Category: Featured News

Automated technology is changing the world. Understanding how people, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and autonomy operate in harmony has never been more timely. At this month’s FTE Conference in Long Beach, our CEO, Doug Kreuzkamp, will participate in a panel discussion covering this very topic, exploring how companies can best foster collaboration between human workers and machines.

Here’s a sneak peek.

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Emerging technologies like AI, robotics and autonomy are rapidly transforming the physical workplace. Much of the conversation to date has focused on their incredible potential. Rightfully so.

These technologies have the ability to radically optimize human output. AI will provide human workers with unimaginable real-time situational awareness and intelligence. Robotics will free humans from performing physically demanding and hazardous tasks. Autonomy will pair AI and robotics to provide workers with skilled companions that intelligently augment their mental and physical capabilities.

As these innovations move from concept to reality, we must increasingly shift focus towards their practical application. The information generated by AI will be unprecedented. Yet, how can we deliver targeted AI insights to mobile workers, with zero latency, via a form factor that empowers them to make better real-time decisions? Autonomous tractors will free human workers from the monotony of driving bags from point-to-point. Yet, who will the ramp crew chief contact when a tractor with connecting bags fails to arrive on time or breaks down in the middle of the ramp?

Effective adoption will be key. As with any transformational workplace technology, we must overcome initial concerns about machines taking human jobs. That said, once the dust settles – which should come quickly given there are fewer available workers to fill these jobs as a result of declining global birthrates and general Gen Z attitudes towards physical labor – the biggest challenge will be introducing these technologies in a manner that allows human beings to use them effectively.  

We need to be mindful of the communication divide between man and machine. Human workers do not speak Python, Java or JSON. Autonomous machines do not speak English, Spanish or Japanese. How will humans communicate and collaborate within these new transformative systems? We must bridge this gap by providing tools that facilitate clear communication and build a sense of trust and reliability: a translation layer.

This translation layer must work bi-directionally. It must integrate with dozens of bespoke systems and machines and include a fun and engaging Graphical User Interface (GUI). It must translate raw data it receives from the many systems into actionable information and then intelligently route that insight to its human users. Conversely, it must convert human interactions into data and then pass that data back to the systems to engage the machines.

Even before the advent of robotics and autonomy, airport workers were increasingly demanding this type of holistic and expansive “single pane of glass” collaborative application. IT departments within the world’s largest airlines are actively prioritizing “app rationalization” projects to reduce the number of business applications used by their teams. Why? Their colleagues have made it clear they do not want to interact with multiple applications to perform their jobs. With that in mind, do we really believe these workers will welcome even more applications to collaborate with various machines?

The good news is that no matter where you are on this journey of innovation, you are not too late. Whether you are considering deploying robotics and autonomy for the first time or expanding upon what’s already in use, it’s most important to acknowledge the need to think holistically and develop a plan to meet the needs of all human personas. From there, set clear priorities and find good technology partners, both at the collaborative layer and with relevant standalone application providers, that integrate well with others. By keeping your human workforce front and center, you’ll be best-positioned to take full advantage of all the efficiencies that AI, robotics and autonomy have to offer.

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Springshot lives at the intersection of technology and humanity – it’s who we are and what has driven us forward since day one. Conversations like this are what inspire us, and we are thrilled to be discussing the future of technology at this year’s FTE Conference.

We hope to see you in Long Beach!

I came from a more management-centric software organization, but eventually, I was able to see that If you can’t win the hearts of the frontline workforce, you’re not going to get the optimized output you desire.

I realized that if you can’t get your resources to engage with the technology, you’re not going to get them to do what needs to be done. And it’s not as simple as just telling someone to do more work, especially in the post-COVID workforce. You have to present work to people in a way that’s meaningful, that feels like they have some autonomy, and that validates that what they do makes a difference.  Springshot’s really good at drawing people into a community and showing them that what they do matters.

And that’s the intention of our software – it’s not just software for software’s sake, but it’s intended to make work meaningful for people. We make work personal, not transactional. That’s one of the things that makes us unique

What do you see as Springshot’s biggest strength?

First is our collaborative relationships with our customers and our partners. Second would be our responsiveness to our customers’ needs. And then third is our ability to rapidly innovate.

When you establish and nurture trusted relationships, customers can come to you and share their pain points openly.  Then, what we do really well, is we quickly ideate and build solutions to those pain points. I can point back to what we did this past year with Spirit Airlines: within a year we brought forward an entirely new product for their specific needs, and within 90 days that product scaled across the entire airline. That kind of speed is transformative. That, to me, is mind-blowing.

This ability to be flexible and rapidly innovate based on the tight-knit and personal relationships we have with our customers is our greatest strength. And it’s one thing for us to say that, but I hear that repeated back to me time and time again by our customers themselves, and that’s truly special.

What is it about Springshot that most differentiates it from similar technology? What,  specifically, are customers/users saying?

There are two differentiators that I see: First, we are a holistic platform. Others in the industry are selling specific products, and I think we approach problem-solving from a holistic standpoint. We bring an entire platform to a customer that allows them to use as little or as much as they want, understanding that their needs are always changing and evolving. We’re like a Swiss Army knife.

