"Self-help" at T5 Security
May 5, 2015, 5:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Londinium
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 930
"Self-help" at T5 Security
I few out Friday afternoon, arriving at T5 around 16:15. Security was its usual clown show, and, as usual I got in the worst queue.
First off - when they start with the little stalls for your tray. It's hard to describe, but the table where you unpack your bag is now lined up next to the belt. Each spot at the table is marked with little barriers, and you're supposed to empty your items in your assigned spot. The trouble is that if you're near the front of the table it's nearly impossible to move your tray from your stall to the adjacent belt because it's full of trays that were put on further down the table. The person manning this stage did nothign to manage the traffic flow.
Naturally my bag was selected for hand screening. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I'd stuffed a jacket in there which may have obscured the view of other items...anyway, my own fault I suppose, but I was now behind six other bags that had to be screened. We seemed to have a very officious person manning the monitor, because compared to other security lanes, we had a large backlog. There was only the one agent performing the inspections.
Each bag had to be hand inspected and swabbed, and the security agent was in no hurry. After nearly 10 minutes I'd moved up to 5th in the backlog. I went to another queue and politley asked an agent if they could send another person to help with the backlog, as people had been waiting for coming up on 15 minutes.
"Which is your bag?" she asked I thought I was in big trouble, but she said "my colleague will inspect it over here"
I explained that there were other people ahead of me, and I was happy to wait. I just wanted them to send another person over. Instead she went over and took my bag off the belt and carried it to another lane, where another agent inspected it and sent me on my way.
I'd rather BAA fixed this system rather than have to resort to something like that again. It almost seems like there's a labour-management issue there that's manifesting itself in "go slows".
First off - when they start with the little stalls for your tray. It's hard to describe, but the table where you unpack your bag is now lined up next to the belt. Each spot at the table is marked with little barriers, and you're supposed to empty your items in your assigned spot. The trouble is that if you're near the front of the table it's nearly impossible to move your tray from your stall to the adjacent belt because it's full of trays that were put on further down the table. The person manning this stage did nothign to manage the traffic flow.
Naturally my bag was selected for hand screening. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I'd stuffed a jacket in there which may have obscured the view of other items...anyway, my own fault I suppose, but I was now behind six other bags that had to be screened. We seemed to have a very officious person manning the monitor, because compared to other security lanes, we had a large backlog. There was only the one agent performing the inspections.
Each bag had to be hand inspected and swabbed, and the security agent was in no hurry. After nearly 10 minutes I'd moved up to 5th in the backlog. I went to another queue and politley asked an agent if they could send another person to help with the backlog, as people had been waiting for coming up on 15 minutes.
"Which is your bag?" she asked I thought I was in big trouble, but she said "my colleague will inspect it over here"
I explained that there were other people ahead of me, and I was happy to wait. I just wanted them to send another person over. Instead she went over and took my bag off the belt and carried it to another lane, where another agent inspected it and sent me on my way.
I'd rather BAA fixed this system rather than have to resort to something like that again. It almost seems like there's a labour-management issue there that's manifesting itself in "go slows".
May 5, 2015, 6:04 am
#2
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
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Posts: 8,476
Not uncommon across LHR, I'm afraid - at least in this case they reacted and did something to alleviate the issue. When I encountered the same problem at T3 they wouldn't send anyone across, and they couldn't or wouldn't inspect at another belt (I suspect the former due to the inability to transfer images between scanner lines).
I took it up with LHR afterwards and suggested some fairly simple improvements to the system which would have been implemented as a productivity and flow improvement in almost any business that recognised the benefits of lean. I got the usual insulting canned response, so I sent a reply asking for a proper answer, which resulted in what was likely a vacuous promise to send it to the management team in charge of security screening. I haven't had a secondary screening in T3 since, and it's not a terminal I now frequent as much after the departure of the Star airlines, but I'm willing to bet the situation hasn't improved one iota ...
