The Importance for Transport Companies to Protect and Secure Their Shipping Containers
Transport companies use shipping containers to pack and store massive amounts of physical items and goods before transporting them to their destinations. Shipping containers are lifted, stacked, and hauled numerous times while transported to their destinations. Transport companies must adequately secure the items inside the shipping containers to ensure they will not incur any damage during transit.
Are you curious about how shipping containers are secured to protect the items inside of them? First, the transport companies must consider all the potential risks involved in transporting the containers, such as bad weather conditions (e.g., hurricanes, wind storms, rain storms, etc.), thieves, vandals, and the rough impact of getting hauled around on freight ships and trucks. All these things could damage the items inside the shipping containers if they are not packed and secured correctly.
Fortunately, it is now easier than ever for transport companies to protect their shipping containers and the items inside them. For example, modern transport companies have access to many technologically sophisticated security systems to prevent thieves from breaking into shipping containers and stealing items from them. These innovative tech systems include alarms, GPS tracking, and CCTV cameras to detect intruders and unauthorized people attempting to access the containers.
Let us break down the top seven ways that modern transport companies are protecting and securing their shipping containers:
1) Steel Locks
Shipping containers require the highest quality and most durable locks to prevent unwanted intrusion. For this reason, transport companies use hardened steel disc locks or padlocks to fasten the container doors securely. Sometimes, they use steel lockboxes to add even more security to their shipping containers. It is not just any steel but high-tensile steel specifically designed and developed to shield and secure the locks from attempted crowbarring and break-ins.
Road transportation requires securing the shipping containers to the beds of trailers as they are actively being moved. Transport companies will use twist locks to achieve this objective because they reduce the chances of the straps snapping off or trailing on the road below. One twist lock will secure each corner point of the container to ensure its weight is distributed evenly. That way, there is much less risk of the shipping container sliding or tipping off the truck during transit.
2) CCTV Cameras
Shipping containers frequently get stored at freight ports and shipyards in transit. At these ports and shipyards, shipping containers are most susceptible to the criminal acts of thieves and vandals. That is why transport companies have invested in advanced CCTV surveillance cameras to actively monitor the shipping containers at their ports and shipyards 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Transport companies may install surveillance cameras outside and inside their shipping containers too. The inside cameras allow the transport companies to see clear images of the unauthorised intruders so that the police can identify them more easily.
In addition, some cameras are put in truck cabs to monitor the truck drivers and ensure they are not doing anything shady with the shipping containers after they leave the ports and shipyards. It depends on how much the transport company trusts their drivers and workers.
3) Seals
Transport companies are responsible for protecting their shipping containers from all kinds of damage, including naturally occurring deterioration. Therefore, they will often apply special sealant material to the shipping containers to prevent corrosion and rust from damaging them.
Damage from corrosion and rust can weaken the security and integrity of shipping containers. Once that happens, thieves and intruders will have an easier time finding vulnerable areas on the shipping containers that will allow them to gain entry.
For this reason, fully sealing the shipping containers with corrosion and rust-resistant materials is imperative to protect their metal.
4) GPS System
Knowing the current locations of the shipping containers allows transport companies to update their customers about the shipping status of their items. To do this, transport companies use GPS systems to track their shipping containers during transit. GPS systems let transport companies provide more accurate delivery times to increase transparency and satisfaction with customers.
In addition, transport companies also use GPS systems to ensure that the truck drivers are maintaining the speed and efficiency expected of them. They don’t want the truck drivers wasting time and doing things they are not supposed to do on company time. If truck drivers know they are getting tracked with GPS, they will more likely be motivated to do their jobs without delay.
5) Alarms
Transport companies have started linking their GPS and CCTV cameras to advanced alarm systems. They will install alarms in the shipping containers and the various operation centres that process and store the shipping containers. These sophisticated alarms are programmed to go off for various reasons, from forced entry to temperature fluctuations.
Remember that extreme cold or moisture conditions could damage sensitive items in the shipping containers. So, the transport companies want to ensure no extreme temperature fluctuations take place that could impact the goods. If such temperature changes are detected, they will signal the drivers to execute the appropriate actions to shield the items from the extreme temperatures.
6) Better Employee Training
Transport companies make their workers and truck drivers undergo comprehensive training programs to maximize productivity and minimize mistakes. For example, they want their workers to know how to detect defects or abnormalities in the shipping containers before loading items in them. They also want them to know how to load and lock the items properly to keep them safe during transit.
Some transport companies hire their own technical specialists too. They may train their technical specialists to install sophisticated security cameras and GPS systems on their shipping containers to make monitoring and tracking the items easier.
7) Planning the Best Route
Any professional transport company will carefully plan its transit route to minimize the risk and impact to its cargo, whether domestically or internationally. They will choose the most secure path to avoid potential problems and dangers, such as piracy, theft, low bridges, construction, longer roads, traffic, unstable sections, etc.
Conclusion
A transport company aims to get its truck or freight ship to its destination quickly and safely. Customers entrust transport companies with their items, so they have an obligation to keep them safe throughout the entire transit process. The techniques outlined above are highly effective in helping transport companies maintain the safety and efficiency of the goods for their customers.
If you require a transport company that follows the best methods and procedures to safely and securely transport shipping containers in Perth, Western Australia, call the experts at Executive Tilt Tray Services on 0400 738 658 or find out more here.