Second, we are an airline-wide platform. Previously, my experience was with products that are heavily architected and only viable in busy hubs that can justify the ROI. Springshot is a platform that can scale across an entire airline.

For example: An airline that has a seasonal flight six months out of the year, one day a week to Montego Bay. Springshot can deliver value and consistency for that one flight. This is something the industry is desiring. A tool that doesn’t just meet the needs of hubs or large out stations, but a platform that works in even the smallest stations.

Springshot is a scalable, airline-wide platform.

The holistic nature of the platform is definitely a differentiator. Our technical architecture is aligned with our core mission, and our mission is to engage and empower people to collaborate. To support that core mission, you need to have a scalable technical architecture. With the countless microservices that have been built to support specific components of human technical collaboration, Springshot has just that.

Springshot has a deep focus on the aviation industry – what were some of the biggest trends you saw within that industry this year and how does/can Springshot support their needs? What are customers saying and what are they looking for?

In no particular order, the first trend that comes to mind is aggregation and simplification. Today, there’s so much data that’s out there, and it can be difficult to make sense of it all, especially how and when it is presented to frontline users. How do we use this data to drive better operational performance?

Another trend is cross-functional communication and collaboration. Something that we refer to as role-based communication within the Springshot ecosystem. The market is seeking ways to increase collaboration between ground crew and flight crew around the turn of an aircraft, resulting in the most informed decision-making possible. This primarily exists today with radios and disparate systems.

Springshot consolidates and simplifies the tools and systems teams are using today. A number of large airlines often use hundreds of what they call “apps,” but what they are looking to do is unify in one meaningful platform – what we at Springshot might call a single pane of glass. We are bringing information together in one place to help drive better visibility and better operational performance.

And, of course, there’s the notable post-COVID workforce change. We are now seeing an influx of Gen-Z and Millennial workers, and we can’t just give them a tool that their parents’ generation used and expect them to show up and perform. We need to adapt by providing the same mobile engagement at work that they are familiar with outside of work. Post-COVID, we also need to consider how we as an industry will position the future of a workforce that is a collaboration between humans and robots. Robotics is coming. Ideally, we want to position the robotics to handle the heavy, back-breaking work and let humans be humans. What does that blended workforce look like in the future? Springshot could be the engagement that connects the robot to the human, the human to the robot, through our mobile platform.

What sort of future outlook do you have on technology in the aviation industry over the next 10 years?

Technology is evolving so quickly that it is difficult to predict where we will be even in the next five years. Humbly, I don’t know. But I can say that we are hopeful to remain at the center of many of these conversations. We want to be part of the advancement of the industry. We want to innovate with the industry. We want to collaborate with the industry. We are excited to see where it goes.

At Springshot, we’re always thinking about new ways to support essential workers. We believe our platform should empower people and make performing their day-to-day tasks more fun and efficient.

We live at the intersection of human and artificial intelligence, and now, more than ever, AI and robotics are at the center of workforce conversations. How we implement these new technologies in ways that improve our workflows and improve (not replace) individual human efforts is crucial to everyone’s happiness and success.

We sat down with Efficient Technologies CEO Matt Senske to discuss how his vision of robotics in the aviation industry could improve the airport experience for both staff and travelers – specifically around baggage handling – while making the work involved safer, faster and more effective:

Could you start by telling us how you got to where you are today?

I worked for a major airline for a few years. I started in San Francisco in cargo, then moved to Salt Lake City on the ramp, loading and unloading the planes. It all started because I found out you could work for an airline and be able to fly for free – maybe the greatest perk of any job in the world. I tell people all the time, if you have an opportunity, go work for an airline so you can travel and see the world. It’s phenomenal!

I went to school for business – undergrad business degree, MBA, and law school.  Though working for the airline was a part-time job, I still approached it with a business mindset and that perspective allowed me to better understand the larger picture of airline operations. I saw too many problems and realized it was too big of an opportunity to not pursue the solutions. So, I stopped everything I was doing and moved back home to Nebraska to start Efficient Technologies.

There are all kinds of gaps in airport operations these days – what made you decide to focus on baggage transport specifically? 

Being out there on the ground, I started to notice there were a lot of inefficiencies. Why were eight different people touching a passenger bag before it gets back to the passenger? There were so many opportunities for mishandled, damaged, and even lost bags. I remember being on the ramp in Salt Lake City and seeing a number of items fall from a baggage cart and no one taking action. I alerted my manager and asked whose responsibility it was and he replied, “Everyone’s and no one’s.” I asked, “What do you mean by that?” and he explained, “Everybody’s because they’re our passenger bags, but nobody’s, because if you go touch that bag, then it becomes your responsibility.” Everyone was turning a blind eye. It was a major, glaring issue with the manual processes.

What are the main problem areas with the baggage workflow?

The biggest issue is there’s a blind spot between the baggage handling system and the aircraft.

