The Port of Greater Baton Rouge in Louisiana is one of the top 10 ports in the United States. Shipping 61 tons of cargo each year, it faced these same problems when it recently looked to update its own security system. Situated 230 miles from the Gulf of Mexico on the Mississippi River and the U.S. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, it covers multiple facilities that span 85 miles of the Mississippi River and encompasses Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, and West Baton Rouge Parishes in its port jurisdiction.
 
Officials from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge hired local systems integrator Vanguard Technologies to provide a solution that would conquer the logistical issues of the port itself – it operates a main Mississippi River Terminal and Inland Rivers Terminal. The port needed to implement a new digital security system and deploy a wireless-based IP communication system to create a reliable security solution at all of its locations.
 
To meet these equipment needs, Vanguard Technologies turned to Bosch Security Systems, Inc.
 
“We were working within some very specific restraints, namely to provide a cost-effective system that would allow key personnel access to security data from a number of locations.  There are two separate terminals – the main Mississippi River Terminal and the Inland Rivers Terminal – that needed to be connected via a network,” noted Jerry Jones, President of Vanguard Technologies. “By using video over IP-enabled equipment from Bosch, we were able to provide a reliable, cost-effective system video surveillance system. That solution features live video over an IP network, data access to all field devices, and remote power management tools for effective remote device management for port executives, Port facility security officers and remote device management from the internal network or secured Internet access.”
 
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge’s Inland Rivers Marine Terminal covers 60 acres, offers container barge services and includes a storage and marshaling yard. The port also offers 525,000 square feet of warehouse and transit sheds, and the largest storage grain elevator on the Mississippi.
 
Due to distance between locations, conventional analog video surveillance technology and traditional transmission media at the port of Greater Baton Rouge were deemed ineffective solutions. Vanguard Technologies recommended a hybrid fixed wireless IP-based data communications and fiber-based system. This solution uses long distance video data packet transfer to address distance, terrain and logistics without compromising data integrity or security. The new system would also provide the capability to archive video data for retrieval in the future.
 
The installation comprised over 50 fixed and PTZ cameras, with Bosch VideoJet MPEG 4 Encoders strategically located throughout each location. Connectivity to the cameras and Bosch encoders were provided via an IP network including both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless devices, as well as more than a mile of multi-mode fiber optic cable. The MPEG 4 solution enabled the port to manage bandwidth across a large IP network.
 
Another important feature of the system is the capability to continuously monitor security devices and network links via powerful network monitoring tools to insure 24/7 uptime as well as fast problem resolution.  The result is that each authorized operator has instant access to live video from all 50 cameras, as well as any new camera that may be added to the system.  The video is stored centrally on four Network Video Recorders (NVRs) delivering several terabytes of fault-tolerant RAID 5 storage.
 
Vanguard Technologies also installed Bosch’s VIDOS Video Management System to provide the Port of Greater Baton Rouge with video surveillance, security and alarm management software capability. The solution offers intuitive site map graphics, sophisticated video play back, and many other CCTV functions.
 
By implementing a security solution from Bosch Security Systems, security personnel at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge have not only increased security measures, but they now have a complete picture of the port’s facilities, data sharing and access capabilities.