While the Beumer Group’s loop sortation system CrisBag is helping to increase baggage-handling capacity at Halifax Stanfield International in Nova Scotia, Canada, the system is also being evaluated at the Transport Security Administration’s (TSA) testing center at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
With preliminary test results indicating “no known deficiencies”, Beumer officials are optimistic about receiving continued favorable reports and subsequent approval for installation of the system at US airports.
The CrisBag system carries each item of baggage in an individual tote, similar to the totes used for carry-on baggage and for personal items at passenger screening checkpoints. Because each checked bag remains inside the same individually controlled tote from check-in and early baggage storage to screening and discharge, CrisBag provides 100% tracking and traceability at every stage. While tote-based systems are already used by airports throughout Europe, this is a new concept for US airports.
TSA is currently testing the effectiveness of CrisBag across a range of real-life conditions and situations at its full-scale Transportation Systems Integration Facility near Washington, D.C. Elements being assessed include tracking, throughput, imaging, sorting and the detection of missing, unknown and oversized bags. Testers are also evaluating how fast the system associates specific bags with their individual totes.