Baggage handling systems are much better now than they were a decade ago, but once it gets kicked out to a pier or a carousel, you have a person manually loading that onto the cart. From that point – when that person picks it up off the conveyor belt to when it actually gets loaded on the aircraft – the bags are not really accounted for. They’re not tracked in the process. So, I call this a “blind spot” because at any point anything can happen to any of those bags on that cart.

The same is true for connecting bags being unloaded from an airplane. They are usually scanned coming off the plane, but manual sortation and short connecting times create the opportunity for a lot of error.

A worker could pull a bag for any reason, but that movement isn’t tracked in any way. They could be pulling a bag to place on another cart. They could be driving out on the ramp and one falls out. Etc. It can end up anywhere around the airport and nobody knows about it. Suddenly, we’re supposed to have 100 bags, but we only have 99 of them on board. Where is that last bag? Truthfully, it could be anywhere. We know it’s here based on its last scan in this location, but from that spot to where it is now, there is no automation, no scans, or anything that tracks it.

So there’s a really big gap in the system right now. And we’re, we’re looking to help fix that with our technology.

We know that you are working on something new and innovative which is going to revolutionize baggage transport….can you share how the new technologies that you are working on will benefit baggage handlers?

If you look back at when commercial aviation really took off, you’ll discover that we’re still using many of the same exact processes. Here we are, 60-70 years later, using the same process and the same equipment despite the fact that there were 4.5 billion passengers and almost 4.3 billion bags that flew globally in 2019. Plus, technology has made great advances in that same time, yet we haven’t updated in all the ways we should.

Our goal is to automate processes where it makes sense, and baggage is a clear area that needs attention.

As with anything in life, whether it’s meeting people or going somewhere new, first impressions are very important, as are your last impressions as you walk away. So think about the airport experience: what do you start with? What do you end with? Well, truthfully, baggage is the first touchpoint and last touchpoint for a customer at an airport. How long you wait to drop off your bag when you arrive and how long you wait to get your bag at the carousel have a huge impact on sentiment. A customer could have an amazing flight – they love the staff, they land ahead of time, and maybe they even get a free drink – but if they are waiting for their luggage for three hours they are more than likely upset and going to walk away thinking, “I’ll never fly with that airline again.” 

Baggage handling should be more important to an airline, and finding ways to improve the baggage process is a key component. That’s why we’re working on these new technological advances – not just to make the work easier and more efficient, but to improve the whole customer experience which, in the end, improves the bottom line for airlines. Our work in robotics aims to solve these issues.

What excites you about the future of robotics within the aviation industry and beyond?

There are a lot of different ways that people are thinking about solving our industry’s process issues, but robotics needs to be a part of it, and that in itself is exciting. The final solution we settle on remains to be seen, but we need to be open to asking ourselves: how can we make that worker’s job better? How can we make the passenger’s experience better? How can we create better and higher profits for airlines? They’re going to be the driver of all of it.

And, of course, we need to think about how we can create this technology in a way that is affordable. Yes, let’s bring robotics into the industry, but you can’t have a million-dollar piece of equipment because nobody’s going to buy it. It could be the best technology in the world, but if it’s too expensive, it not going to be implemented. 

Again, going back to my time working as a baggage handler, I would’ve loved to have the technology to support the hardest parts of my job. Imagine having equipment that makes a 70-pound piece of luggage feel like five or ten pounds – that would be extraordinary. It’s about creating tools that will make those jobs easier, safer, and more enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and to be a part of this evolution is really incredible. We’re so excited for what’s ahead!

Over the last decade, we’ve been busy solving a foundational issue plaguing the technical systems that support airport operations: worker disengagement.

By disengagement, we’re not suggesting frontline workers performing essential airport functions are disinterested, apathetic or are otherwise to blame. Quite the opposite. They’ve done all they can to keep pace as their work environments have radically transformed around them.

As airlines, airports and ground handlers have raced to implement technologies that track topics like aircraft movement, gate assignments, baggage, safety, catering, fueling and numerous others, technical product owners have spent minimal time studying how human workers will interact with these systems. Let alone multiple systems at once.

By disengagement, we’re referring to the fact many of these systems are not thoughtfully designed to engage the human beings expected to use them. Workers using these systems may be called upon to interact with tens of thousands of data points per aircraft turn, which they’ll receive in real-time, rapid-fire succession. We expect airport workers to cut through this clutter, limit their focus to key metrics and collaborate with colleagues to make minute-by-minute decisions that involve flying machines worth $100M. Yet, despite the time invested developing systems to direct people to take certain actions, little effort has been spent ensuring they would understand and engage with them.

Until now.

At Springshot, we care deeply for commercial aviation and the people that support it. We’ve committed the last eleven years to abstracting and standardizing the digital object models used to support airport operations. We’ve studied human-computer interaction in both clinical and real-world settings. We’ve applied leading visual and interaction design principles for web and mobile applications and have obsessed over every pixel and color in our interfaces. With our branding, design aesthetic and workflows, we’ve infused our platform with years of scientific research in various fields of human motivation to quietly and positively “nudge” our human users to take time-sensitive actions required by underlying aviation systems.

