Infrastructure Geospatial

he Port of Stockton is located at the end of a narrow, man- T made deep water channel, providing ocean freighters Protecting critical with access to markets over 100 km inland from the San Francisco Bay, deep in the San Joaquin Valley of port infrastructure California. The port, established 80 years ago, provides a marine “highway” directly into the heart of the most What happens when a small river port gets classified productive agricultural region of the United States of America, and trades as a high-risk critical infrastructure by a national directly with such faraway nations as security risk model? And how does a port in response China, Japan, Trinidad and Norway. Until very recently it has focused on to this assessment cope with the need to rapidly ramp bulk and break bulk cargo, such as up its security stance and implement a wide variety fertilizer, rice, cement, sulfur, iron ore of the latest technologies in an otherwise out-of- and scrap metal, and now it has begun to handle transshipped containers date technology environment? And how do geospatial as well. It is an important economic technologies aid in accomplishing these goals across “engine” to its region, and provides several advantages to shippers as it the entire enterprise? is located on the main Pacific Coast north-south rail and highway corridors, Daniel Elroi and Chief George Lerner while its much larger sister ports in the San Francisco Bay, particularly Oakland, are significantly removed from this corridor. A small port by standard seaport measures, it has the distinction of being the only net-export port in California, and is a major land owner, with over 49 per cent of its operating revenues derived from its properties rather than its maritime operations. All that said, it is surprising to most casual observers that this modest inland port was classified by the US Department of Homeland Security as a Tier 1 port after September 11, 2001,when the criticality and vulnerability of US ports was evaluated. Tier 1 ports receive the majority of government funding for strengthening their resiliency to both attack and disaster, as they are port an excellent disaster recovery site programmable signs. Through exposure perceived to be particularly important to for other ports in the region, such as to GIS and other geospatial technology the security and/or economy of the US. Oakland, and the smaller ports of San solutions at other ports, such as Los This classification has valid and logical Francisco, Redwood City, Richmond, Angeles, the Port of Stockton translated reasoning, and as a consequence this and Sacramento, as well for other vision into action, and undertook a port has seen an influx of requirements regional disaster recovery needs. In program to integrate all of its geospatial and funding for improving its security. order to fulfill these requirements, the technologies across the enterprise, as Much of the improvement in security port also invested in greatly improved part of this large upgrade in technology. networking, communications and IT at the Port of Stockton has involved the The port’s vision for geospatial resiliency infrastructure. Finally, in upgrading of the means for monitoring integration was based on the following recognition of its own vulnerabilities activities in the port via closed circuit precepts: television (video surveillance), the and the impact that emergencies can means for controlling access to restricted have on its own employees and many • Visual, spatial representation of areas via electronic locks and personal tenants and neighbours, the port also security related information, such as identification devices, and the tools invested in the means to notify and the viewing of video imagery in the and data used to provide the port police direct these stakeholders in times of context of the location of the imagery, with improved situational awareness. need, by means of electronic methods especially for Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) However, the port’s inland location such as radio transmissions, telephone cameras, is critical for interpreting and and large land holdings also make the calls, emails, SMS messages, and reacting to emergencies.

