RAPID System™
Since 2002, the Howland Group has been the risk bearing commercial partner in a cooperative agreement among DRMEC, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). The purpose of this agreement is to develop and deploy RAPID (Regional Agile Port Intermodal Distribution) System™ - a global, rapid and secure, end-to-end surface distribution solution to support military and commercial customers. Such agreements allow the U.S. government to evaluate and demonstrate potential new products and solutions.

RAPID System is a virtual enterprise of commercial, government, military and law enforcement stakeholders, which has been fielded and operationally proven through nearly 25 military cargo operations at the Strategic Ports of Philadelphia, Charleston (S.C.) and Savannah (Ga.). Through RAPID System, stakeholders collaborate to coordinate and apply various business processes, physical infrastructures (land, ship, rail and truck), security, and information-sharing to ensure timely and safe surface distribution. Without disrupting essential commercial operations, RAPID System supports the U.S. Department of Defense with high-value, time-sensitive military shipments during times of peace and national need.

In less than three years, the Howland Group evolved RAPID System from concept to demonstration and from proof of concept to a DOD beta test site for global surface distribution transformation that supports the warfighter.
 

RAPID Center™
RAPID System™ connects key enterprise stakeholders through a working virtual global network called RAPID Center™. RAPID Center ties U.S. Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) to key customers (the units) and, more recently, to Army Materiel Command (AMC) – the Army organization responsible for ensuring equipment is quickly repaired and returned to the war theaters. A joint development effort of DRMEC and the Institute of Defense Analyses (IDA) – a federally-funded research and development organization – RAPID Center is a global, neutral and secure information sharing portal that leverages IDA’s existing DOD platform to enable stakeholder collaboration.

RAPID Center processes information from a variety of sources to develop a near real-time, end-to-end common operating picture to support high-value supply chains. RAPID Center is DOD’s first physical and virtual seaport operation center and its capabilities are exportable to any SDDC terminal, as proven through real world military cargo operations between the Port of Philadelphia, the Port of Savannah and Ft. Stewart, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.
 

Ben Franklin Corridor
The Ben Franklin Corridor is an end-to-end, rapid and secure freight corridor that will connect the Port of Philadelphia with critical military depots, commercial distribution hubs and other strategic ports along the East and Gulf Coasts. The Ben Franklin Corridor will result in a more integrated distribution network and provide for faster and more secure movement of critical supply chains through major markets in the Northeast and Mid-West. Not only will this benefit commercial goods movement for businesses and end-users, it will also ensure safer and more efficient movement of military cargo between the U.S. and overseas war theaters.
 

Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Center
In 2007, DRMEC partnered with the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), the Governor’s Office of PennPORTS, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security, the Pennsylvania Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA), and other public sector departments and organizations on a regional initiative to enhance security in the Delaware River and Bay Area.

DRMEC’s involvement in this initiative pertains to the development of a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Center – a neutral and secure, virtual information-sharing portal that will receive real-time security information from Pennsylvania state-owned general cargo facility operators, private petro-chemical facility security personnel, as well as other regional stakeholders and state agencies. This initiative will lead to a regional network in the Delaware River and Bay area with timely and heightened situational awareness, as well as improved security over critical infrastructure and key resources.
 

Delaware River Dredging
The Howland Group was instrumental in the creation of the Dredge Now Coalition - a coalition comprised of public and private organizations in various industries that support the deepening of the Delaware River to improve the sustainability of Philadelphia’s industrial port and waterfront communities. In May 2007, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announced an agreement between the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which will allow for dredging of the Delaware River from 40 to 45 feet. The entire project comprises more than 100 miles of waterway. The project is expected to be completed by approximately 2010 and is anticipated to have a significant impact on Philadelphia and the Delaware River Valley Region.