90% of international merchandise trade moves through maritime transport, making the port industry the main form of economic exchange in the world.

Despite the fact that 70% of the merchandise moves through Asian ports, those located in Latin America and the Caribbean represent a relevant percentage for the global economy, exceeding 54 million TEUs (20-foot containers) in 2021), compared to 2019, the reference year as 2020 was hardly hit by the health contingency caused by covid-19.

In this sense, according to the 2022 Maritime Transport Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), after a contraction of 3.8% in 2020, international maritime trade grew 2.1% in 2022 and it is estimated that for the period 2023-2027 it will continue in that same percentage of development.

Therefore, it is essential that this sector continue with its upward recovery dynamics and, to achieve this, that it have agile and secure logistics systems, mediated by technology, in order to efficiently solve essential operational challenges such as the control of access for employees and the implementation of effective emergency protocols.

Mobile access control for large areas within ports

Due to its large area characteristics and the lack of physical points for access control inside the ports, the Alutel Mobile solution is designed to facilitate remote authentication of personnel with high security standards.

Alutel Mobile is an application that can be run on a RAGTAB Tablet, owned by Alutel Mobility, turning this device into a true potable mobile reader capable of reading identification credentials both physical (cards) and digital (credentials stored in mobile phones). , since it has an integrated HID OEM module capable of recognizing most RFID technologies on the market.

This solution also allows authentication by means of a QR code or by entering an identification number.

The application allows secure access control in restricted areas within ports, despite not having a physical infrastructure for this purpose. Now the security departments are able to check the identity of people and their authorization or not, to stay in specific points.

Likewise, when employees make use of corporate transportation to reach the port, the person in charge can carry out the authentication of each one of them from the moment they board the bus, the application is able to assign seats and through it also verify the working hours assigned to each one. In this way, congestion in the entrance area is avoided, which saves time and favors productivity.

Mustering: strengthening emergency protocols 

Ports, like any other large area, are not exempt from suffering some type of emergency due to human or natural failures, such as the large-scale fire that recently occurred in the Port of Iskenderun (Turkey), after the two earthquakes that struck the zone, which left estimated losses of US$36.7 million due to the interruption of iron and steel exports.

Mustering is the solution that supports possible emergency situations that require evacuation, helping to keep count of the people who are on the site, differentiating whether they are safe or in danger.

This application, which can also be installed on the RAGTAB Tablet, allows users to use the same identification they present for access control in the event of an emergency evacuation to validate their status and position and thus know that they are safe, by Like Alutel Mobile, Mustering can be synchronized with various access control platforms and their databases through its ability to integrate with third parties via API.

The solution allows the use of positioning systems, which provides location information in real time and solves the problems of having to carry out repeated manual controls and lists of personnel.

In the middle of the evacuation, the personnel who arrive at the safe point identify themselves with their access credential or identification number, and the application warns of their presence indicating that they are safe, which avoids manual counts.

Security managers can view the Mustering App on their device, accessing detailed information on how many people have reached the secure points, how many have not, and when and where the last time an employee authenticated, in case of that is missing, in order to promptly identify the possible search point, if applicable, which immediately enables rescue teams if necessary.

This is how these spaces for the exchange of merchandise and the economic growth of the regions can strengthen their operations, through applications that guarantee efficiency and security, both physical and occupational. This, with the purpose of increasing their performance and continuing in an ascending line as the 30 most important ports in the world did so, which increased their statistics by 6.5%, handling a total of 450 million TEUs, according to industry reports.