Airport access permits to get barcoding feature soon

National roll-out in the next three months THE INCORPORATION of barcode identification of cargo as a feature of the new Air Cargo Permit system at OR Tambo International Airport is less than two months away. The current ACP, which is now the only legitimate permit for the collection and delivery of goods in the cargo area of ORTIA, electronically identifies the name of the person drawing cargo, his photo, his signature and the drawing company - all live and in realtime. Agents who have multiple pieces for collection can take the security feature one step further by linking the drawer of cargo to a particular piece by manually entering the data. “The first priority was to implement the new permit system and set up terminals at the airline warehouse,” says IVS managing director Marius van Jaarsveld. “Next on our agenda will be for the freight agents to make use of the additional security benefits this offers,” he said, and the barcode feature will play a big role. “We’re 80% there in terms of development,” says Van Jaarsveld, who expects the system to be up and running within the next six weeks. “The barcode will then be scanned in as soon as cargo arrives in the warehouse and this will automatically generate an email or SMS so that the forwarder knows exactly what cargo has come into the warehouse and who checked it in,” he told FTW. “After details have been captured and cargo has arrived in the warehouse we can interface with other software systems to transfer the information to the agent’s system.” SA Police Service also has access to the system which provides information on all permit holders. “And once the barcoding is up and running, Customs will be able to monitor cargo more effectively,” he added. “The permit facility has been developed to the industry’s specifications. “Development costs are very expensive. We are trying to develop something from which the industry as a whole can derive collective benefit and are open to any further suggestions for enhancements.” “What’s important,” says Van Jaarsveld, “is that it’s entirely web-driven. There is no hardware or software installation required and it will not interfere with existing software and internal systems that companies are using. All you need is the internet.” The new permit system will be rolled out to all other airports within the next three months.