52 maritime gateway / september 2013 • The ability to see a digital map of can benefit from, and contribute to, a common base map and “revealing” port property boundaries, buildings, the port’s data. The geodatabase itself information from around the port that docks, railroads, and roads, is just as contains over 100 image and map would otherwise be inaccessible in important as seeing security features, layers, mostly from the port’s own separate systems or even non-digital such as fences, cameras, gates, and data, but also including data imported format. evacuation routes on these maps. from outside sources on a regular basis. Beyond system integration, Some of the data was converted from geoPORTal also integrates real- • Situational awareness is deepened by scanned documents; some was kept in time data with the map layers. Live context, and such context can best be georeferenced by scanned-only format feeds direct from security cameras, accomplished through the collection for background reference; some was electronically controlled doors, moving and map-based presentation of as converted from CAD or GIS files; and ships, weather stations, and nearby road many of the port’s physical assets as other data was digitized from aerial traffic, are integrated with map layers. possible, including visible and buried photos, or captured with GPS. utilities, environmental hazard areas, This integrated approach allows live underwater hydrography, and port The data is presented to users data such as a moving vessel location tenant information. through a powerful and intuitive web and identification, to be viewed with map browser, called the Stockton a video camera, and then viewed in • Much of the data that is of great use geoPORTal, developed using Latitude the context of its surrounding data. In in port security is present in the port’s Geographics’ Geocortex Essentials such an example, a vessel that runs own organisation, such as within development platform. The viewer has ashore can be viewed with a camera, the Departments of Maintenance, a full-featured in-office version, and determined to be within or outside the Environment, Real Estate, and a lightweight version intended for use port’s jurisdiction, and assessed for Operations, but is inaccessible to on tablets and smartphones, enabled risk to nearby gas lines, from a single Port Security, or between those through the port’s wireless mesh interface. departments, due to a lack of common network. The viewers are configured The port’s geospatial integration base map, a base map against which to allow the collaborative use of maps program would not be successful a variety of other information can be for communicating development plans, without recognition of several critical displayed, queried or reported. emergency response, and other events factors: For these and other reasons, between port users. Different users are the port hired an international firm directed to different versions of the • People do not adopt technology just specializing in geospatial solutions in viewers, which appropriate to their data because it is available or theoretically ports, NorthSouth GIS, to create the and tool needs, and to their permissions, good for them. They require enterprise systems infrastructure to help and in this way each user gets what they incentive, on-going training and the port mine its own data; to collect, need and what is appropriate for their outreach, reminders, and adaptation. organize and manage its spatial data role at the port. The software, which Technology implementations are all in a way that supports and enhances makes use of automated workflows and about people. security of the port. NorthSouth GIS’s reports, and interfaces with the port’s • The quality of data is more important philosophy – that different members of mass notification system and electronic than the number of features in a the port are most likely to collaborate public address systems, is used to inform software. Therefore, a rigorous and participate in data sharing if they port employees and tenants of upcoming method for keeping data updated, receive benefit from that activity, and events or of emergencies. Furthermore, using the resources and people that this then collectively benefits the mobile version of the viewer can available to the port, is of utmost port security – agreed with the port’s be used to record incident reports and importance. But so is the ability to own philosophy. This translated into condition assessments in the field. communicate data quality and its an approach that actively sought One of the important aspects of the current condition, and the ability to participation from all port members, system is its ability to integrate other solicit, receive and respond to data asking “how will adding your data systems that contain spatial aspects correction from system users. to a central geodatabase benefit your but lack the spatial componentry. For job?” rather than “which data can you example, the GIS integrates with the The Port of Stockton has shown contribute to port security?” Combined port’s lease management systems, which that an enterprise approach to its with on-going stakeholder engagement manages the port’s 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) geospatial technologies, is no longer and training during and after the of waterfront, industrial and commercial the exclusive domain of large ports building of the system, has resulted in properties. The system is now accessible like Los Angeles and Oakland, but can the integration of GIS, GPS, AIS, CAD, through geoPORTal, and allows reports be used to the significant advantage of and Mass Notification in such a way that and maps to be easily created, proposed small ports as well. it supports most port employees. leases to be sketched and shared with At its core the port’s system is new tenants or brokers, and for a an Esri ArcGIS for Server enterprise snapshot of the port’s holdings to be Daniel Elroi is the president of NorthSouth geodatabase, combined with procedures communicated with port management. GIS LLC in Los Angeles, California, and documentation for close two-way Other integrations, such as with the Chief George Lerner is the Director of interaction with AutoCAD so that the port’s command and control software, Homeland Security at the Port of Stockton, port’s CAD-based users and contractors also strengthen these systems by sharing California

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