Our DNA is embedded with the empathy required to understand and appreciate aviation at its core. Springshot was borne from this deep-seated love.

This has never been more important than today. With the Great Resignation and the ongoing flux in retention in the airline industry, we know technical systems are absolutely paramount to helping teams connect, communicate, perform and work efficiently. Given airlines have invested heavily in well-entrenched, bespoke systems that support narrow aspects of operations, many of which are well-overdue for an upgrade, it’s never been more important to find a scalable “single pane of glass” platform that unifies them all.

Our platform’s thoughtful design is a layer that we take seriously. It’s vital that our users immediately and inherently understand how to engage with our platform. If a new user cannot log in to Springshot and hit the ground running within minutes and with no instruction, we have failed. We’ve always made compassion a cornerstone of how we approach this connection. We know that our Gen Z audience — a workforce that grew up with mobile devices and has very specific ideas about how technology should look and feel — craves intuitive design for the technology they use on a daily basis. They’ve come to expect a human-centered design approach that feels natural in their day-to-day work and routines.

We simplify complex tasks into bite-sized information and thereby reduce the opportunity for users to become overwhelmed. One of the mainstays of our design is progressive reveal of information, a technique to improve comprehensibility by reducing information density. We unveil only the missions people need to see when they need to see them. Our goal is for workers to feel appreciated each time they complete a mission. For these reasons, we work hard to keep our design as fresh and intuitive as possible. 

 Our simple and intuitive visual designs mask the complexity that lies underneath. Our obsessive focus on the end user has uniquely positioned Springshot to serve as the unification layer across multiple aviation systems. By understanding what information users need, at what time, in what design paradigm and across different use cases and functions, Springshot has emerged as the leading candidate “to put it all together” for the frontline worker. “We increasingly live in an age where technology is called upon to simplify operations, improve collaboration and retain employees,” said Doug Kreuzkamp, Founder and CEO of Springshot. “Thanks to Springshot’s intuitive design and ease of use, there are no unknowns and potential anxiety and stress melt away.”

Springshot automatically connects all of the communication tools, feeds and functional applications needed to run critical daily missions. We welcome any existing above and below wing technology partners into our platform, including heavy optimizers, AI or sensor equipment providers, time and attendance tools, intelligent machinery vendors and more. We connect to data flowing from tower operations, catering, ramp services, facilities and gate and ticket services to ensure smooth operations, ensuring bags are loaded onto planes, seats and restrooms are cleaned, catering is ready to go, jetways are moved into place, planes are fueled and so much more.

In a few weeks, we’ll explore how Springshot’s robust integration capabilities have been called upon to support Spirit Airline’s operational strategies across its entire network of 90+ stations. We’re excited to showcase how we’re helping Spirit better manage their airport operations, minimize delays and enjoy a better ROI on technology investments. We’ll also highlight the powerful partners plugging into the Springshot platform to optimize aviation operations. Stay tuned!

We must pay attention to what the youngest working generation is looking for in the workplace, including the technologies they want to use

We recently learned the airline industry is facing pressure to modernize the technical systems that support airport operations. 

A big catalyst for these changes? The wants and needs of the workforce stepping into the front lines of aviation operations: Gen Z.

Supporting Gen Z tops our list.

Let’s step back. We know the aviation industry is struggling to fill tens of thousands of open positions ahead of what’s predicted to be a very busy summer season. We know these jobs require working in stressful conditions under increasingly demanding timeframes.

This occurs within a broader industry-awakening regarding the technical infrastructure underlying airport operations. These systems require rapid modernization and the air travel industry is under the microscope as a result. Passengers and governmental agencies are demanding that airlines take dramatic steps to improve their reliability and safety on the heels of a difficult 2022-23 holiday season and a number of runway incursions and close calls in Q1.

These challenges are compounded by the Great Resignation and fundamental shifts in the way people approach work and the role it plays in their lives. Before the pandemic, aviation jobs were filled by lifers who built careers in aviation. They spent decades in their roles and amassed institutional knowledge that they passed from one generation to the next.

The lifers are long gone. With the aggressive cost-cutting and early retirement packages airlines offered at the onset of the pandemic, they left the industry. Three years later, it’s clear they’re not coming back.

Now, one of aviation’s biggest worker cohorts is Gen Z. Aged 18 to 25 years old, these digital natives will comprise 30% of the workforce by 2030. They’ve made it clear they do not intend to remain in the same place for long. A recent McKinsey study showed a staggering 77% are searching for a new job. Based on LinkedIn data compiled by Axios, they’re changing jobs at the rate of 134% higher than they were in 2019, compared to just 23% for Millennials, 18% of Gen X and 12% for Boomers.

To overcome critical staffing shortages, airlines and aviation companies must find creative ways to entice Gen Zers to fill open positions, quickly upskill these new hires and motivate them to stick around for a few years. The good news? A growing body of research provides the necessary insight to unlock the secret code. Forward-thinking airlines are well-positioned to take advantage.

The bottom line? Gen Zers must feel a shared sense of purpose with their employer and digitally-connected to their peers.

