Thermal Security Cameras help officials to execute Port Security.
To say the Port of Portland is a large and complicated infrastructure is a gross understatement. The Port of Portland is responsible for servicing more than 800 vessel calls each and every year, “accounting for more than 14 million tons of ocean-going cargo.” (Lee, David. “Eyes Open Wide,” Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 46.) The operations that take place there are ongoing, day and night, year round, and so it is extremely important that the Port of Portland’s security infrastructure be effective no matter the weather and/or lighting conditions.
The port security upgrade, a project that has taken port officials two years designing and implementing, focused on several terminals and, “multi-modal facilities that need to control access from pedestrian, vehicle, rail and sea routes.” (Lee, David. “Eyes Open Wide,” p 46.)
According to David Lee in an article in Security Products Magazine, as well as www.security-today.com, “Some of the new security systems focus on the cargo and it’s containers…an Optical Character Recognition system, which scans shipping container markings and matches these markings to a truck’s license plate, and Radiation Portal Monitors, which scan containers for abnormal levels of radiation…other parts of the port security upgrade include the installation of improved guard houses…improved access control through the implementation…and integration of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) thermal imaging cameras.”
Even though they are available for less than $3000, this can be viewed as a costly investment, however the benefits of thermal Imaging helps execute Port Security unlike any other security upgrade:
The thermal imaging camera acts as a force multiplier, more effectively read by law inforcement, making their response to crime more effective and using agency resources more efficiently
“Thermal security cameras let you see what your eyes can’t: invisible heat radiation emitted by all objects regardless of lighting conditions.” (Lee, David. “Eyes Open Wide,” Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 46.)
Thermal cameras aren’t limited by the basic limitations of visible-light imaging, so they are effective in ANY environment, in all weather, day or night…
“Thermal security cameras have been widely adopted as the imaging technology of choice to answer federal regulations requiring continuous 24-hour surveillance, observation, and monitoring of the perimeter and control areas at critical infrastructure facilities such as nuclear plants, energy production facilities and ports.” (Lee, David. “Eyes Open Wide,” Security Products Magazine, March 2012, Vol 16, No. 3, p 48.)
For more information on thermal security cameras and the Port of Portland security upgrade you can read the full article by David Lee here:
http://security-today.com/articles/2012/03/01/eyes-open-wide.aspx