This is largely because concerns about security, coverage and reliability are being overcome whilst the economic benefits and the positive effect on the bottom line, are becoming more evident.
Three recent examples of the use of WiFi in ports and harbours detailed below attest to its advantages when correctly specified, designed and implemented, and reinforce the business case for, and cost-effectiveness of, WiFi.
In June Amsterdam implemented a new wireless network for its harbour craft. The system is limited to use by port authority vessels at the moment, but in due course, it could be opened up to other users such as Customs and Immigration authorities. Covering the whole of the port, the new network was developed by Baas Wireless Data Systems (Baas WDS), and is based on Radionet of Finland’s WiFi Hotzone technology that provides seamless mobility and network access everywhere within the coverage zone.
The Port of Amsterdam network operates on the 2.4 GHz WLAN spectrum which enables the port authority to use a wide variety of WiFi compliant devices and notebook computers to access the network in a secure way. The network features 2.4GHz WiFi technology for end-user access and 5.4GHz high-speed links for wireless backhaul. It also makes use of what Radionet calls ‘intelligent sectorised antennae, ‘ which extends network coverage up to 2,000 metres from the shoreline allowing vessels to move freely in the port area without losing network connection.
“To replace our narrow-band wireless network we needed a reliable network that could withstand demanding harbour conditions and provide high-speed connections to a wide variety of applications. WiFi technology was an obvious choice for replacement as it supports a multitude of access devices and is cost-effective to deploy. However, the challenges of comprehensive coverage and suitability for outdoor use needed to be resolved first, ” explains Fons Maartens who was responsible for overseeing the project at the Port of Amsterdam.
“We needed a system that could provide seamless mobility, high reliability, secure coverage and the ability to use all standard WiFi clients without any special software, ” Maartens told PS. “Right now, all of our vessels can access our network for e-mail and specific applications. We don’t have any need or inventory management, because that is not our role. We take care of port security and safety, and the system was introduced in order to create an efficient internal communications system for the port authority. By linking port authority vessels to the intranet they now have up-to-date information, and digital reports and confidential data can be exchanged quickly and securely.”
Installing the wireless technology for this very specific application has had a number of other advantages, too such as reduced use of VHF radio by the port authority, and a significant reduction in phone bills.
Radionet’s mobile WLAN solution was designed for use in demanding environments such as ports and harbours and makes use of the company’s patented MageIP technology to enable seamless handover between different base stations and IP subnets, and provide mobility and uninterrupted network access for ships in the port. The network is also designed to offer the port a high level of security.
As Henry Valtonen, vice-president of sales and marketing at Radionet, says, he believes there are a number of issues that a port authority needs to consider when it is acquiring a wireless data system. “Containers block signals, and you need to ensure that the network of base stations and antennas is planned in such a way that coverage is not compromised. This might take the form of multiple base stations, and more antennas, and radio ‘cells, ‘ he explains. “The quality of the base stations is also very important if you think you might like to use wireless to carry voice data. If you want to do that you obviously need a system with a very low level of latency. If you wanted to carry video – such as security footage – you would need a very high capacity WiFi system.”
Security is of course very important Valtonen agrees, but is an issue which he claims wireless data providers ‘cracked’ a long time ago, even if, at least in the minds of users – or potential users – it remains an issue. “Like most other providers we use several levels of encryption, ” he told PS. “In people’s minds, sometimes, wireless is insecure, but that hasn’t been the case for a long time, ” a sentiment that Fons Maartens at Port of Amsterdam would seem to agree with.
“We needed a secure system for communication within the port authority, ” he explains. “One option was GPRS, the other a WiFi network as there was no UMTS at the time. However, GPRS was way too slow, so we chose WiFi. Of course security is an issue but one that we have tackled using a mixture of a firewall and data encryption.”
“We ran a test set-up with only a few base stations to start with and with a connection at a jetty, one halfway across the harbour and another in the outermost part of the harbour. That proved to be a rather cumbersome set-up and there were too many lost connections, so we implemented what we call a ‘fat backbone’ with 34MB full duplex transmitters using private radio frequencies. These ‘backbone’ transmitters send data at 5GHz to the other base stations, and the base stations retransmit at 2.4Gz to the clients.
The base stations set up a VPN to our network controller which also acts as a firewall and the network controller handles the ‘handovers’ from one base station to another, ” he explains.
AND MOVING ASHORE? In May of this year, Psion Teklogix in the US announced that Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation, the terminal operator for Maersk’s Minami Honmoku Terminal, would be replacing its paper-based inventory management system with a rugged mobile computing solution provided by the company.
Minami Honmoku Terminal has an annual capacity of 1.1m TEUs and in order to deliver real-time visibility of goods moving in and out of the terminal, Mitsubishi Logistics is replacing its paper-based system with Psion Teklogix’ 9150 wireless gateways, rugged 7535 hand-held computers and 8570 and 8560 vehicle-mounted computers.
The terminal is also planning to make use of Psion Teklogix’s MapRF, a wireless LAN network management tool and Fortress Technologies AirFortress 2100 security gateway, all of which will enable Mitsubishi to update its inventory database in real-time, improving inventory and container storage accuracy and reducing operating costs.
Along with the Psion Teklogix hardware, Mitsubishi Logistics also plans to implement TOPS, a product supplied by Global Transportation Solutions (GTS) and developed by Real time Business Solutions of Australia (RBS), which functions as an integrated planning and operating system for small to medium sized port operations. The TOPS system works with Psion Teklogix’s hardware to handle aspects of terminal operations such as vessel planning, yard planning, and equipment control, and automates terminal operations in order to help increase throughput and productivity and improve service levels whilst reducing paperwork and manual effort.
Another interesting example of the benefits and cost savings to be gained from wireless technology is Northern Cargo Services (NCS), one of the leading stevedoring companies in Hull. NCS handles imports and exports for clients from Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Continental Europe and to manage the day to day handling and processing of imported goods it has its own IT infrastructure designed and run Keith Robinson, the company’s IT Manager.
Customers’ stock holdings are managed by a bespoke stock system called ‘N-Sys, ‘ which is a key component within the computing system used by one of NCS’ key customers, Finnlines.
NCS has several customers, each with its own requirements for handling goods and the N-Sys system is able to control and manage these requirements. “Accuracy and speed are vitally important, ” explains Robinson. “Until recently our operators had handheld devices that needed to have data downloaded into them from fixed points around the port. This was time-consuming and very labour intensive so we decided to implement handheld, wireless terminals that would allow us to send data directly to quayside operators and allow them to send data directly back.”
NCS’s customer imports thousands of reels of paper through the Finland Terminal at the port on a twice weekly basis. Finnlines’ computer system in Finland creates order numbers and communicates them via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to NCS’s N-Sys system, and N-Sys holds key information such as unique pack numbers and their intended location in the terminal.
“By using the handheld terminals, NCS can effectively manage the whole process of taking delivery, storing, picking and despatching the reels, dynamically and in real time, and we can control the level of information that each operator receives. We can also receive and build up an accurate picture – in real-time – of what is happening at any moment in time, ” says Robinson.
“If we didn’t have the handheld terminals some of our key customers wouldn’t be here, ” says Richard Brough, md at NCS. “The system has also allowed us to attract customers that wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