Airlines can attract, train and retain the best Gen Z talent by providing workers with hybrid physical/digital work environments that foster a common mission. ACI recently published a white paper on the Future of the Airport Workforce that highlights key trends shaping the airport workforce of tomorrow. At the top of this list is the expansion of what Klaus Schwab, Founder of the World Economic Forum, defined as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” a revolution “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.” Other important trends include “Social Responsibility in All Things,” “An Emphasis on Individual and Collective Purpose” and the “Accelerated Role of Technology.”

While embracing the needs and desires of Gen Z requires an all-hands-on-deck attitudinal shift with how airlines market their brands, purpose and mission, it requires only a modest financial investment. Many airlines have already done the former. Appreciating today’s 22-year old socially-conscious Gen Zer is tomorrow’s 35-year old business traveler, airlines like Alaska, Delta and United have invested heavily in biofuels and bleeding-edge eVTOL innovation to reduce their carbon footprint. Others like Frontier, with each of its aircraft adorned with an endangered species and its “America’s Greenest Airline” moniker, have built their brands around environmental awareness and sustainability.

With the hard part done, airlines can overcome today’s staffing challenges by equipping frontline workers with modest-priced technologies that provide an immersive digital and mission-driven experience. They don’t need to rip out the existing infrastructure and start anew. They need to find a way to fuse together these systems in a way that resonates with Gen Z.

Focus on technology.

One Gen Z requirement stands out: it’s clear this generation of workers — who are the first to have used the internet their entire lives — require the most cutting edge, innovative technology available at their fingertips. The last thing these workers want to stress about is technology. They won’t stand for spotty Wi-Fi, non-intuitive user interfaces, technology that doesn’t include automation and data analytics or apps that don’t work as expected the first time. 

This is why Gen Z has no problem leaving jobs, even foregoing entire industries, that don’t fulfill their needs. They’re not afraid to jump to new job opportunities and do so with regularity. We all remember the high turnover rate in the airport transportation industry as a byproduct of the pandemic. No one is eager to repeat that. 

As a result, we must be able to train them quickly and easily. Using communication technology that complements this training and clearly expresses — and even helps set — expectations for workers is a key piece in the ever-complex web of airport ecosystems. 

To see these expectations on an easy-to-use app in the palm of your hand? That’s ideal. 

Most importantly, the output from today’s technologies need to focus more on the “why” and less on the “what”. While it’s essential that if we have fewer people working at the airport, we must increase the productivity of each individual worker, Gen Z doesn’t want to be “optimized”. They want to be inspired.

Even more than their Gen X and Millennial counterparts, Gen Zers won’t accept being told what to do. They want the freedom to autonomously process information and take actions that advance a common mission they share with their peers and employer.

Enter Springshot. 

We’re grateful to provide this engaging, fresh and purpose-driven platform. By presenting a new single pane of glass collaboration platform that’s integrated with existing systems identifying “what” actions should be taken, Springshot delivers a holistic and unified perspective that inspires people to physically take those actions. In short, Springshot provides the “why.” We capture the hearts and minds of Gen Z by presenting them with an immersive, digital, mission-focused and communal work experience.

To be sure, aviation can be a dangerous industry to work in, requiring safety certifications for different lines of work. With the right digital collaboration platform, however, the work can be rewarding and fulfilling. This is especially true when front-line workers are motivated to do their best, digitally experience the benefits of their actions and receive regular positive feedback. 

Our intuitive platform has these points covered — and more. With Springshot, we know your Gen Z staff will be more engaged and connected than ever before, feel greater appreciation, and as a result, deliver greater output with a heightened sense of purpose and remain on your team for years to come. 

Stay tuned for the third post in our Integrations blog series devoted to modernizing technology.

Aviation is at an inflection point, ripe for technological innovation on multiple fronts. The good news? Springshot and others are here to help.

The backdrop: A difficult 2022 holiday season

Perhaps it was a perfect storm of pent-up passenger demand — continuing to accelerate after the uncertainty of the past few years — and a punishing winter storm. Maybe it was the combination of aging software and bad luck. Whatever the cause, everyone saw the results: a major US airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights around Christmas, disrupting holiday plans for two million people. While the media was quick to chastise one airline, the setback was just the most recent in a series of well-publicized incidents that have plagued the entire industry.

The convergence of issues in December highlighted the strained operations software infrastructure that underlies the $800 Billion global airline industry. What happened afterward, with thousands of passengers stranded for days, flight crews out of position and exhausted airport teams working nonstop to recover, showcased the long-lasting difficulties facing commercial aviation.

Those working in aviation have known this for years. The latest turbulence exposed these deficiencies for all to see. 

The patchwork of outdated systems used today to support airline operations are not equipped to reliably anticipate obstacles and place the right teams in the right place at the right time to alleviate external stress. As if the holiday wakeup call wasn’t problematic enough, the need to solve these issues became crystal clear a few weeks later when the U.S. air traffic control’s NOTAM technology went down in mid-January, snarling air travel in a ripple effect felt for days.

