PORTS hat happens when with such faraway nations as NorthSouth classified by the US Department a small river port in China, Japan, Trinidad, and GIS’s philosophy of Homeland Security as a – that different gets classified as Norway. Until very recently it members of Tier 1 port after September 11, a high-risk critical has focused on bulk and break the port are 2001, when the criticality and W most likely to infrastructure by a national bulk cargo, such as fertilizer, vulnerability of US ports was security risk model? And how rice, cement, sulfur, iron ore, collaborate and evaluated. Tier 1 ports receive participate in does a port in response to this and scrap metal, and now it has data sharing the majority of government assessment cope with the need begun to handle transshipped if they receive funding for strengthening their to rapidly ramp up its security containers as well. It is an benefit from resiliency to both attack and stance and implement a wide important economic “engine” to that activity, disaster, as they are perceived and that this variety of the latest technologies its region, and provides several then collectively to be particularly important to in an otherwise out-of-date advantages to shippers as it is benefits port the security and/or economy of technology environment? And located on the main Pacific Coast security – the US. This classification has how do geospatial technologies north-south rail and highway agreed with valid and logical reasoning, and the port’s own aid in accomplishing these goals corridors, while its much larger philosophy. as a consequence this port has across the entire enterprise? sister ports in the San Francisco seen an influx of requirements The Port of Stockton is located Bay, particularly Oakland, are and funding for improving its at the end of a narrow, man- significantly removed from security. made deep water channel, this corridor. Finally, while a Much of the improvement in providing ocean freighters with small port by standard seaport security at the Port of Stockton access to markets over 100 km measures, it has the distinction has involved the upgrading of the inland from the San Francisco of being the only net-export means for monitoring activities Bay, deep in the San Joaquin port in California, and is a major in the port via closed circuit Valley of California. The port, land owner, with over 49per television (video surveillance), established 80 years ago, cent of its operating revenues the means for controlling provides a marine “highway” derived from its properties rather access to restricted areas via directly into the heart of the than its maritime operations. electronic locks and personal most productive agricultural All that said, it is surprising identification devices, and the region of the United States of to most casual observers that tools and data used to provide America, and trades directly this modest inland port was the port police with improved In a major technology upgrade to ramp up security and disaster management efforts, the port of Stockton undertook a program to integrate all of its geospatial technologies across the enterprise. Daniel Elroi and Chief George Lerner give an account of how the port authorities went about the process PORT OF STOCKTON EMBARKS ON TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE 30 | geospatial TODAY february 2014 situational awareness. However, following precepts: At its core the security features, such as the port’s inland location and port’s system is fences, cameras, gates, and • Visual, spatial representation an Esri ArcGIS large land holdings also make of security related for Server evacuation routes on these the port an excellent disaster information, such as the enterprise maps. geodatabase, recovery site for other ports in viewing of video imagery in • Situational awareness is the region, such as Oakland, combined with the context of the location procedures and deepened by context, and and the smaller ports of San of the imagery, especially documentation such context can best be Francisco, Redwood City, for Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) for close two- accomplished through the way interaction Richmond, and Sacramento, as cameras, is critical for collection and map-based well for other regional disaster with AutoCAD interpreting and reacting to so that the presentation of as many of recovery needs. In order to fulfill emergencies. port’s CAD- the port’s physical assets these requirements, the port based users and as possible, including • The ability to see a digital contractors can also invested in greatly improved visible and buried utilities, networking, communications, map of port property benefit from, and boundaries, buildings, docks, contribute to, environmental hazard areas, and IT resiliency infrastructure. the port’s data. railroads, and roads, is underwater hydrography, Finally, in recognition of its own and port tenant information. vulnerabilities and the impact just as important as seeing that emergencies can have on • Much of the data that is of its own employees and many great use in port security tenants and neighbours, the is present in the port’s port also invested in the means own organisation, such as to notify and direct these within the Departments of stakeholders in times of need, Maintenance, Environment, by means of electronic methods Real Estate, and Operations, such as radio transmissions, but is inaccessible to Port telephone calls, emails, SMS Security, or between those messages, and programmable departments, due to a lack signs. Through exposure to GIS of common base map, a and other geospatial technology base map against which a solutions at other ports, such as variety of other information Los Angeles, the Port of Stockton can be displayed, queried or translated vision into action, and reported. undertook a program to integrate For these and other reasons, all of its geospatial technologies the port hired an international across the enterprise, as part of firm specialising in geospatial this large upgrade in technology. solutions in ports, NorthSouth The port’s vision for geospatial GIS, to create the enterprise integration was based on the systems infrastructure to help the port mine its own data; to collect, organise and manage its spatial data in a way that supports and enhances security of the port. NorthSouth GIS’s philosophy – that different members of the port are most likely to collaborate and participate in data sharing if they receive benefit from that activity, and that this then collectively benefits port security – agreed with the port’s own philosophy. This translated into an approach that actively sought participation from all port members, asking “how will adding your data to a central geodatabase benefit your job?” rather than “which data can you contribute to port security?” Combined with on- 31 | geospatial TODAY february 2014 PORTS going stakeholder engagement office version, and a lightweight and training during and after version intended for use on the building of the system, has tablets and smartphones, resulted in the integration of enabled through the port’s GIS, GPS, AIS, CAD, and Mass wireless mesh network. The Notification in such a way that it viewers are configured to allow supports most port employees. the collaborative use of maps At its core the port’s system is an for communicating development Esri ArcGIS for Server enterprise plans, emergency response, geodatabase, combined with and other events between procedures and documentation port users. Different users are for close two-way interaction directed to different versions of with AutoCAD so that the port’s the viewers, which appropriate CAD-based users and contractors to their data and tool needs, and can benefit from, and contribute to their permissions, and in this to, the port’s data. The way each user gets what they geodatabase itself contains need and what is appropriate over 100 image and map layers, for their role at the port. The mostly from the port’s own data, software, which makes use but also including data imported of automated workflows and from outside sources on a reports, and interfaces with regular basis. Some of the data the port’s mass notification was converted from scanned system and electronic public documents; some was kept in address systems, is used to georeferenced by scanned-only inform port employees and format for background reference; tenants of upcoming events or Port of Stockton PTZ camera some was converted from CAD of emergencies. Furthermore, or GIS files; and other data was the mobile version of the The Port of digitized from aerial photos, or viewer can be used to record systems, which manages the incident reports and condition Stockton has port’s 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) captured with GPS. shown that assessments in the field. an enterprise of waterfront, industrial and The data is presented to users approach to commercial properties. The One of the important aspects through a powerful and intuitive its geospatial system is now accessible of the system is its ability to Web map browser, called the technologies, through geoPORTal, and allows integrate other systems that is no longer Stockton geoPORTal, developed reports and maps to be easily contain spatial aspects but lack the exclusive using Latitude Geographics’ domain of large created, proposed leases to the spatial componentry. For Geocortex Essentials ports like Los be sketched and shared with example, the GIS integrates with development platform. The Angeles and new tenants or brokers, and viewer has a full-featured in- the port’s lease management Oakland, but can be used to for a snapshot of the port’s the significant holdings to be communicated advantage of with port management. Other small ports as integrations, such as with the well. port’s command and control software, also strengthen these systems by sharing a common base map and “revealing” information from around the port that would otherwise be inaccessible in separate systems or even non-digital format.