“Who,
what and what next is impacting US Department of Transportation (DOT) packaging
security?” was the question Howard Skolnik, director of Skolnik Industries,
set out to answer at the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (DGAC) conference
this past November in Tempe, Arizona
Cunningly entitled www dot packaging, Howard’s presentation analysed the implications for industrial packaging users and producers of developments since September 11 last year, when a worldwide review of security was prompted following the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on the US. Since then, the need for all companies and industries involved in the movement and storage of dangerous goods to be vigilant has become part of their day-to-day practice, as a whole new list of organisations have stepped up to add to the regulatory burden.
Listing the Homeland Administration, US Department of Commerce, US Customs, US Department of Defense and the Transportation Security Administration as those involved in developing security regulations, Howard explained that although there is nothing as yet set in stone, the regulations will be put in place very soon. The impact on industry will be global, as companies have to consider extra requirements when shipping products to and from the US. Some regulations inevitably affect packaging.
Sympathy for the devil
“The result is a domestic think tank of what’s next and how to prevent it,” Howard elaborated, as measures are put in place to make obtaining dangerous goods and penetrating the US more difficult. “Most organisations are sitting around thinking how the next attack will occur,” he told the Bulletin. “Will it be nuclear or biological? Organisations are coming up with methods of preventing future terrorist attacks. The problem is that terrorists are damn smart”, he continued, and to combat them, you have think like a terrorist to anticipate the worst case scenarios.
Securing a shipment now means much more than obtaining packaging with an appropriate UN classification. The threat posed by terrorism puts a package at far more risk of failure than the usual hazards associated with transport, storage and handling. Advising “generous package selection”, Howard urged delegates to consider beefing up their containment options as the minimum metal thickness allowed by the UN recommendations is not necessarily a secure choice. “It is important to buy the best container for your company,” he explained, “but if the container puts the product at risk, it could be your job on the line.” Choosing a thinner gauge of metal might save money in the short term, but any incident or accident could cost the company much more in terms of product loss.
Closures and closure procedures are another important part of securing a shipment, Howard continued. Sturdy closures such as a lever lock with in-built tamper evidence are crucial steps towards securing cargo. “Consider a multi-life tracking programme,” he added, explaining that it is now important to be able to track containers through from the manufacturer to first receiver and ultimately to disposal as the cargo is at risk of intentional abuse from terrorists, anywhere along the line.
Giving the example of a checklist for steel drum purchasing, Howard outlined that the buyer must now, more than ever before, bear in mind UN certification, metal thickness, the current test record of the products and the manufacturing company’s reputation.
Closure design must also be considered, be it a closure in the form of a bolt ring, a bolt with tamper hole, a lever lock or a lever lock with additional features to discourage tampering. Tight-head closures should be fitted with a calibrated torque wrench and secured with metal or plastics cap seals. A ‘lever lock lock’ design provides a locking clip, which allows an open-head drum to be locked and not just tamper resistant. “Once closed the drum is inaccessible unless you drill into the side,” Howard illustrated. The proper closure procedure must be adhered to in order to make sure efforts to improve security are not undermined, Howard emphasised.
Keeping abreast of assets
Once the packaging has been seen to, there are further measures that shippers can take to ensure that shipments reach their intended destinations safely. Asset status tracking follows the shipment from cradle to grave and verifies the location of the cargo’s contents and proper disposal. Notification is given when components go missing or are interfered with. A drum may make many trips in its lifetime, and it is becoming very important to keep tabs on its manufacture, filling, distribution, reconditioning, reuse and disposal. Tracking formats vary widely in their design and application. While currently, drums are tracked by batch, by manual key entry, manual or scanned barcode and the more remote option of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, technology is allowing single drums to have their own unique and traceable identity in the form of what Howard calls a “bumpy barcode”, embossed into the body of the drum.
Steel drums have the problem of multiple lives when it comes to tracking, Howard explained. In reconditioning, where temperatures can reach 1,800°, most tracking devices would be burnt off if they hadn’t been prudently removed first. A ceramic barcode has been developed, but this is an expensive addition to the drum. Bumpy barcodes stamped or etched directly into the drum’s metal present an attractive alternative. This new concept, developed at Skolnik, is tamper-evident by nature and cannot be altered once a drum has effectively been branded. The company is developing an application process to work with the speed of manufacture.
Asset status tracking is flexible, web-based and a user-friendly interface with unlimited access capability, Howard explained. No unique user equipment is needed and tracking and reporting can be done live, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “And it’s cheap,” he added. “A movement consists of two scans: one on departure and one on arrival.”
Controlled security access, using unique logon names and passwords, leads to a wealth of information on inventory status and transaction reports through group portals such as Pallet Net. The US government is especially interested in keeping tabs on inventory. Customised portals offer the same access through individual company websites so customers can monitor shipments through a recognised internet address. These databases offer benefits in terms of flexibility, capability, ease of modification and ease of administration.
“The original objective to reduce cost per trip compared to cost per package has shifted post September 11 to securing goods from manufacture, through transport to disposal,” Howard confirmed. Data integrity is secured by customer-controlled password administration, unique customer databases and interfaces, a routine backup schedule, multiple redundant servers for maximum security and software and hardware firewalls to keep unwanted guests from abusing online information.
“We’ve got the packaging sorted,” Howard concluded. “Now you’ve got to know where your contents are at all times. Apparently a lot of the weapons being made overseas are from components stolen from US industry … and global industry.”