It’s the worst-kept secret in the industry: Over the last decade, many airlines have deferred making the necessary investments to modernize software systems that support critical “day of” functions. Given their operations require workers to perform tasks with specialized training around heavy equipment, at a defined time, at a precise physical location and within a work environment exposed to weather and other uncontrollable variables, those working in aviation demand the most robust and reliable software solutions available. Paradoxically, many still operate using two-way radios and legacy “on prem” platforms. 

“Without investing in modern, cloud-based solutions, and with schedules becoming more tightly- compressed and complex, the airline industry has reached its boiling point,” said Doug Kreuzkamp, Founder and CEO of Springshot. “Everybody knows this, and it’s time to do something about it.”

This tumult is expanding as a spate of new software enters the market. New platforms have emerged to solve specific problems within the industry. Using sensors, data analytics and artificial intelligence to automate scheduling and planning, these technologies are a step in the right direction. Yet, many are not integration-friendly and do not work well within existing layers of technology. This is creating further complexity. 

The irony? In work environments that demand far less interoperability, we know software solutions built by different companies can play well together. Look back over the last several years. We all experienced how Zoom and Teams meetings enhanced productivity, easily bringing together people from disparate regions. When combined with other software platforms, like Slack, Asana, Atlassian JIRA, Figma and other creative, collaboration and messaging platforms, these technologies create schedules and workflows that complement a worker’s process and contribute to overall worker efficiency.

Positive change is possible. The investments must be made. 

A clear path forward: A platform that unifies and harmonizes aviation software 

The good news: emerging tools are here to help. The COVID pandemic accelerated the pace of innovation as the industry came to a standstill and peered into the abyss. Forward-thinking companies like Adveez, Aerosens, Aerovect, Assaia, Elenium, NetTracer, Springshot, Synaptic, ThorDrive, Whill and Xovis emerged to reboot aviation for a post-pandemic world. These companies worked individually to build best-in-class solutions to solve discrete operational needs, yet are collaborating together on how to modernize airport operations for all.

Across the globe, the industry is taking note. Airlines are beginning to prefer responsible developers who work well with others and “stay in their lane” to masterfully solve unique challenges over legacy providers that offer inhouse “one size fits all” solutions that purport to solve all challenges, yet fall short in fully solving any. As the industry invests in these new platforms and embraces this new integration-mindset, it will further unlock capabilities and operational reliability that seem unthinkable today. 

At Springshot, we’re honored to play a role in this new ecosystem. Those familiar with us know our passion for “living at the intersection of technology and humanity,” using engaging data modeling, alerting and visual design to harmonize disparate products and feeds. As a “single pane of glass” unifying interface for real-time operations, we aim to provide users with the information and tools to be at the right place, at the right time, performing the right task (safely), for the right duration with the right equipment. 

Over this four-part Integrations Insights series, we’ll shed light on the unique challenges our team aspires to solve each day. Bottom line, we’re in the midst of a generational transformation in how humans view and value work. Given the lifestyle preferences of Millennials and Generation Z and the physical and geographic proximity demands of airport jobs – these aren’t “work from home” occupations – the staffing and skillset ramifications for airline operations are particularly acute. We’ll share how our obsessive, borderline maniacal focus on the mental and physical needs of the frontline worker allows us to uniquely foster engagement and quickly upskill those performing these essential jobs.

In short, our software is what today’s airline workers want to see in the palms of their hands and we’re proud to be the unifying interface that allows them to best perform their jobs. 

We can’t wait to show you more.

Stay tuned for the second blog in this series devoted to our most important assets — people — coming soon.

We consider ourselves problem solvers and have been helping remote teams become more cohesive and efficient for over 10 years. With elegant and intuitively-designed applications, the Springshot collaboration platform has digitally transformed enterprises looking to better manage day-of operations. For essential workers performing time-sensitive functions across numerous industries — commercial aviation, facilities management, hotels, restaurants and live events — Springshot has increased productivity by enhancing human well-being.  

And now? We’re gearing up for another major upgrade. With our upcoming release focused on automated dispatching, we’ll remove the monotonous and mundane tasks users execute today to schedule operations. We’ll help them cut through the noise of deciding who to assign to what while elevating their local communities to reach new heights.

But first, let’s step back

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world, we discovered the niche our platform serves — helping remote teams better collaborate — was needed more than ever. The health crisis had upended the employment landscape and essential workers began to seek higher-paying jobs that better matched their core values.

As a result, many new teams began working together for the first time. The Springshot platform pivoted to lead the way.

We invested heavily in feed and sensor integrations to make better sense of the physical world. We released our dynamic, bidirectional and fully-integrated Forms platform to help our users collect better data and collaborate more effectively. To better facilitate real-time user-to-user engagement, we augmented our flagship Connect platform to support voice calls and deeper role-based communication.

As the pandemic fades further in the rearview mirror, new trends continue to emerge. Labor statistics show workers are switching jobs at an unprecedented pace. More than ever before, companies need tools that make integrating workers into new positions quicker and less disruptive. Employee engagement and employee retention are no longer the “touch-feely” aspirations of the human resource department, but critical strategic goals for the entire C-suite. 