I took it up with LHR afterwards and suggested some fairly simple improvements to the system which would have been implemented as a productivity and flow improvement in almost any business that recognised the benefits of lean. I got the usual insulting canned response, so I sent a reply asking for a proper answer, which resulted in what was likely a vacuous promise to send it to the management team in charge of security screening. I haven't had a secondary screening in T3 since, and it's not a terminal I now frequent as much after the departure of the Star airlines, but I'm willing to bet the situation hasn't improved one iota ...
May 5, 2015, 6:09 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Londinium
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 930
Yet my one experience at T2 was fine, and everyone else reports on how much better it is.
I saw the documentary about Gatwick a few years ago and remembered the part about how the new operator felt security improvement was his first priority. He viewed as a product differentiator. BAA? They certainly come off as a monopolist with no interest in increasing competitive advantage by making their end product more desirable.
I saw the documentary about Gatwick a few years ago and remembered the part about how the new operator felt security improvement was his first priority. He viewed as a product differentiator. BAA? They certainly come off as a monopolist with no interest in increasing competitive advantage by making their end product more desirable.
May 5, 2015, 6:45 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA blue, very lapsed Delta
Posts: 97
[...]but the table where you unpack your bag is now lined up next to the belt. Each spot at the table is marked with little barriers, and you're supposed to empty your items in your assigned spot. The trouble is that if you're near the front of the table it's nearly impossible to move your tray from your stall to the adjacent belt because it's full of trays that were put on further down the table. The person manning this stage did nothign to manage the traffic flow.
May 5, 2015, 8:18 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Club Carlson Gold, HHonors Gold, Best Western Diamond Select, BA Blue
Posts: 1,335
I'd love to see the job spec of T5 security staff. I do wonder if it includes a requirement to be as lazy, inefficient and discourteous as is humanly possible?
My weekly encounters with T5 security shows them as totally disinterested in their work and spending more time chatting to each other about their weekend adventures rather than doing what the are getting paid to do.
My weekly encounters with T5 security shows them as totally disinterested in their work and spending more time chatting to each other about their weekend adventures rather than doing what the are getting paid to do.
May 5, 2015, 9:17 am
#8
Join Date: May 2007
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, AA EXP
Posts: 1,140
I went through "fast" track on Thursday and have nothing to add to the above shambles described above.
The one proactive employee I saw was the one grabbing people's boarding passes to be scanned a second time at the point just before moving to the tables for the tray loading. I assume this is to do with measuring time between the original (main) boarding pass scan and the security belts, although quite what it's supposed to measure I don't know. It's the first time I'd seen one of these machines manned though.
The one proactive employee I saw was the one grabbing people's boarding passes to be scanned a second time at the point just before moving to the tables for the tray loading. I assume this is to do with measuring time between the original (main) boarding pass scan and the security belts, although quite what it's supposed to measure I don't know. It's the first time I'd seen one of these machines manned though.
May 7, 2015, 2:51 pm
#9
Ambassador: Oneworld Alliance
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I squeezed through Fast Track this week. The secondary BP check was marvellously efficient. 
There was a manager on his radio standing behind the screen watcher, and all was fine. As soon as he left, she started going slow. Her tactic seemed to be watching the screen, waiting until the relevant tray appeared from the tunnel, stopping the machine, stand up, reach round and touch the bag and tray, sit down, start the line again. She did this for every bag! She was either obstructive or "gifted".
There appears to be a concerted effort to "go slow" in fast track.
There was a manager on his radio standing behind the screen watcher, and all was fine. As soon as he left, she started going slow. Her tactic seemed to be watching the screen, waiting until the relevant tray appeared from the tunnel, stopping the machine, stand up, reach round and touch the bag and tray, sit down, start the line again. She did this for every bag! She was either obstructive or "gifted".
There appears to be a concerted effort to "go slow" in fast track.
May 7, 2015, 3:44 pm
#10
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