Case Study:- Associated British Ports Upgrades Wireless to 802.11 to Offer Greater Flexibility

Associated British ports (ABP) is the UK's largest and leading ports group. It currently manages 21 ports and, together with the other transport-related businesses that constitute the ABP Group, form a UK-wide network capable of handling every conceivable type of cargo. ABP is backed by investment in modern facilities and equipment, and supported by experienced staff.

The Group's activities cover transport, haulage and terminal operations, ship's agency, dredging and marine consultancy. Each port also offers a well-established community of port-service providers.

The Challenge

ABP has been working with Psion Teklogix, through its premier partner Sandpiper Corporation, for over 8 years and had been using the Psion 7030 on Narrow Band wireless technology. The customers of ABP were keen to gain access to the 802.11 wireless standards to carry out stock checks and similar activities at the Association’s sites across the UK. The challenge faced was how to move to the new standard without impacting on day to day business operations and to be able to introduce more flexibility and functionality in terms of mobile computing solutions.

The systems that were already in place had been there for several years but they had only recently come under the direct control of ABP allowing it to have a much greater impact in the development of the system.

AB Ports also had initial concerns about the cost implications of implementing an 802.11 infrastructure due to the large physical areas requiring wireless coverage.

The Solution

The initial step was to carry out a full site survey, conducted by Sandpiper, to determine the design of the 802.11 wireless infrastructure. This included recommendations for the quantity, location and antennae of Cisco wireless access points necessary to provide the required system performance objectives., as well as a cabling/fibre site survey. On site user acceptance testing of the new Psion handheld units was carried out to confirm application software compatibility with the older devices and then a full site installation of the new 802.11 infrastructure was undertaken, again by Sandpiper’s own engineers incorporating system testing and commissioning.

The key to success was the fact that all parties worked together for a common goal, with little or no impact on the end user’s operation. It was also Important to make sure that all system design, project management, testing and configuration work was carried out up front, for ease of implementation as well as proving the concept and technology choice to the customer.

The Benefits

Working closely with Sandpiper ABP established that the proposed transition could be carried out in a very cost effective way and Sandpiper spent a lot of time understanding the business and how best to deploy this technology, resulting in a smooth implementation with no impact to the business operation.

By introducing a combination of 25 Cisco access points to facilitate the new 802.11 wireless infrastructure and investing in new 7535 handheld computers from Psion Teklogix, ABP has managed to carry out a seamless transition to the new wireless infrastructure and introduce enhanced mobile features such as colour touch screen technology through the Psion devices.

Daniel Carmichael - Terminal Manager, ABP said, “This has been a major project for us and one that needed to be handled with great care to make sure we could change the infrastructure without impacting on the services we provide. The initial feedback we have received is extremely positive and the operators have reported that they find the new system much faster therefore improving operational efficiency and productivity. The new handheld units have been very well received with comments made about the screen improvements and increased battery life.”

Simon Hagenbuch - Director, Sandpiper Corporation, commented, “Throughout this project it has been very important to maintain a high level of continuity. Sandpiper is a Psion premier partner, and was introduced to this particular AB Ports site through this relationship. ABP had a level of confidence in Sandpiper’s relationship with Psion and was confident that a project of this size could be dealt with by one single point of contact.”

John McMeeking – Business Development Director, Psion Teklogix, stated, “ ABP has been a long standing customer for us and it is great that we have continued this relationship over the years. That it has upgraded the Psion hardware to match the new wireless infrastructure is great and the feedback to date certainly points to a successful project for all involved.”

Posted on 20 Oct 2010

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