To stay competitive across every labor market today, companies must quickly assimilate and upskill new hires while ensuring all crew members feel a sense of purpose and appreciation for their efforts. It’s within this backdrop that we elevate Springshot by focusing deeper on AI and automation. In the last decade, we saw the emergence of the digital ecosystem that mimics the analog physical world, allowing human workers to collaborate better with each other. 

In the next, we’ll see this ecosystem evolve to generate greater output through human workers collaborating better with machines. In this new world, backend systems will be trusted to successfully execute complex real-time operational computations. Autonomous robots will be used to perform mundane physical tasks. At the heart of it all will be an easy-to-use platform that elevates and automates the human worker experience to deliver more.

Enter Springshot.

“Since its inception, Springshot has received and mined data streams to generate efficient work plans. Originally, we focused on mining data from airline flight feeds. Now, we do the same for more industries using beacons and sensors,” explained Doug Kreuzkamp, Springshot Founder and CEO. “With the architecture already in place to receive data from these sensors, mine that data to determine what tasks must be performed at what place and time, the insight as to which human resources are available to complete the mission in a timely way has helped create our game-changing automated dispatch tool.”

Our new platform is a fresh approach to automated task allocation, striking the ideal balance between human autonomy and operational efficiency. During peak operations when overwhelmed with multiple competing priorities, dispatchers will have the option to toggle on Elevate to help identify and automatically assign the most important tasks to the right users.

During calmer times, dispatchers can disengage when they seek greater control. Appreciating the complexity of dynamic operations and the fact that even the world’s most sophisticated sensors can’t capture and assimilate every input processed by the human brain, Springshot will maximize both operational productivity and job satisfaction.

An effective balance of worker productivity and engagement.

Our upcoming enhancements  will become another tool in the digital Springshot toolbox. Workers won’t be overburdened with too much work. They won’t have too much idle time in the event of flight delays, game delays, or in-person office schedules changing last minute due to pandemic-related risk guidelines. Via intelligent and human-centric automated task allocation, Springshot will easily fill in the gaps as needed.

“Our new auto dispatch feature will further show how humans and technology can work together and harmonize,” said Adam Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer of Springshot. “With this next iteration of Springshot, front line team members will be even more supported to complete their work tasks. This results-oriented feature means we are not wasting time and, rather, making their time as effective and efficient as possible.”

Elevate your worker engagement. Elevate your task distribution. Elevate your results … all with Springshot.

Among the many lessons learned from Covid-19 is that professional and collegiate sports are not the same without in-person fans cheering on their favorite teams.

Pandemic-related restrictions often meant no or few spectators at games. This had a clear impact on players and coaches, as die-hard fans were forced to watch their favorite events from home and players competed in silence. Venue operators did all they could to create a sense of normalcy. Who can forget the thousands of cardboard fan cut-outs placed in seats or fake crowd sounds blaring over the PA?

As physical distancing and mask mandates were lifted in early 2022 and the world began to open back up, stadium operators evolved to a “new normal” in how they offered creature comforts that made watching live games enjoyable. New adjustments to food, drink, mobility assistance and facility maintenance services became a necessity. Many stadiums began limiting touch points via mobile tickets and requiring 100% cashless payments. They have prioritized facility maintenance tasks like never before — from the frequency in which they clean restrooms to adding hand sanitizer stations throughout every arena. Cleaning tasks now have a pre, during and post event cadence.

At Springshot, we keenly appreciate how these new measures have impacted stadium operations. We understand these changes must be seamless. Spectators expect full adherence to health codes, but they also want to maximize their experiences at any event, whether it’s a baseball game, football game, golf tournament or rock concert. 

The must-haves? Easy parking, efficiently-served and delicious concessions, regularly maintained and well-stocked bathrooms and access to accessibility measures to optimize people movement through large venues, such as wheelchair escorts or golf carts.

“Our mobile platform ensures workers who support stadium operations are equipped with the right technology and information to effectively manage tasks and provide fans with the experiences they crave,” Doug Kreuzkamp, founder and CEO of Springshot. “Springshot’s background supporting facility and guest logistics at large sporting events has been invaluable in how we’ve matured our platform to become an effective data collection tool for stadiums operating in the post-pandemic landscape.”

With higher expectations for cleanliness in these shared spaces, Springshot has you covered. Our application supports consistent alerting and can be integrated directly with a myriad of sensors. A hand sanitizer station needs to be refilled? No problem. Teams will know immediately thanks to embedded loT devices sending alerts to our platform.

Should paper towels unexpectedly run out or trash cans overflow, bathrooms cleaned at regular intervals can also receive immediate attention. Imagine no longer using paper log forms taped to doors to confirm that bathrooms were cleaned as scheduled. Springshot digitally tracks these tasks — and our platform can assign an attendant to their next task right away, should another sensor alert nearby.

Soda spills or nachos gone overboard in the stands? We’ve got that covered, too. With our platform, anyone can alert a cleaning crew member via Springshot that section BB, row 12 needs attention. They will know exactly what the spill is and where it fell, thanks to our seamless photo capture and tagging capabilities. The platform also tracks and shows on maps where necessary tools, such as buckets and mops, are stored so workers are as efficient as possible in their cleaning tasks. 

