Nerve Center

Its call sign is ATL and it manages 2,700 take offs and landings everyday. An army of airport staff oversee a quarter of a million people who pass through its gates, as well as their luggage and their safety. There are more planes in the air and on the ground Friday evening when the world's busiest airport is strained to capacity. The only way to handle it is to keep a cool head.

Grand Central Terminal moves 130,000 passengers a day over 400 miles of track and through 110 stations spread across New York City and upstate New York. It's one of the busiest train stations in the world with more than 700,000 people who use the terminal and every weekday morning at 08:40 - rush hour is at its peak.

It is one of the most important canals in the world - allowing over 13,000 vessels a year to take an 8-hour short cut across a continental divide - shaving 8,000 kilometers and up to 2 weeks off the alternate route around the tip of South America. With mere inches as the margin for error, ship captains must surrender control of their vessel to specially trained Canal pilots.

Since its inaugural performance, Cirque Du Soleil's "O" has enthralled over 10 million spectators. While the production on-stage is breath-taking, the real amazing feat of coordination happens behind the scenes. While 85 artists risk their lives performing over a 1.5 million-gallon pool, 145 technicians work tirelessly to ensure that everyone is safe through the final death-defying act.

They get more than 160,000 calls a year, an average of 438 a day. Washington DC's FEMS is one of the busiest all-hazards agencies in the US. When they're not putting out fires, rescuing people from collapsing buildings or determining the contents of a suspicious package left on the steps of the White House, they protect the district during special events at the nations' capitol.

Spread across 4300 acres of land, and 3200 acres of water and boasting 9 container terminals, the Port of Los Angeles - known affectionately as "America's Port" is the biggest, busiest and most significant gateway to the North American market. With 500 million dollars worth of cargo passing through the LA wharves everyday, a delay at this port sends a ripple effect through the U.S. economy.

50,000 people from all over North America descend on the iconic Las Vegas Motor Speedway to watch one of the most thrilling car races of the year, the IndyCar World Championships. While most people know the race as a fast and furious ride, they don't get to see the amazing technology, coordination and talent that work tirelessly behind the scenes to pull off this multi-million dollar event.

Best known for its trademark brown trucks, vans and scooters, UPS delivers almost sixteen million packages in 220 countries around the globe every day. The company also boasts one of the world's largest plane fleets with 223 aircraft.

Cirque du Soleil's "KA" opened in 2005 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The main stage is the star acrobat of the show, it can raise 70 feet, tilt from horizontal to vertical and spin a full 360-degrees thanks to its muscle, an 80-foot gantry crane. All of the performers' movements are choreographed to be perfectly in-sync with the movement of the stage.

The Channel Tunnel is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Completed in 1994, it rang in at a cost 21 billion dollars. The result was a fixed rail link running 100 meters below the English Channel. High-speed passenger trains whiz through the tunnel at 100 miles per hour making their way from central London to Paris in just over 2 hours.

Boasting the biggest vertical drop in North America and with over 8000 acres of mountainous terrain, Whistler Blackcomb is one of the best places in the world to ski and snowboard. With an average of 430 inches of snowfall a season, the fresh powder is what joy riders are after but this much snow can also be deadly. A team of 5000 work 24/7 to keep them safe.

Nearly half of the blooms that make up the $40 billion a year flower industry will be bought at the Aalsmeer Flower Auction outside Amsterdam. Every day highly perishable imports arrive from around the globe, only to be shipped out less than 24 hours later. Around Valentine's Day, this logistics hub will be stretched to its limit as thousands caring for more than 100 million roses alone.

Named "Best Amusement Park in the World" for 13 years straight, Cedar Point boasts a world-record 73 rides, including 16 rollercoasters and on peak days, is visited by 40,000 adrenalin-seeking junkie. What guests don't get to see is the massive, coordinated, behind-the-scenes effort by 2000 employees to ensure the scream-inducing thrills are safe, secure and as exhilarating as ever.

Legal Sea Foods in Boston is a 45 year old seafood empire that takes the freshness and safety of your food to a whole new level. They source, test and prepare 110,000 lbs of highly perishable seafood every week, exclusively serving the company's 31 high-volume restaurants. Their reputation for serving the freshest food is always on the line, and one bad meal or could ruin everything.

Soaring 55 stories above Toronto's city skyline, the Four Seasons Hotel stands as a cutting-edge flagship for the iconic chain. Competition is stiff in Toronto and the Four Seasons' global reputation rides on the flawless opening of this high-profile home base. The pressure is intense and the hotel's 400 staff members feel the heat.

Every year, The Rogers Center draws 53,000 attendees and 8 million viewers for the Grey Cup. While all eyes are focused on the football plays and the half-time show, what people don't see is the amazing technology, coordination and talent in the high adrenalin world of live event broadcasting, where there are no second chances. Deadlines can't be missed and decisions are split second.

Scottsdale, Arizona becomes the site of one of the world's biggest automobile events of the year, the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. 300,000 people from around the globe gather to watch 3000 bidders vying for 1300 of the world's most exotic and expensive used cars. The stakes: $100 million and 40 hours of live auction broadcast on Speed network.

50,000 people pack into the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas to catch one of the most supercharged motorsports events of the year: Monster Jam. 16 monster trucks, each weighing 4.5 tons rumble, roar, and race their way through a precision-designed racetrack and tire-shredding obstacle course. The amount of coordination and attention to detail required to pull off the show is staggering.