Author: Josephine Courant

Un domingo de febrero de cada año, dos equipos luchan por el premio máximo en deportes profesionales: el Trofeo Lombardi. El 2 de febrero de 2020, más de 60,000 fanáticos gritando fueron testigos de cómo los Jefes de Kansas City derrotaron a los 49ers de San Francisco para llevarse a casa su segundo título de Super Bowl. Si bien las apuestas para los equipos en el campo eran altas, eran igualmente altas para el equipo fuera del campo encargado de proporcionar a los fanáticos, y a 100 millones de espectadores en casa, una experiencia segura y memorable del Super Bowl.

Cada parte del domingo del Super Bowl está meticulosamente planificada y dotada de personal. Mientras que los equipos en el campo incluyen 53 jugadores y unas pocas docenas de entrenadores, entrenadores y personal de recepción, el equipo fuera del campo incluye miles de asistentes de estacionamiento, guardias de seguridad, concesionarios, acomodadores, taquilleros y otro personal del estadio. Aunque en gran medida pasa desapercibido e invisible, este equipo trabaja incansablemente para garantizar una operación fluida, segura y sin problemas antes, durante y después del juego.

Fuera del estadio, cientos de miembros del equipo brindan a los visitantes una entrada y salida sin inconvenientes. Estos héroes no reconocidos ayudan a las personas mayores y con movilidad reducida al proporcionar asistencia en silla de ruedas y paseos en carritos de golf. Para el Super Bowl LIV, este grupo fue liderado por SP + Gameday, una compañía de gestión de eventos de élite que apoya algunos de los eventos deportivos de más alto perfil del país, como el Super Bowl y el Derby de Kentucky. Llamado a reunir un ejército de miembros del equipo para apoyar un evento de un día, el equipo de Gameday se destaca por ofrecer una experiencia de clase mundial para una clientela exigente del día del juego.

Para apoyar el Super Bowl LIV, Gameday buscó un socio de software para ayudar a impulsar su operación. Dado que el tiempo es esencial en un Super Bowl, es fundamental que los miembros del equipo que empujan las sillas de ruedas y los carros de conducción ayuden oportunamente a los fanáticos desde y hacia sus vehículos y los transporten a salones, concesiones, asientos y suites. Hacer un seguimiento de las necesidades de los huéspedes, la actividad de los miembros del equipo y la finalización del trabajo es una operación compleja. Es por eso que, en preparación para el domingo del Super Bowl, Gameday se acercó a Springshot buscando una solución para respaldar estos servicios.

A mediados de 2019, después de asistir a una demostración que destaca las capacidades de Springshot, Gameday eligió a Springshot como su socio tecnológico. Al mostrar su capacidad para configurar fácilmente la plataforma Springshot para satisfacer las necesidades personalizadas de cualquier evento, el equipo de Springshot modificó la interfaz web y la aplicación móvil para satisfacer las necesidades especiales de un partido de fútbol en el Hard Rock Stadium. Hasta el más mínimo detalle, incluida una configuración de diseño con temática de fútbol para los asistentes de Gameday, Springshot parecía y se sentía como una aplicación de Super Bowl personalizada.

Durante la semana de juego, el equipo de Gameday no estaba solo. Dos miembros del equipo de Éxito del cliente de Springshot trabajaron en el sitio para apoyar la operación. Mientras estaban en el sur de Florida, revisaron los flujos de trabajo y la configuración de la interfaz sobre la marcha, capacitaron a los gerentes y al personal de Gameday y trabajaron en estrecha colaboración con el equipo de Gameday para prepararse para el evento. En el último minuto, incluso ayudaron a configurar Springshot para apoyar una fiesta VIP en un hotel de South Beach algunas noches antes del partido.

Con el apoyo de Springshot, el equipo de SP + Gameday se ejecutó sin problemas el domingo del Super Bowl. Esa mañana, los asistentes llegaron a un breve curso de actualización sobre cómo aceptar y realizar misiones en la aplicación Springshot, que habían descargado a través de las tiendas de aplicaciones para sus dispositivos Android e iOS. Cuando los invitados comenzaron a llegar para el juego, los despachadores de Gameday asignaron fácilmente misiones, rastrearon a los asistentes y conductores de carros en el mapa interactivo de Springhsot, y se aseguraron de que las personas adecuadas recibieran asistencia en el momento adecuado. Al hacer que las operaciones complejas sean fácilmente digeribles en una única interfaz de usuario, Springshot dio visibilidad a los despachadores en cada minuto de actividad.

