Port Fourchon Wins 2013 AAPA IT Award
PORT FOURCHON WINS 2013 AAPA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Port’s GLPC-C4 Maritime Domain Awareness System selected as example for the nation
GLPC-C4: Command, Control, Communications, Collaboration
(GALLIANO, LA) – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has announced Port Fourchon as the 2013 winner of the prestigious AAPA Information Technology Award for Port Operations and Management Systems. Port Fourchon’s GLPC-C4 project was chosen from entries across the Americas for its creativity, cost effectiveness, and transferability of technology to the port industry.
Greater Lafourche Port Commission board members and staff will be on hand at the AAPA Annual Convention next week to watch Director of IT April Danos accept the award on behalf of Port Fourchon. “We are all very proud of April and our hard-working staff at the Port Commission,” said Board President Perry Gisclair, “and we’re proud to be recognized for going above and beyond, creating something innovative that can grow and adapt as we do at Port Fourchon. It’s exciting how much this system can do.”
Port Fourchon’s GLPC-C4 Maritime Domain Awareness System uses cutting-edge technology to monitor port activities and protect port businesses and assets. The C4 system brings security, emergency response and operations into one common operating picture that allows for greater situational awareness and interoperability with local, state and federal agencies.
“It’s like having everyone working at the same computer at the same time,” said Port Director Chett Chiasson, “but they don’t have to be in the same room or even in the same state. Each person can contribute unique information to the system, and everyone can immediately see that information and use it to tailor a response to each situation as it develops. It makes all of the users more aware of what’s going on around them, and ultimately that makes our port more secure.”
In conjunction with Port Fourchon’s port operations, the GLPC-C4 system is currently used by Harbor Police, Fire Central, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafourche Parish Office of Emergency Management, and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, with options to grant access to additional users as needed. The GLPC-C4 system allows decision makers across multiple agencies to see the big picture, helping them to be proactive instead of reactive.
GLPC-C4 users can COMMAND from a central location, CONTROL the information, assets, response, and operations during any situation, facilitate COMMUNICATIONS by allowing other agencies to access the system in real time during emergency response events, participating from multiple locations via computers or mobile devices, and enhance COLLABORATION through sharing data like real-time reports, e-mail, photos, satellite imagery, maps, camera feeds, vessel traffic, radar, LEDS (Law Enforcement Data Sharing System), analytical alerts, and weather alerts.
The C4 system is based on U.S. Department of Defense technology and supported by software designed by Priority 5, a Boston-based provider of software solutions for situational awareness and decision support. The integration of new technology, creative software applications, and the diverse needs of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission for port security have all meshed into this year’s award-winning project.
“We are very pleased to have multiple partners who helped us arrange and develop this system, and we are honored to have been recognized by the AAPA,” said Port Fourchon’s Director of IT April Danos.