FAA - Glacier Park International Airport
Kalispell, MT

Glacier Park International Airport (GPI) is a public airport serving Flathead County, Montana. It located six miles northeast of the central business district of Kalispell and also serves the towns of Evergreen, Columbia Falls, and Whitefish as well as Glacier National Park. The airport is owned and operated by the Flathead Municipal Airport Authority, an independent public agency created by Flathead County in 1974.

The airport was originally built in 1942 under the name Flathead County Airport. For many years, passenger traffic remained fairly low. In 1970, the airport was designated for international traffic and changed to the current name. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, traffic picked up substantially, as Hughes Airwest, Western Airlines and Horizon Air offered flights. The terminal was upgraded in 1981, and further major upgrades to the terminal, runways and other facilities occurred throughout the 1990s. Between 1974 and 1998, the passenger traffic increased more than fivefold.

The Challenge:
GPI required design and installation of a fully integrated intrusion detection system, access control system, and CCTV system. The airport authority also specified a requirement to integrate a credentialling management program with their access conrol system. This system integration was still in the Research and Development stage, with only theoretical compatibility.

The Solution:
ISS procured, designed, installed and provided training for a fully integrated ESS system. The newly installed components are integrated with the existing system, while much of the existing components were replaced. The system programming was completed by ISS, including the video management software. Complications and setbacks arose with this project as the existing data management media was found to be unsuitable as an infrastructure for the new system.

This existing wiring was slated to be used for the new system, but careful attention to specifications for ESS dictated its replacement. ISS replaced old wiring, requiring a revision to the project timeline. Further problems arose during hot crossover as it became evident that the existing system had numerous undiagnosed shortcomings, which had to be addressed to render a fully operational system. This was cause for further extension of the timeline.

In spite of this, ISS ensured the facility security was maintained at all times. ISS completed on-site training as well as provided video-based training and O&M manuals.