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Newsletters
TAPA
The Americas Q1’06 Newsletter
Newsworthy Articles
"Protecting the Goods"
The Arizona Republic
Jan.31, 2004
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0131Cargosecurity31.html
"Port Security
Is a 'Sink or Swim' Proposition"
World Trade (01/04)Vol. 17, No. 1, P. 20; Sowinski, Lara
L.
Operation Safe Commerce (OSC) is a federal government-led
initiative aimed at securing the entire supply chain by testing
out beta programs and other security processes at three U.S.
ports. The initiative has gone into effect at the ports of
New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles/Long Beach, and Seattle/Tacoma.
The OSC program conducts vulnerability assessments of the
entire supply chain. For example, OSC assesses the security
of cargo containers by examining the construction of the pallet,
certification of the pallet, placement of the pallet in a
container, and inspection of the container before it is sealed,
says J. Michael Zachary, director of port planning and logistics
for the Port of Tacoma. OSC aims to develop "international
standards that would be applicable to all containers in an
international trade program" with an emphasis on "minimal
financial and operational impact to the trade," says
Zachary. He notes that securing the supply chain also helps
improve the visibility of the supply chain. For example, cargo
containers that used to be unloaded from a ship into a general
holding area with many other containers are now placed in
predetermined rows and slots, making it easier and faster
for workers to find the containers when they are loaded onto
another ship. This reduction in time results in increased
productivity and monetary savings for companies. ( www.worldtrademag.com)
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FedEx
Takes Direct Approach to Terrorism --- Carrier Sets
Up Its Own Police Force, Gaining Seat on Regional Task
Force Overseen by FBI
Politics & Policy
By Gary Fields
09 October 2003
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2003, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
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Washington
-- FEDEX CORP. HAS come up with a novel way to battle
terrorist threats and other crimes: start its own 10-man
police force.
The
FedEx cops dress in plain clothes, detective-style,
and are accredited by the Tennessee
government. They can investigate all types of crimes,
request search warrants and make arrests anywhere in
the state, although they haven't busted anyone yet,
and likely won't.
More
importantly for FedEx, having a private police force
qualifies the shipping company to serve on a regional
joint terrorism task force, overseen by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. The 66 task forces currently
in operation across the country -- which consist of
local, state and federal officers -- are entrusted with
more-sensitive and specific data regarding terrorist
threats than businesses usually receive. FedEx is the
only major air carrier that is a task-force member.
Although
the FedEx representative on the task force can't give
his corporate boss inside information because it may
be classified, the company still gains a great deal
from its membership. That is because the FedEx representative
can signal the company to take preventive actions. If
the task force learns certain kinds of explosives are
being used by terrorists in Asia,
for instance, the representative can alert the company
to install specialized explosives detectors there.
"If
they feel there is a threat to a particular part of
FedEx's operation, they can take steps to improve security
in that area without revealing security information,"
says FBI agent George Bolds, who is general counsel
in the bureau's Memphis,
Tenn., field office, where FedEx is based.
Air-cargo
and pilots associations praise FedEx for its aggressiveness.
There
are limits to the force's authority within FedEx, akin
to those on any outside agency; for example, employee
records are off-limits without obtaining a warrant.
But
the new arrangement does raise complex questions that
have yet to be fully resolved: Does FedEx's task-force
membership give it an unfair competitive advantage?
Do the FedEx cops have an obligation to alert the company's
rivals to terrorist threats? If the FedEx cops find
wrongdoing among FedEx's senior officials, will the
police ignore it because the company pays their salaries?
Tim
Edgar, general counsel for the American Civil Liberties
Union, questions whether corporate cops can be trusted
to act in the public interest, and argues that a watchdog
agency should oversee the company's performance. "You're
given all the powers of someone accountable to the public,
but you're driven by the profit incentives of a private
company," he says.
FedEx
spokeswoman Kristin Krause says the FedEx Air Carrier
Police Department follows the same ethics guidelines
as any state law-enforcement agency. Employees and customers
can file internal complaints about the corporate cops
to the company, she says. Other problems probably would
be handled by a state civilian review board. But she
doesn't expect much need for those mechanisms because
the department plans only to initiate investigations
and then turn them over to state agencies.
The
company wouldn't make the corporate cops available for
interviews.
As
for questions of inside information, Ms. Krause says
the company's police can't give other firms a heads-up
because they can't share sensitive law-enforcement data.
