Root Cause Analysis of Jacket Cable of Aerobridge

Large moving facilities at airports, such as aerobridges, utilize a specific cable management system known as a cable chain, which houses power cables used to deliver electricity to the motors. These cables consist of multiple cores encased in a protective PVC jacket. However, after a relatively short period of operation, field observations revealed that the cable jackets had torn in many units. In most cases, the damage exposed the internal cable cores. Data collected from the field showed that 17 out of 33 aerobridge units experienced cable failures within just two years of operation. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms behind these failures and to identify their root causes. Understanding the root causes is essential for improving the design, manufacturing process, operational handling, and maintenance practices of the cable system. The study applied a fishbone diagram and the Five Whys method as its analytical approach. The findings identified three primary root causes: the absence of a guiding system to secure the cable within the chain, the impact of high temperature exposure and the effect of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the cable jacket.