Truck security a key Tapa focus

AS FACILITIES have become
harder targets for criminals,
the incidence of theft in
transit has escalated. And
in South Africa the figures
speak for themselves.
According to SAPS
statistics truck hijackings
increased by a whopping
53% in 2007 compared
to 2006.
“It’s almost like a road
freight industry of its own
under cover,” technical &
operations manager at the
Road Freight Association
Gavin Kelly told delegates at
last week’s Tapa meeting
in Boksburg.
“It’s a high level of
organisation and a range
of specialised skills and to
deal with that you have to
understand how it works.”
According to Kelly,
nine months ago a cargo
shipment of copper was
transported from Kitwe in
Zambia to Johannesburg.
Seventeen trucks left, they
were satellite-tracked,
and nine arrived at their
destination – and these were
vehicles weighing
54 gross tons.
Criminal syndicates are
clearly becoming increasingly
inventive.
“Identity theft has
become a major issue,” says
Kelly. A recent case in point
involved a truck emblazoned
with Cargo Carriers signage.
“The incident only came to
light when a member of the
pubic complained about the
way the truck was driving.
We phoned the company,
provided the registration
and date, time and place
of the incident, and within
15 minutes were told that
it was not a Cargo Carriers
truck.” Several other bigger
players are reporting similar
problems, according to Kelly.
Driver identity theft is
also becoming increasingly
prevalent. “When operators
employ a stand-by driver,
they do a check and the
record comes up squeaky
clean – because it’s a
stolen identity.”
With latest statistics
indicating that more than
80% of cargo moves by
road, there’s a tremendous
amount of opportunity. “The
market is getting bigger
but the resources in terms
of traffic policing are not
increasing by the same
percentage.”
Solutions are clearly
critical.
“For the past five years
most of our members have
been tracking and tagging
cargo, vehicles, drivers and
containers – a few years ago
we just tracked the vehicle.
“Most operators are also
looking at bonus systems
– but not as in the past
based on volumes moved
but rather on minimum
accidents and loss.”
In additional the RFA is
looking at evicting members
who don’t uphold its code
of ethics.
The bottom line is that
action must be taken to
address the issue.
“Many major
manufacturers, importers and
conglomerates are looking at
ways to bypass South Africa
because of the crime rate
and inefficiency,” says Kelly.
“So much so that they have
invested ¤100billion to build
railway links between Angola
and Tanzania to bypass SA.
“A mine in the DRC is
no longer sending cobalt
to South Africa by truck
– they’re rather flying it
out because the insurance
premiums have become so
high it’s cheaper to move the
cargo by air.”
The growing incidence of
truck hijackings worldwide
is what prompted Tapa
to introduce its Trucking
Security Requirements (TSR),
established by security
professionals within the
high-tech industry to address
the nature by which hightech
products and materials
are transported by road.
The TSR specifies the
minimum acceptable
security standards for
assets travelling throughout
the supply chain and the
methods to be used in
maintaining those standards.
TSR is a compliance
programme, carried out by a
self-assessment programme,
which will undoubtedly be a
high priority area for Tapa SA.
The intention is that
Tapa members select
suppliers who meet or
exceed Tapa TSR compliance
requirements. “Successful
implementation of the
TSR is dependent upon
suppliers and buyers working
in concert to accurately
interpret, adopt and audit
against these requirements,”
said Tapa Emea vice
chairman David Reid.