During industry forums, though, FedEx may talk generally
about security issues with competitors, she adds.
FedEx
has focused intensely on the terrorist threat at least
since April 1994, when a disgruntled off-duty flight
engineer attempted to commandeer a FedEx DC-10 by attacking
the flight crew with a hammer. The injured crew subdued
him and landed safely in Memphis.
Law-enforcement officials concluded that the employee
planned to crash the jet into FedEx's headquarters.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks added to FedEx's
concerns, of course.
A
cargo plane is "a big missile full of high-octane
fuel," says Mr. Bolds, the FBI agent.
In
2002, FedEx started lobbying the Tennessee Legislature
to approve a company police force. As precedent, the
firm pointed to the railroads, which have had their
own police officers as far back as the 1880s. Currently,
railroad officers are responsible for protecting railroad
equipment and patrolling the 200,000 miles of track
and rights of way the nation's railroads own. Many railroad
officers are members of task forces on terrorism.
With
35,000 employees in Tennessee,
including 27,000 in Memphis, FedEx didn't face much
legislative opposition to its plans. "Without FedEx,
Memphis wouldn't be what it is," says Tennessee
State Sen. Stephen Cohen, who sponsored the legislation,
which was signed into law in July 2002. FedEx officers
have to complete training "substantially equivalent"
to training for other state police.
Since
then, the FedEx police department has started investigations
concerning fraud, and threats and suspicious mail directed
against company executives. Rather than make arrests,
they have turned over the cases to other law-enforcement
agencies. Ms. Krause, the FedEx spokeswoman, says the
internal police force is able to focus on FedEx concerns
that overworked local police forces might not assign
top priority.
With
its own police force, FedEx also qualified for a spot
this past spring in the Memphis-area joint terrorism
task force, whose membership is limited to "sworn
officers." A company would have to demonstrate
a compelling reason for participating on a task force.
Not every public police organization is invited or allowed
to join them, and the FBI isn't encouraging companies
to hire their own cops. The FBI ultimately wants to
create 84 task forces, which would cover all the nation's
major metropolitan areas. About 2,000 FBI agents and
1,200 local, state and federal law-enforcement officers
are members of the 66 now in operation.
Air
carriers generally have a good relationship with the
FBI because many of the airlines' security personnel
are former agents. But Memphis
has the only joint task force with air-carrier representatives.
As a result, FBI agents say, other carriers don't receive
as much information as they could. Passing intelligence
to someone not properly vetted is a federal crime.
Neither
FedEx nor the FBI will discuss the specific information
and other benefits the company has received through
its membership. But FBI officials on the task force
say the FedEx representative could help the company
tailor its response to specific threats. If terrorists
are using certain cargo trucks to move explosives closer
to aircraft, for instance, FedEx cops could alert the
company to change its loading procedure or to use new
technology to scan the suspected trucks.
Leon
Laylagian, an official of the Coalition of Airline Pilots
Association, which represents 21,000 air-crew members,
calls the FedEx strategy "a fantastic approach"
that could be "a role model for the industry as
a whole on how . . . to work in a preventive manner."
Nevertheless,
United Parcel Service, FedEx's chief rival, says it
isn't interested in trying to join a terrorist task
force. UPS spokesman Norman Black says his company believes
it gets solid data from the Department of Homeland Security,
and doesn't think FedEx gets a competitive advantage.
Mr. Black says, "We rely on the government to protect
the nation's borders. We deliver packages." |
"Thwarting the Perfect Crime"
By Jonathan Littman, illustration by Mark Oldroyd -- 4/1/2003
Electronic Business
(Click blue link above) A
great, in-depth article about the problem of theft of high-tech
goods.
TNT Express Achieves Highest Freight Security Standards Across
International Delivery Network (February, 2003)
TNT Express, the world’s leading business to business
express carrier, has committed itself to obtaining the Technology
Asset Protection Association’s (TAPA) freight security
requirements certification throughout its international delivery
network. This involves rigorous auditing of its extensive
security infrastructure and places TNT Express ahead of the
competition, especially in relation to the shipping of hi-tech
goods.
TAPA FSR certification is an important industry recognised
standard. It provides TNT Express customers with the confidence
that the company has the established freight security requirements
in place to ensure a secure network and the safe in-transit
storage and warehousing of customer assets.
