant access to the latest information on process flows, it's difficult for managers to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, or underperforming equipment. The lack of actionable data not only impacts productivity but also reduces the ability to respond proactively to potential issues, ultimately affecting the bottom line.

How Tracking Technology and Digital Twins Transform Process Management

Modern tracking technology offers a powerful solution to these challenges. Automated tracking systems allow manufacturers to monitor asset movements, optimize workflows, and gain real-time insights into operations. These systems collect detailed data at each stage of the production process, identifying inefficiencies, streamlining operations, and ensuring assets are used effectively.

Incorporating Digital Twin technology takes these benefits even further, enabling manufacturers to create a virtual replica of their factory or warehouse, that reflects the real-time status of processes, and the location of equipment or assets. By visualizing the facility in a digital format, companies can simulate potential changes and make informed decisions in real-time, ultimately creating a more responsive and efficient operation.

Azitek's Role in Improving Manufacturing Process Monitoring

Azitek's process monitoring solution is designed to meet the unique challenges of manufacturing environments, offering real-time insights and visibility into internal processes with a system that stands out from traditional tracking technologies. Unlike others, our solution is highly resilient to metal interference, ensuring reliable performance even in industrial settings with heavy metal presence. Additionally, our infrastructure is simple, adaptable, and easy to set up, manage, and change, making it a straightforward choice for busy operations or changing environments. With Azitek, you can track assets as they move through different stages, capture data, and integrate it into your existing management systems. This enables precise monitoring of production line timings, asset locations, and flow, giving companies unparalleled control in fast-paced, dynamic environments.