Safely around the world - multifunctional data loggers in freight transport
From flat screens of all sizes to valuable Chagall paintings for a planned exhibition - there is hardly a product that cannot be sent around the world these days. In addition to logistical challenges, global transportation routes also harbour risks for criminal activities. With the mini data loggers accompanying the goods, cases of damage can be reconstructed and tampering proven.
The route from sender to recipient often takes months and crosses several continents. In addition to logistical challenges, this is also a huge playground for criminal activities. Goods inspection companies are playing an increasingly important role here. IPC Hormann GmbH, based in Walsrode, is one of the leading international goods inspection companies specializing in consulting, quality assurance, loading and export control for all aspects of freight transport.
Fighting thieves - with MSR data loggers
"There is a lot of corruption," reports Managing Director Friedhelm Hormann. "Some people involved in a logistics chain are very creative when it comes to illegally enriching themselves with goods." His company is now declaring war on thieves worldwide - with the use of modern and innovative measurement technology from the MSR data logger from CiK Solutions.
Following joint consultation, IPC Hormann uses the MSR145 data logger to monitor goods. The robust mini logger has a memory capacity for over 2 million measured values and is able to simultaneously measure and store the five most important measured variables in transportation: temperature, humidity, air pressure, light and 3-axis acceleration/position. The data is completely inaccessible to third parties and therefore protected against manipulation. Hormann explains: "We had previously spoken to technology companies who wanted to sell us clunky and far too expensive video devices with huge batteries. We then researched sensors on the Internet. MSR more than convinced us with its performance data." In addition to its technical sophistication, the MSR145 also impresses with its small size, reliability and stability. "Sometimes we put the minilogger in the container in Argentina and then pick it up again in Eastern Europe. There can be a quarter of a year in between. The device must therefore have a very long service life, especially at low temperatures. In addition, thanks to their low weight and small housing, we can send the MSR loggers quickly and flexibly from A to B - depending on where in the world we need them."
Light as the most important parameter
The lightweight logger can also be flexibly mounted in the container. It is usually positioned behind the doors on the right or left of the vertical. This means it can measure even the most sensitive changes in lighting conditions and is also less likely to be detected. Even if this does happen, thieves have usually already wasted the time in which they could have covered the logger - caught!
Measuring the incidence of light is therefore the most important parameter in the fight against criminal access. But other measured values also provide information: the temperature reveals gaps in the cooling regulation for food transports, for example, or for deliveries of highly sensitive film material that may only be transported under refrigeration. The MSR145 also measures vibrations during glass transportation or the humidity in the container for valuable art objects, which tolerate little fluctuation in this respect.
At the point of arrival, the data from the logger is only read accurately if light incidence is suspected or the delivery is incomplete, other damage or changes are visible or if the temperature of the transported goods is incorrect. The latter is checked on arrival with additional measuring devices. If there is a deviation, the logger data is checked in detail in order to identify the cause of any transport damage. In principle, however, the logger is always first taken to the IPC Hormann offices, where all its data is read out and stored for two years before it can be reconfigured for its next use and sent on its way again.
More safety through monitoring
In the longer term, Hormann expects the use of mini data loggers to result in less damage, less hassle and fewer recourse claims in international freight transport. "As a monitoring company, we always operate between different parties. Everyone only tells us their advantages and strengths, but rarely communicates their weak points. If temperature-sensitive goods worth 130,000 euros are constantly damaged during transportation, the cause has to be found. We ourselves have been completely surprised several times by what the MSR data loggers have brought to light!" Time and again, importers try to hold the goods inspection companies liable for any errors. The competition - often equipped with inferior measuring devices - has sometimes given in to this demand - with considerable losses. IPC Hormann, on the other hand, takes a clear line, which the boss himself sums up as follows: "We are not insurers. We provide importers with good tools in the form of data loggers. What they do with them is their own business."
In the course of improving quality assurance, the handy MSR data loggers have become an integral part of IPC Hormann GmbH's day-to-day business. In the past, there was a lot of conjecture, speculation, suspicion, fantasy - but rarely facts.
Unfortunately, it is still the case," summarizes Friedhelm Hormann, "that from time to time it has to be made clear to the client what the benefits of using the data loggers really are. If you fail to do this, the result is that costs are reduced. This naturally has an impact on the use of the loggers. As a result, thefts increase again, for example. It takes many months before the importer understands how the illegal removal can be blocked or proven by the loggers..."
High preventative factor
Hormann's conclusion speaks for itself: of the 800 or so deployments of the MSR145 carried out to date, eleven illegal accesses to goods have been detected. However, it can be assumed that the containers were opened much more often without authorization. The illegally accessing party recognized the sensor inside and closed the container doors again without removing the goods. Hormann: "This means that there was a high preventative factor!" But the criminal energy operating on site is not stupid. One day, ways and means will be found to dupe even the most sophisticated data loggers. This is why the ongoing further and new development of sensor technology is an exciting challenge for the future. The market for this is there - worldwide.