The APB is the Spanish leader in the number of port calls, with an annual volume of more than 50,000, which has also led it to position itself in second place in the European ranking. In addition, it has one of the highest passenger traffic figures in Spain, registering more than 2,500,000 cruise passengers and almost 7,500,000 regular line passengers. Due to these characteristics, the implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) becomes essential for the organization.
GIS makes it possible to contextualize all the entity’s assets in a place and time, allowing them to be tracked live. These intelligent map-based systems help to efficiently and synchronously manage the data generated by port operations, concessions, tenders, asset and infrastructure management, fleets, port services and port security, among many others.
Prodevelop, the main provider of technological solutions in the Spanish port sector, has carried out, together with the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Esri España, a global leader in geospatial solutions, the project to enable an information management platform for the five ports (Alcúdia, Eivissa, Maó, Palma and La Savina) managed by the port entity. To this end, this interface, hosted in Esri’s ArcGIS system, integrates the APB’s ICT systems, offering a unified solution to fully manage information related to the large number of assets, operations, and infrastructures of its ports.
The integrated graphic management of the port authority’s assets, in a way that is fully integrated into the systems of the Posidonia suite (PMS, PCS and Operations), implemented by Prodevelop, allows users to exploit the available information in such a way that port processes can be optimized and streamlined, such as the organization of the public domain, sports boats, port calls or supply networks.
For this project, the functionalities of the ArcGIS system have been implemented, which, through the integration of the APB’s ICT systems, has generated dashboards with the data provided by them. The interface also integrates the APB’s core systems, the Posidonia suite and Rosmiman, which provide the information that supports the authority’s operational decision-making processes.
An outstanding innovative and differentiating element has been incorporated into the overall project in the national maritime port field: the Esri Port Data Model. This model acts as a structured, flexible, scalable, and dynamic repository of port geospatial information. This means that the port can easily evolve over time in a centralized and efficient manner. In addition, this information can be leveraged by any other application that needs it. The use of this unified model will accelerate the deployment, improve operational efficiency, and facilitate centralized access to information within the ArcGIS system.
Through this GIS-based interface, the different actors involved can publish and access the large number of resources, democratising and facilitating the use of spatial data. The information collected comes from different sources such as bathymetry data, images, or BIM models of port infrastructures, etc. This repository is continuously updated, so its potential is constantly increasing.
The implementation of the ArcGIS system as the basis for the maintenance of the APB’s digital twin has opened up a wide range of possibilities for analysing and exploiting its information, while improving the intelligent management of infrastructures and transport, as well as data governance in the Balearic Islands Port Authority.
