But underneath that all (layer 0 of the OSI model?) is a team that obviously likes each other--and actually gives a damn about customers. While I was talking to both upper management and the IT managers, who are hands-on, it was clear that they are all keenly interested in making the technology work to save the airport money, to cut down line time for customers and to keep their airport attractive to the airlines.
Gerard Hughes reminds me of a bunch of guys I work with: ex-military; very personable; obviously works his tail off; cares about communication. He's got a diagram of a PIX hooked to a Cisco ACS in his office. He doesn't show it off to me, but I can see that this guy cares enough to sketch out what he's doing and to show it to others. Believe you me, I've been in plenty of places where the attitude was "slap it in, we'll get it working somehow."
Then there's Dave Bourgon. This guy is a lot of fun. When Dave and I walked into his office he was scrutinizing some kind of countertop material. "What am I now," he chuckled, "an interior decorator?" Apparently, he's got to make the new common use self service (CUSS--clearly, this acronym will change when he rolls this stuff out) check-in kiosks conform to architectural/decoration guidelines in the airport. Nice; details do matter. Maybe that's why CUTE and FIDs have been successful at this airport. Most of us in IT are used to wearing a bunch of hats, and Bourgon is taking it in stride.
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Project Blog: On Location
Work side-by-side with Network Computing Technology Editors as they go on location with McCarran International Airport.
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