With Springshot, the communication between teams and individual workers is customized based on roles and made easy thanks to flexible features like voice and text messaging or the ability to send images and videos. Teams can also send Bulletins, such as emergency or safety alerts, with their co-workers as needed. Equally important, our interface is easy to use and intuitive for any worker to learn.

A dispersed workforce who is connected on Springshot is highly engaged. They collaborate easily, which makes their jobs easier to do. Even our auditing platform — Springshot Forms — provides immediate and clear feedback to team members. We create data-driven, coachable moments to share where your teams are winning and where there are opportunities for improvement.

Working effortlessly through a complex data set, teams can see their work as having an immediate impact on the fans’ experience — something they take pride in. Springshot’s workflows also help improve worker retention as remote teams better understand their jobs and how their collective efforts positively impact the event.

The best part? All actions are captured as data points that better enhance and inform future stadium operations.

Simply put, our adaptive platform improves the fan experience and worker engagement at large venues in the post-pandemic world. We understand what motivates essential workers and how to effectively manage large scale live events. Springshot will help you take the steps now to upgrade and refocus your stadium operations.

Watch for the final post in our Great Upgrade blog series as we unveil exciting enhancements to Springshot’s offerings.

It’s a changed world in most office buildings. Not only do workers have greater power to dictate their job preferences (thanks to the pandemic-driven shift in where and how we work), many have been able to ditch the monotonous office commute altogether.

One week in person, one week remote. Mondays and Wednesdays at the office, Tuesdays and Thursdays at home. Some companies are in the office 50% with physical distancing. Others are back 80% with no assigned desks. The options are endless. 

Companies are redefining what successful office environments look like both for their staff and the facilities management teams that keep their office buildings operating in peak condition. Here at Springshot, we are contributing to this reinterpretation as we help teams manage the health and safety of workspaces through our adaptive, remote technology platform.

Flexibility and efficiency 

What sets the Springshot platform apart is our ability to work with unpredictable worker schedules. In today’s world, there is no longer cleaning for the sake of cleaning. If a space isn’t being used each day, there’s no need to clean it each day, especially when a once-a-week cleaning is enough. Custodial staff are no longer required to automatically vacuum each floor every day when some floors haven’t been used over the last 24 hours.

As a result, when property owners and integrated facilities management companies provide their remote teams with Springshot, our platform renews and amplifies the efficiency, consistency and productivity of work performed by distributed janitorial and maintenance teams. Work is completed where and when it needs to be done through dynamically assigned tasks. Teams communicate easily with each other should new cleaning tasks be required. Our intuitive interface makes it easy to onboard new workers, minimizing training time. 

Our expertise in aviation sets us up well for this new world. For the last decade, we’ve helped teams clean and maintain physical assets in compressed blocks of time due to tight flight schedules. During this time, we established the communication methods necessary to engage facilities management teams and help them work together seamlessly. We help teams connect with their colleagues and provide them with the tools to communicate in real time.

A lot happens overnight to prepare facilities for the next morning, but if a company’s worker schedules change each week, janitorial teammates need to know when they are needed. If people counters show very few people were in the office for the day, the cleaning team can be notified that their shifts can start any time after 4 p.m., rather than a previously strict 7 p.m. start time. 

This flexibility applies to on-demand tasks as well. Teams using Springshot can be dispatched quickly to clean a conference room where a soda spilled on the floor during lunch. They can be sent to fix a row of lights, replace a bathroom door latch, or adjust a broken thermostat, when needed. 

With Springshot, maintenance teams no longer need to play a game of telephone to locate the appropriate person to address each task or search for the materials and tools needed to make a fix. Office workers no longer need to file a paper ticket and wait two days to have a broken chair fixed, an air filter replaced, or an electric outlet repaired. 

Data collection counts

For help scheduling, teams use Springshot to create specific task lists, through which our platform collects and converts data into real-time information that is transformed into repetitive-physical tasks. Workflows are assigned based on level designations, such as high priority areas, and work areas are designated as needing attention daily, weekly, or monthly.  

As this “clean and maintain” data is shared, integrated facilities maintenance companies are deploying workers more efficiently across the office buildings they manage. 

“Springshot helps reduce turnover and increase retention through an engagement platform that goes beyond traditional work order management systems or isolated communication platforms,” said Adam Taylor, Springshot’s Chief Revenue Officer.

Finally, when it comes to cleaning audits, our tool, Springshot Forms, allows managers to ensure work is effectively completed and evaluated. With features like rapid photo collection, signature capture, data collection, and comments and tags, teams get real-time feedback on their work.

Look forward to Springhsot continuing to elevate the physical office space in 2022. Over the next few months, we’ll have exciting news to share about a product that will transform mobile workforce allocation. Imagine a world where missions are assigned dynamically and automatically based on a team member’s current status, expertise, and location. … Stay tuned!

Check next month for the third installment of our Great Upgrade blog series when we’ll focus on Springshot’s role in sports stadiums.