AAPA Forum to Focus on Technology Solutions

“Moving Goods: More, Better, Faster, Safer” is the theme for the American Association of Port Authorities’ 2007 Operations, Information Technology & Safety Seminar, slated for April 24-26 in Jacksonville, Fla. The seminar will focus on the integration and cooperation required today among those challenged with maintaining and improving freight-handling operations at public ports.

Rapidly increasing trade volumes, heightened security requirements and changes in technology can compromise freight handling efficiency and safety. This seminar will feature insights from players throughout the supply chain,] including those representing ocean, rail and motor carriers, who will discuss operational productivity, velocity and efficiency of goods movement at seaports.

The first day of the seminar will open with a panel of industry experts defining the impacts of exploding trade volumes on their port operations, and the resulting hurdles they must overcome to ensure efficient freight movement. Following that, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will provide insights on government security programs, such as phase one of the TWIC card issuance and technology rollout, and the “10+2” proposal that would require importers and carriers to submit additional data on freight movements, as well as new terminal operator responsibilities regarding release of cargo through CBP’s Automated Manifest System.

The early afternoon will feature a pair of concurrent sessions: one on ocean carriers’ use of truck chassis pools to improve turn-times and space efficiency at port terminals; and the other on the use of broadband wireless networks at port terminals to enable many functions from data transmission for terminal operating systems and cargo tracking applications to providing a backbone for security system data. Concurrent sessions later in the afternoon deal with the legal requirements of port information technology managers for electronically storing and retrieving information, and design and implementation of radiation portal monitors (devices used to detect radioactivity in cargo containers) on port terminals.

The second day of the seminar will feature discussions and presentations on port safety regulations and programs, innovations in terminal access gate technologies, a tutorial on port security biometrics (such as those used to verify the identity of TWIC card holders), and a program on processes, models and simulation tools to better manage movement and storage of cargo at port facilities.