The Port of Turku in Finland is well known as a perennially developing hub for logistics and transport. One of its recent outstanding achievements has been to recognize the emergence of wireless surveillance as an advanced new technology and to make use of it (Aboard Magazine).
Reijo Toivonen, Financial Manager of the Port of Turku, in an interview with ‘Aboard Magazine’ in June 2006 proudly claimed to have been the one who installed Wimax technology in the Port. Reminiscing about reading about the new technology way back in 2003, he recalled that he was instrumental in first introducing Wimax technology to the Port, then arranging to have the system practically tested to ensure that it would not only properly function but also prove worthy of installation, and finally taking the decision (along with other persons in the Port’s chain of authority) to install the system in the harbor control center.
The Wimax technology featured a revolutionary camera surveillance system that is based on wireless data transfer wherein surveillance cameras are wirelessly linked to the harbor’s control room . The system has two distinct advantages. Firstly, the cameras and workstations are mobile, hence not difficult to shift from one location to another. Secondly, addition of new equipment is relatively easy and cheap because no complex or costly cable work is involved (Aboard Magazine).
Toivonen went on to announce a new planned enhanced usage of Wimax technology to augment the system that was already in place in the harbor control center. It would involve fixing an identical system in a surveillance vehicle that would patrol the harbor grounds. The two systems would work in tandem with each other, with the camera and computer in the surveillance car sending data to the harbor control center, while the harbor control center itself sending data to the surveillance car as it when it deemed necessary. The surveillance car and its components would be under the direct control of the harbor’s Security Manager (Aboard Magazine).
Toivonen was buoyantly optimistic that the Wimax technology in the surveillance car working in collaborating with the similar technology in the harbor control room, would enable the Port not only to enhance, but also to boost its overall surveillance capabilities. It would be in a much better position to comfortably and efficiently comply with the very distinctive International Ship & Port Security Code surveillance rules that govern the Port.
It would also be able to provide valuable surveillance input to the existing Dangerous Goods Transported in the Baltic Sea Region project that is in place in the Port. Funded by the European Union, the overall exercise of DABOB is to meticulously examine the movement of merchandise with the aim of identifying which of them fall into specified ‘dangerous’ categories (Aboard magazine).
Elaborating about the practical capability and efficiency of the Wimax technology operating simultaneously in the Port’s control room and the surveillance car, Toivonen gave an example of a practical situation. If an accident occurred in the Port area, the surveillance car’s camera would first capture the action and then immediately transmit it to the harbor control room.
Depending on its interpretation of the event, the control room would proceed to handle the matter itself, or if it deemed necessary, it would forward the image to the police and fire-fighting departments to help them analyze the task on hand and decide how many and what kind of rescue equipment/vehicles and how many rescue personnel would be needed to handle the event. In addition, the transmission of continuous updated images would enable the two departments to keep continuous track of developments of the event and decide if additional personnel and equipment/vehicles would be needed (Aboard magazine).
Toivonen concluded by saying that the Port’s Wimax technology as presently existing in its control room as well as in the proposed new surveillance car would be of immense use in the summer of 2006 when Finland, in its capacity as current European Union President, was expected to host a series of big international conferences – events that are certain to need massive and satisfactory security. The Port of Turku’s dual use Wimax technology would go a long way towards easing the security burden on the country’s authorities (Aboard magazine).
The above article in ‘Aboard Magazine’ demonstrates the value of Continuing Education that involves the chance and procedure of acquiring new skills and knowledge that is vastly broader in scope to what is learnt during traditional school years. Skills and knowledge acquired in Continuing Education are an extra bonus to acquired school knowledge , serving to propel us forward in our careers. Continuing Education is a must in the modern world of today that is characterized by quick changes and technological enhancements that necessitate a highly intelligent, knowledgeable and self-confident workforce.
In the article reviewed, Reijo Toivonen is an ideal example of how Continuing Education can benefit the individual, his or her colleagues in the workplace and the workplace itself.
Reference used
“The Port of Turku Enhances Wireless Control with a Surveillance Car.” Aboard Magazine. 2006. Web.