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Ports

There are over 120 commercial ports in The United Kingdom. These include major, all purpose ports such as London and Liverpool, ferry ports such as Dover, specialised container ports such as Felixstowe and ports catering for specialised bulk traffic such as coal or oil.  In addition to being important hubs for the countries transport system, many ports represent centres of local economic activity. Much of this Industry is located in ports, such as oil refineries and power stations.

Transport links

As key transport hubs ports depend on good transport links, around 50% of the freight carried on the rail network is moving towards or between ports, most of the ports are rail connected and are planning for environmental and cost considerations for an increased proportion of the traffic to travel by rail.  By using a common data platform for information exchange between ports and rail organisations, routes can be optimised, Scheduling and planning can maximise the network and allow the expeditious movement of freight from Ports.

Digital formats

Much of this data is available in digital format but due to business circumstances the correspondence is frequently in hardcopy format.  A major component and potential bottleneck is ascertaining what records or data are relevant to that particular request. OS MaserMap can allow the analysis to be undertaken quickly and also collates disparate data to a common location point.

Renewable energy

Ports are also rapidly becoming renewable energy hubs. The Government is serious about its commitment to renewable energy and increasing legislation, measures and penalties to increase renewable generation and develop a more sustainable approach to energy use are coming to the fore.

Onshore wind farms represent one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy for the UK; it is one of the windiest countries in Europe and conditions are ideal for electricity generation. Biomass production and storage facilities are ideally located within Ports.  Sub sea export cables will export power back to shore from offshore wind and wave generation plants, all of these renewable energy operations need asset locations, network performance, construction materials, design constraints and connectivity / schematic representation, geographic information is clearly identified as an asset.

Ordnance Survey's digital portfolio

Ordnance Survey’s portfolio of digital mapping products are powerful business tools. For ports they can provide a visual element to anything from asset and portfolio management to customer care and long-term strategic planning


Key issues

  • Managing buildings on multiple sites.
  • Ensuring the good repair of perhaps miles of  assets
  • Complying with complex environmental regulations.
  • Identification of renewable energy sites
  • Delivering savings in energy costs


The solution

Geographical information can help by enabling you to:

  • maintain electronic records using location as a common reference.
  • identify potential weak points in your asset plans
  • common GI data to link into asset management and CAD systems
  • report to your customers in a way they will understand

 

Container ship

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