4 ms·

Yeh, whiteboard works but another more technical solution could be roll out a TV stand and hook up the TV to a laptop via HDMI and update schedule live through

Yeh, whiteboard works but another more technical solution could be roll out a TV stand and hook up the TV to a laptop via HDMI and update schedule live through a shared doc (Google docs?). I mean, whatever works right...

kingbirdy 8y ago
That requires them to have a surplus of portable TVs and laptops, which I don't see why they'd have (and would be much more expensive to buy as backup than the white boards)
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  Also, the full-manual solution of having whiteboards on standby covers a much broader spectrum of failures.
  - londons_explore 8y ago
    As well as a whiteboard on standby, you also need 1 person per whiteboard to keep them updated. In an airport as big as gatwick, you probably can't get away with anything less than ~10 whiteboards (5 per terminal). Which means 10 people. Not many companies have 10 spare people on site ready to act as emergency whiteboardmen.
    - ryandrake 8y ago
      Can’t one person update multiple whiteboards?
    - mikepurvis 8y ago
      There are 21000 people employed at Gatwick airport. There are going to be a lot more than ten people on standby at any given time, waiting to take on exactly the kinds of surprise situations which are business as usual in a busy airport.
- lotu 8y ago
  If your displays are openable and have the right connector you could just use them. However, as someone else pointed out whiteboards work in a lot more situations.
pests 8y ago
Why must the solution be technical?
ljm 8y ago
That would require power sockets to not be a monumentally scarce resource inside an airport. Nobody is going to look for the TV rolled between a row of seats (that cause a dozen more people to have to stand or sit on the floor), facing a completely useless direction, to get flight updates. The airport isn't going to drag extension cords across the entire lounge without risking breaking somebody's neck. They'll stare at the blank screens and wonder what's happening. A whiteboard in front of those screens, and other hot-spots, is far more considerate of how people behave inside a departure lounge. Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems can be quite beautiful when executed well. It's a sign of good contingency planning because they anticipated no network availability, rather than betting on network redundancy. I hope the few people who missed their flights were compensated in some way (refunds, seats on the next available flight...).
pbalau 8y ago
I believe you are totally missing the point. The displays were working properly, the internet connection was not.

kingbirdy 8y ago

That requires them to have a surplus of portable TVs and laptops, which I don't see why they'd have (and would be much more expensive to buy as backup than the white boards)

mikepurvis 8y ago
Also, the full-manual solution of having whiteboards on standby covers a much broader spectrum of failures.
- londons_explore 8y ago
  As well as a whiteboard on standby, you also need 1 person per whiteboard to keep them updated. In an airport as big as gatwick, you probably can't get away with anything less than ~10 whiteboards (5 per terminal). Which means 10 people. Not many companies have 10 spare people on site ready to act as emergency whiteboardmen.
  - ryandrake 8y ago
    Can’t one person update multiple whiteboards?
  - mikepurvis 8y ago
    There are 21000 people employed at Gatwick airport. There are going to be a lot more than ten people on standby at any given time, waiting to take on exactly the kinds of surprise situations which are business as usual in a busy airport.
lotu 8y ago
If your displays are openable and have the right connector you could just use them. However, as someone else pointed out whiteboards work in a lot more situations.

pests 8y ago

Why must the solution be technical?

ljm 8y ago

That would require power sockets to not be a monumentally scarce resource inside an airport. Nobody is going to look for the TV rolled between a row of seats (that cause a dozen more people to have to stand or sit on the floor), facing a completely useless direction, to get flight updates. The airport isn't going to drag extension cords across the entire lounge without risking breaking somebody's neck. They'll stare at the blank screens and wonder what's happening. A whiteboard in front of those screens, and other hot-spots, is far more considerate of how people behave inside a departure lounge. Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems can be quite beautiful when executed well. It's a sign of good contingency planning because they anticipated no network availability, rather than betting on network redundancy. I hope the few people who missed their flights were compensated in some way (refunds, seats on the next available flight...).

pbalau 8y ago

I believe you are totally missing the point. The displays were working properly, the internet connection was not.