Volpe Center Highlights - July/August 2003
Homeland Security
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility and Economic Growth
Human and Natural Environment |
Organizational Excellence |
Homeland Security
Awards |
Papers and Presentations
Evaluating the Security of Milk and Food Supply Chains (TSWG)
The Volpe-led team will examine the transport of milk from its origin at the dairy farm to its final retail facility destination. |
The goal of effective supply chain management is to ensure that each link provides adequate security without adversely affecting the movement of shipments to their final destinations. This can be particularly important for commodities such as food and milk, which may be vulnerable to terrorist attacks that could pose severe public-health and economic impacts. In support of two projects sponsored by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), teams led by the Volpe Center will closely analyze supply chains, identify vulnerabilities, propose and demonstrate improvements, and evaluate the effectiveness of demonstration technologies and business practices. TSWG, an interagency group whose mission is to provide for rapid research and development of counterterrorism technology, is managed by the Department of Defense (DoD) Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office.
Assessing the security of milk transport in the United States will start with supply chain analyses performed in states located in four geographic areas of the country: the Northeast Region (Massachusetts), the Central Region (Wisconsin), the Southeast Region (Florida), and the Pacific Region (California). Ms. Dawn Lopez Johnson of Volpe's Intermodal Logistics Systems Planning and Integration Division recently led both the Northeast and the Central fluid Grade-A milk supply chain analyses. The analyses included a review of security measures in place during transport within and between the following supply chain nodes: dairy farms, transfer and/or receiving stations, processing plants, central distribution (warehouses), and retail facilities. In addition, the team reviewed existing security practices at tanker truck facilities and truck washing operations. Volpe team members include Mr. Joseph Koziol of the Technology Applications and Deployment Division and Mr. Robert Hoaglund of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division. The Volpe team was assisted by Mr. Randall E. Arbaugh of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). After conducting all four regional analyses, the team will summarize--and recommend enhancements to--existing security practices, procedures, and equipment in the Grade-A fluid milk supply chain. These recommendations will be evaluated for ease of use and practicality during the demonstration phase of this project.
The Volpe team is analyzing each element in the supply chain. Above, a cargo container is offloaded from a cargo ship to a truck. |
The Center is also conducting a project to improve the security of the DoD food supply chain. This project will analyze the movement of food and food supplies from U.S. suppliers and distributors to U.S. military forces in Europe, Japan, Korea, Southwest Asia, and other locations. An end-to-end supply chain analysis will be conducted in the first phase to identify and define each of the elements in the supply chain for each selected theater of operation, to assess existing security and cargo management practices, to identify vulnerabilities in the supply chain, and to recommend improvements to business practices and technologies. The Volpe team of Messrs. Kenneth Troup of the Intermodal Logistics Systems Planning and Integration Division, Alex Blumenstiel of the Aviation Safety Division, and Joseph Koziol of the Technology Applications and Deployment Division completed facility reviews at commercial food distribution centers and port facilities on the East and West Coasts and will be visiting distribution centers and military food service operations in four Persian Gulf countries and Europe. Based on these reviews and the identification of supply chain vulnerabilities, Volpe will coordinate with the suppliers, carriers, and government agencies involved to develop plans for, and then conduct, a demonstration of supply chain security improvements.
Volpe Hosts IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security
In collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Massachusetts Port Authority, and other professional groups, the Volpe Center co-sponsored and hosted the 2003 Spring IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security on May 7 and 8, 2003. This two-day conference, the third in an IEEE series, provided a forum on requirements, technologies, operations, and funding for technology development and opportunities in the marketplace, focusing on security to protect aviation and other key transportation system elements. More than 220 technology innovators, venture capitalists, government officials, military procurement officers, system integrators, and business development professionals attended the conference. Volpe Center staff presented the following papers.
- "Promise and Challenges for Transportation Security Applications of Remote Sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems" by Dr. Aviva Brecher, Office of Environmental Preservation and Systems Modernization, and Mr. Kevin Clark, Surveillance and Assessment Division.
- "NAS Information Security and New Challenges" by Mr. Kevin Harnett, Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division.
- "Department of State - Security Enhancement Program" by Mr. David Lecraw, Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division.
- "Cyber Security 101 - Best Practices" by Mr. David Sawin, Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division.
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