The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority awarded $20 million for security-related contracts, including installation of fiber optic cable, TWIC implementation and security gate services, among several matters approved during the April 26 meeting. Also at the meeting, the Port of Houston Authority received a new, three-year certification for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 28000 security management, following successful completion of its security management systems audit.

"I congratulate you on being the leader in the security management field," said Patti Macon, Environmental, Health & Safety Certification Manager for ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc. "We consider the Port of Houston Authority our partner in security management system evaluation." Macon noted that the Port Authority has achieved continual improvement with each audit.

In February 2008, the Port of Houston Authority set a standard for security as the first port authority in the world to receive the international designation of ISO 28000:2007 certification for its Port Police and perimeter security operations. The SMS was modeled after the Port Authority's highly successful Environmental Management System, which made it the first port authority in the U.S. to attain ISO 14001 certification in 2002.