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Will the US port worker ID scheme cut the mustard?
01 Sep 2007
Much discussed, long overdue and after numerous stumbles the Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC) is, again, moving closer to real implementation by the stated deployment target date: September, 30, 2008. Workers at ports and terminals, and those needing access to them, will be required to obtain the TWIC, a smart card with a digital photo and fingerprint, before the program implementation.
TWIC rules will impact the day-to-day workflows at several thousand “waterfront facilities” – both public and private handling facilities – around the US, physical layouts (encompassing “secure” and “restricted” areas of terminals) and personnel management for longshoremen, lorry drivers and terminal workers. The US Coast Guard (USCG) estimates that 750,000 workers, whose backgrounds will be checked as part of the application process, will be affected.
But while TWIC has been long awaited, a port-by-port roll-out schedule does not yet exist, even though the first implementation at Wilmington, Delaware, is marked for as soon as third quarter 2007.
Another concern is the need to match technologies with program objectives. Already blunders have occurred since the TWIC concept was first announced early in 2002 and the final specifications for TWIC card readers, which face yet another round of pilot testing, have still not been issued. Rules regarding access devices for secure areas at facilities are also still noticeably absent.
US port security has been a front page news item since the DP World debacle of early 2006 and with container scanning now receiving attention again – as the US Congress thrashes through implementation of the September 11 Commission recommendations – the maritime industry is back in the media glare. We can only hope that the Transportation Security Administration, the USCG, and its TWIC hardware and software contractor, Lockheed Martin, will get the TWIC right this time and spare the US ports industry further embarrassment.
Barry Parker
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