WhereNet Corp., a provider of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, has announced that PierPASS Inc., a California company created by marine terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, will equip up to 10,000 drayage trucks serving the two ports with WhereNet active RFID tags to enhance security. WhereNet is installing RFID readers at each marine terminal to read the truck tag as the driver arrives at the facility and approaches security.
“We are committed to enhancing security at the ports by embracing technology that mutually benefits terminal operators, truckers and citizens alike,” says Bruce Wargo, president and chief executive officer of PierPASS. “With its unique, wireless, location-based applications, WhereNet will enable secure, expedited check-in procedures for drayage drivers servicing the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.”
The WhereNet standards-based, active RFID, Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) technology is designed to provide a multitude of benefits to marine terminal operators, truckers and the public by:
PierPASS has purchased 10,000 WhereTag active RFID transmitters and is contracting with WhereNet and eModal to distribute the tags to drayage companies serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The cab of each drayage truck will be outfitted with one WhereTag active RFID transmitter. Upon arrival at the gate, the WhereTag on each drayage vehicle will be picked up by the WhereNet RTLS infrastructure of antennas installed at each marine terminal and automatically cross-referenced with the information available to the marine terminal. The new PierPASS system is designed to provide a U.S. Coast Guard-sanctioned level of security.
“With a record volume of imports bound for U.S. ports, security has become an even bigger concern — and it all begins with a secure check-in process at the gate,” says Dan Doles, president and CEO of Santa Clara, Calif.-based WhereNet. “Our wireless location-based solutions have consistently delivered a return on investment in less than one year by increasing supply chain velocity and efficiency in high-volume distribution environments. As we build out the WhereNet ecosystem along the West Coast, the value of the network dramatically increases for all participants — whether shippers, ocean carriers, marine terminal operators, draymen, transloaders or rail operators.”
