BUREAU VERITAS, the Paris-based inspection and certification agency, last week officially launched its on-line digital inspection system which will give clients almost instant access to a product they want to purchase. (FTW October 11, 1996).
BV South African regional manager Stephane Sakoschek said last week that modern technology made it possible for pre-shipment inspections to be carried out by the client from his personal computer.
A BV inspector will examine the goods, for example coffee beans in Brazil. The normal procedure is to draw up a report and despatch it to the client.
What BV plans to do now is have the inspector photograph the goods with a digital camera. The image is instantly downloaded into a laptop computer, then transmitted to the client's E-mail address using a cellphone.
Seconds later the client can inspect a representative photograph of the goods.
We plan to introduce this service gradually, and will make it available to clients as they request it, Sakoschek said.
He said the system would eventually be used to transfer legal documents and paperwork to save shippers' time.
BV already uses the technology on behalf of the World Food Programme, the United Nations aid organisation. WFP officials are able to inspect labels on bags of maize before it is transported to ensure the shipping data is correct.