The TAPA FSR certification has three categories ‘A’,
‘B’ and ‘C’ which are defined by the value
of hi-tech traffic moving through each depot – TAPA ‘A’
being multi million pounds worth of goods per month. TNT Express
has already achieved TAPA ‘A’
certification at its major European Air Hub in Liège, Belgium
and its European Road Hub in Arnhem, The Netherlands which
have seen a growing volume of hi-tech consignments. Hubs in
Paris, Amsterdam, Lyon and Brussels are also undergoing external
assessment for ‘A’ certification due to be completed
by February 2003. ‘B’ certification assessment has
been undertaken at hubs in Milan, Madrid and Linate, again
due for completion by February 2003.
Ken Matthews, Director of Security TNT Express commented,
"With the introduction of the borderless European single
market in 1993 the freight industry has seen an increase in
cross-border crime, in particular hi-tech cargo theft. With
an increasing number of global hi-tech accounts we are pleased
to have achieved independent TAPA certification at our major
road and air hubs which gives our customers confidence that
we have the industry leading security requirements in place
to minimise and eliminate where possible the risk of theft."
Onno Boots, TNT Express Director of Global Account Management,
who has overall responsibility for the company’s largest
accounts added, "TNT Express is at the forefront of the
industry in the secure shipping of high value hi-tech goods.
Achieving TAPA ‘A’ clearly puts us ahead of our
competitors when dealing with the technology industry and
we are seeing a rapid expansion in volumes from customers
in this sector, in particular on our Asia to Europe traffic
lanes."
TNT Express has a further 800 depots
around the world currently being assessed to TAPA ‘C’
which will provide a benchmark for the company’s security
standards. The process will take six months of intensive internal
auditing and following this, TNT Express will look at upgrading
to the ‘A’ or ‘B’ classification at key
depots according to the volume and value of goods passing
through.
Julian Hansen, Chairman TAPA EMEA said "TAPA FSR has
become the accepted standard for hi-tech freight security.
We are delighted that TNT Express is supporting the programme
and has achieved certification from our independent auditors."
Furthermore, due to the increasing value of the hi-tech products
being handled by the TNT Express network, additional emphasis
has been placed on robbery response training to ensure that
staff are well trained and equipped. The company also operates
an Enhanced Security Programme (ESP) that exceeds the TAPA
security requirements. ESP is a network of security coordinators
employed at hubs and depots whose sole responsibility is the
receipt and despatch of hi-tech products being carried through
the TNT Express European Network.
KWE/HKG
obtains TAPA class A certification (December, 2001)
The warehouse facilities of Kintetsu World Express (H.K.)
Limited ("KWE-HKG" represented by Yoichi Tanaka,
Managing Director) obtained a class-A certification from the
Technology Asset Protection Association ("TAPA")
Asia-Pacific. The TAPA is a non-profit association of security
professionals and related business partners from such high-technology
companies as Intel, Compaq Computer, Sun Micro Systems and
was organized first in the U.S.A. in 1997. More than 130 firms
worldwide have joined the TAPA since then. It was organized
for the purpose of addressing the emerging security threats
that are common to the technology industry. A major fundamental
TAPA objective is to affect positive change in the security
practices of the freight transportation and insurance communities
as a whole.
The Freight Security Requirements (FSR) have been established
by TAPA to ensure the safe and secure in-transit storage and
warehousing of any TAPA members assets throughout the world.
The FSR specifies the minimum acceptable standards for security
throughout the supply chain and the methods to be used in
maintaining those standards. The FSR outlines the process
and specification for Suppliers to attain TAPA certification
for their
facilities and transit operations. The service providers'
facilities can be assessed as either A, B or C category. The
class A is the highest classification level.
The certification of KWE-HKG's facilities follows that of
another KWE affiliate facilities in Penang as class-B. KWE
will seek TAPA certification to its facilities especially
in the Asia and Oceania region, among others.
Rutges
Cargo first in Europe with a TAPA safety certificate
(September, 2000)
Rutges Cargo, part of the Wim Bosman Group, is the first
company is Europe that acquired a safety certificate from
the American organisation TAPA (Technology Asset Protection
Association). The procedures, employees and vehicles were
examined and about 100 employees at Rutges Cargo followed
a special training course, The secured transport is sold under
the name of ARMS (Advanced Risk Management System). Rutges
Cargo¹s clients can choose between conventional transport
and the more expensive ARMS. Rutges hopes that the TAPA will
become the standard for security.
from TAPA Asia
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contact: info@tapaonline.org
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