El análisis de datos de Springshot también fue importante. Dado que Springshot configuró los flujos de trabajo móviles del Super Bowl para capturar dónde se sentaban los invitados durante el juego, Springshot pudo entregar informes después del medio tiempo que permitieron a los despachadores posicionar estratégicamente a los asistentes para una salida rápida después del juego. Después del juego, Springshot también entregó informes que identificaron cuántas millas recorrió cada asistente durante el juego y dónde se colocaron durante el cuarto trimestre. Springshot y Gameday continúan extrayendo los datos del Super Bowl LIV para ajustar y optimizar el rendimiento para futuros eventos.

Springshot espera una gran relación con su nuevo socio. Si bien los Chiefs pueden haber salido victoriosos en el campo en el Super Bowl LIV, SP + Gameday claramente emergió como el campeón fuera del campo.

Swissport is the world’s largest aviation service provider. Over the last 25 years, the Zurich-based company has supported the world’s leading airlines at over 300 airports worldwide. Swissport has always been at the forefront of innovation. By providing specialized ramp, passenger and cargo support to its aviation partners, it works continuously to enhance and optimize airport operations.

Swissport is focused on optimizing the aircraft turn process. In an effort to minimize the time an aircraft remains parked at the gate, the company’s Innovations Team recently embarked on an initiative to standardize turn workflows across Swissport’s global network. As part of this program, Swissport entered into a partnership with Springshot. The companies are now working together in Larnaca to turn this vision into reality.

Larnaca International Airport (LCA) is the largest commercial airport in Cyprus. Built in 1974, LCA now serves over five million passengers per year. After a major renovation, operations were upgraded to meet increasing demand, with an expected nine million annual passengers over the next few years. Swissport selected LCA for the initial Springshot deployment given its innovative local management team and highly-capable frontline crew.

Swissport chose the LCA ramp team for the first deployment. Ramp agents are critical to the aircraft turn process. From supporting baggage movement, servicing lavatories and many other “below wing” tasks, ramp agents must work in concert to service the aircraft. A well-choregraphed ramp team ensures flights leave safe and on time.

Swissport is focused on helping its ramp agents better coordinate and collaborate with the allocators who oversee the ramp operation. Prior to Springshot, allocators built the ramp schedules manually using paper and spreadsheets, requiring up to four hours each day to build the next day’s schedules. To make matters worse, given the impact of weather and other irregularities on an airport operation, these schedules were often outdated when the allocators arrived at the airport the next morning. This forced them to tweak the spreadsheets schedules on the fly, requiring additional effort and minimizing their effectiveness.

Springshot replaced these manual processes. After integrating with Swissport’s internal systems, Springshot helped automate the entire scheduling process. Today, allocators can create schedules in advance, send daily tasks to ramp agents’ mobile devices, and see when they are starting and ending their shifts. Using their mobile devices, ramp employees communicate easily through the Springshot app while checking off tasks throughout the day. In the event of flight delays or other operational issues, tasks and schedules adjust automatically in Springshot, alleviating hours of manual work.

Thanks to Springshot, Swissport allocators and ramp agents have visibility into—and control over—their entire shift. They have more time to plan, yielding quicker reactions and smoother operations. Given Springshot reduces unnecessary telephone calls and texts, ramp agents are also able to communicate more effectively. Most important, they are happier and more productive.

And off we go. Over the coming months, Swissport and Springshot plan to repeat this success across Swissport’s operations in South Korea and Japan. Stay tuned.

For a number of us, smartphones are just a way of life. They’re how we check email, navigate directions or look up answers to life’s ever-important questions. However, some people prefer to only use their phones as one thing: a phone!

