Technology helps river officials no longer have to hold a water level gauge

At the Monitoring Center, the remote waterway traffic organization (Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration), the digital diagram of each national waterway transport route, the status of the light signals attached to the buoys, the location of measuring devices and the real-time water level are closely monitored.

Applying IT has replaced the previous manual method, in which the maintenance unit had to periodically use water vehicles to go along the route to check buoys, lights, and even measure the water level manually - workers held a water level measuring ruler.

The buoy system is located at a satellite coordinate, helping to save manpower for the management agency.

The software-connected buoy system has solved the above shortcomings. Accordingly, each waterway route is defined and limited by a series of buoys (green, red) on both sides of the channel, each buoy is located at a satellite coordinate. When the buoy leaves its position (or the light signal is lost, the light intensity is not enough), an automatic warning will be sent to the management system, and the relocation history will be stored.

From this warning, maintenance units immediately adjust and fix buoy and light problems as soon as possible to ensure smooth flow.

In addition, the system also helps monitor the maintenance unit's repairs as well as promptly handle cases of stolen buoys or ships and natural disasters causing drift.

It is known that this is just one of the technological applications that has been deployed at the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration with more than 2,500 buoys and 63 automatic water level measuring stations to help promote practical results.

Speaking to VietNamNet reporter , Deputy Director of Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration Le Minh Dao said: "Applying information technology in state management since the period of 2015-2016, the Administration has flexibly applied it to be able to invest in 12 systems of professional software in office work, management and technology of infrastructure works".

Mr. Le Minh Dao, Deputy Director of Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration.

Although he proactively invested in early deployment and put into use 12 business software systems, Mr. Dao also frankly expressed that due to lack of experience in management, lack of overall direction and orientation from national systems, business software was built and developed according to spontaneous needs, at a certain time without an overall architecture, lack of connection and lack of long-term operation and maintenance plan.

“On November 6, 2020, the Minister of Transport issued a decision on the e-Government architecture of the Ministry of Transport (version 2.0). This is an overall picture of the information system of the transport sector with functional architectural layers, including a shared database system based on the integration of the basic database sets of specialized Departments.

The buoy system is placed on both sides of the channel to ensure smooth flow.

Based on the Ministry's instructions, the Department proposed and successfully implemented the IW-MIS Project in 2020 with the goal of completing the Overall Architecture Framework. The Department then continued to propose to the Aus4Transport Program to fund the Project expansion in April 2022 (ending at the end of 2023).

At the same time, it is also the foundation for building the content of the Project using medium-term public investment capital with the goal that by 2025, when the project is completed, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration will have a comprehensive information system to ensure the digitalization of all its activities, including all basic data on waterway infrastructure assets, vehicles, and operators; data on regulations, standards, water transport... to serve the management and operation of water transport according to the digital technology model," Mr. Dao informed.

100% of administrative procedures are performed on the interconnected electronic One-Stop System.

This unit is also gradually completing the computerization of activities at the Department's office headquarters. Accordingly, the Department is deploying the connection of the unit's document management software with the Ministry of Transport's document axis, connecting with local Departments of Transport. Since August 2021, the Department has used personal digital signatures in approving work records and with affiliated units.

The Department also invested in a video conferencing system at 6 points (Office of the Department; Inland Waterways Port Authorities of Regions I, II, III, IV; 2 Inland Waterways Sub-Departments of Regions I and III). The online meeting room at the Department meets the technical requirements for video conferencing of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

In 2021, the Department repaired 2 professional software for 2 KCHT projects applying technology: Managing and collecting water level measurement data from water level measurement stations, managing and updating data of signals and signal lights with installed devices to locate the status and location of signals.

In addition, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration also computerizes state management operations to bring convenience to people and businesses. According to Mr. Dao, the Administration has deployed 37 administrative procedures in the inland waterway sector related to direct processing at the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration on the One-Stop Portal and online public services. Currently, 100% of administrative procedures are performed on the interconnected electronic One-Stop System.

Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration is building basic databases to provide input databases for the shared database system of the Ministry of Transport.

The database of the inland waterway sector includes 3 sets of databases: Basic database on inland waterway infrastructure, Basic database on management of inland waterway vehicles; Basic database on management of vehicle operators.

These basic databases have been calculated and divided equally by the Department for the IW-MIS and medium-term projects to be implemented in parallel, in time to meet assigned tasks.

For the IW-MIS Project, including the main project and the expansion phase, the Program will help the Department have a digital database platform on the infrastructure of 55 main national inland waterways, data on traffic safety, a document data warehouse, a personnel management data warehouse, a data warehouse of standards and regulations for the waterway industry; and a computerized document management process.

For the Project using medium-term public investment capital, after completing the entire 100% digital database, it will become a specialized platform database connected to the shared database system of the Ministry of Transport.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/cong-nghe-giup-can-bo-duong-song-khong-con-phai-cam-thuoc-do-muc-nuoc-2205751.html