Port of Oakland Sees Signs of Security in RFID

When the truck comes to one of the approximately 20 lanes at the OICT terminal, a WherePort magnetic exciter mounted at the lane excites the tag. This, says John Rosen, WhereNet's director of product marketing, triggers the tag to send a transmission to the terminal's one WhereLAN RFID reader. The tag sends its own ID number, as well as that of the WhereNet exciter, indicating which lane the truck is approaching.

Using WhereNet Visibility software, that data is then directed to the WhereNet server, which resides on the port's premises and is maintained by terminal staff. The WhereNet Visibility software searches for details about the vehicle and its authorized drivers via eModal, a portal that offers the transportation community detailed container, vessel and terminal information, a trucker status service and more. It then sends that data to the terminal operating system, alerting it that the truck is about to arrive. When the truck reaches the gate, the driver has only to provide a license confirming his identity, thus avoiding the wait for a guard to begin the security process.

Although WhereNet has a similar system in use at California's Port of Long Beach (see APM Terminals Readies its RFID System) and another at Washington's Port of Seattle, the users at those ports are carriers.

Reducing wait times for trucks to enter the port, Sandifur says, also reduces emissions from idling trucks. And with the infrastructure in place, the port and the terminal can expand the system to provide real-time tracking of the trucks as they pass through the port terminals. The port has already purchased readers to be deployed on public roads in areas around the terminal, enabling the port to track which vehicles are entering or exiting. Terminals can also deploy antennas around their sites to provide real-time tracking of any tagged vehicle that enters through the gate. "For the port, this adds a layer of security," Sandifur explains. The port, however, will not deploy additional RFID readers until more trucks are equipped with RFID tags.

Approximately 2,000 trucks enter and leave the port each day. "Three hundred [tagged trucks] is a good start," Rosen says. The port, the fourth busiest in the United States, moved a total of 2.4 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), inbound or outbound, loaded or empty, in 2006. A TEU is a standard measure of cargo capacity equal to that of a container 20 feet in length, 8 feet in width and 8.5 feet in height.