That’s the case for many of the workers who are servicing the aircraft and transferring the luggage that passengers need to reach their final destinations. At Springshot, we’ve made it our mission to make their lives easier by using technology to empower and enable them as they go throughout their workdays, which is why we embarked on a journey to streamline the Springshot user experience.

As a result of these efforts, we are so pleased to announce that the new user interface received an Honorable Mention at the UX Awards. The UX Awards recognize the leaders in the digital world who are designing products and experiences that solve real-life challenges, and winners are named by a panel of judges. Brian Braunlich, our Product Manager, was on hand at the UX Awards Summit on November 9th in Palo Alto to give a presentation about Springshot, and Tan Ma, our amazing designer, was there to formally accept the award.

When we started the redesign of the user interface, we went straight to the source: the teams who are using our app every single day. Some employees are smartphone savvy while others are less familiar with this type of technology, and we needed to create an intuitive experience that would accommodate all levels of experience. Our team followed these users through a typical day and asked questions to better understand what they need, want and what motivates them to do a great job. We saw how they used the Springshot app and gathered feedback about the things they loved and the things they wished would change.

After our days in the field, we took that information back to our headquarters and, led by Tan, we began the process of setting goals so we could deliver on expectations. Built on the premise of being useful, usable and beautiful, the new Springshot interface allows our users to flow seamlessly through their workdays, cutting down the time and steps it takes to complete a task by as much as 50 percent.

With the new user interface, we are empowering travel industry workers like never before, and we are thrilled that the UX Awards recognized for our efforts to make Springshot better than ever.

Mark Pantilon travels light. He knows his way around airports—every other week, he heads to SFO for work-related travel, zipping through security without hassle. And for years, he worked in Cabin Service for Air Serv in the very same airport.

On the outside, Mark embodies professionalism. At 25, he was the youngest manager in charge of more than 100 employees and was tasked with turning his team’s reputation around. He got the job done by rallying the crew, showing them his vision and, above all, expressing gratitude to his colleagues.

Between shopping dates and partnering up for mud-crawling, bar-hanging, rope-swinging obstacle races, Janelle keeps Mark on his toes. As a young father, Mark learned to dedicate time, patience and understanding in developing his relationship with Janelle after some dark years with his own father.

Growing up, Mark and his two younger sisters were confronted with their father’s struggle with addiction. Mark’s stable and comfortable life in San Jose took an unexpected turn at 16 when his father lost his job, leaving the weight of their family on his mother’s shoulders. Mark’s family weathered a hurricane as they watched their father’s life unravel.

Mark held this close to him and promised to never let it become an excuse for wasting time. At 18, he began working for Air Serv where he met Doug Kreuzkamp, who has been a mentor to Mark for almost a decade. As a VP of Air Serv at the time, Doug nurtured Mark through the sometimes unpredictable obstacles of navigating a new career. Their relationship, however, was never contingent on hierarchy or hours at a desk.

On his 21st birthday, Mark was on his way to a meeting in San Diego that was cancelled last-minute. Unsure of how to spend the next few days in an unfamiliar city, Mark called Doug and explained the situation. Should he turn around and go back? “You just turned 21, right?” Doug asked. “Head out to town, have fun and enjoy yourself!”

Mark took a lot from Doug’s example. The trust and gratitude given to him influenced the way he would treat his own team one day, and as serendipity would decide, he discovered his favorite city, San Diego, for the first time.

In the shadows of his troubled family life, Mark faced the situation head-on and rose above it. The anger that was once inside of him transformed into a healthy and determined focus over the years, driving him to become a better son, brother and father. Between his colleagues and daughter, Mark is determined to brighten and enhance the lives around him.

And people clearly love working with him. By the time Mark is done visiting with new customers for Springshot launches, he knows nearly every employee’s name.

Mark knows from personal experience that compassion is key to earning people’s trust and raising morale, and that a “thank you” or “great job” goes a long way. He feels it’s his responsibility to be a leader people can look up to and to pass along the goodwill that was extended to him by Doug and others.

Now at 28 years old, Mark looks ahead to his future with his family. He plans on taking his daughter back to the Philippines, where he was born, and hopes to one day move to San Diego. But before all of that, he and Janelle have another obstacle race to get ready for. In some ways, he’s been preparing for it all his life.