Maple highlights mounting cargo crime
Vehicle security specialist Maple has drawn attention to recent figures released by TAPA, the Transport Asset Protection Association, suggesting that in just a 100-day period more than 800 cargo crime incidents were recorded, with losses totalling €26,200,000.
“As the cost of living crisis intensifies and its effects take a tighter and tighter grip on the economy, there are concerns that acquisitive crimes are likely to rise – leading many within the industry to question if cargo crime is set to spike over the coming months,” said Maple.
“Whether these concerns are justified remains to be seen but what is certain, is that road transport remains the most vulnerable part of the supply chain. This is perhaps of little surprise when we consider the fact that when goods are housed within the relative safety of a warehouse, they are protected by multiple layers of security.
“Yet conversely, the moment those same goods are loaded onto a vehicle and entrusted to a single person (whom we may not even know) this shield of protection is instantly weakened.”
Securing a commercial vehicle requires a multi-dimensional approach, says Maple, which has more than 40 years of experience of working with security-conscious carriers.
“Maple recognises that each operator has their own unique requirements, which is why they offer a modular solution that can be adapted to your fleet, ensuring operational efficiency is never comprised at the expense of achieving greater security,” said the company.
“The starting point is of course physical protection. Maple’s portfolio caters for all commercial vehicle specifications and door types, including shutter, barndoors, refrigerated bodies and panel vans. The Integritas and FreightLock ranges allow the user to specify the desired level of physical security, with the option to integrate electronic sealing capabilities for enhanced load integrity.”
Arguably the most important consideration when specifying goods in transit security applications is the role of access control, Maple contends.
“Understanding the requirements of who needs access and when, whilst ensuring the right methods of control are in place to manage any lost or missing fobs, is crucial to maintaining security,” it continued.
“The Maple access control platform enables operators to simply and effectively manage their own keyfobs. It allows administrators to configure user credentials, such as which vehicles can be accessed and how long the keyfob is valid for, whilst lost or missing keyfobs can be deleted from circulation.
“Alternatively, operators can opt to remove keyfobs completely and manage access with PIN codes – providing authorised users with the ability to unlock vehicles by inputting a secure code.”
Maple also supports a range of advanced access control options that it says are particularly beneficial for scenarios where a large number of users may require fleet wide access (i.e. trailer fleets).
“The recently launched ‘Fob Validation’ platform provides operators with the ability to enable secure, time limited access to authorised personnel,” said the company.
“In operation, users simply ‘validate’ their keyfob as required, for a pre-defined period of time (i.e. 12 hours, 1 week etc), thus facilitating greater control and minimising any risk of illicit behaviour.”
The final building block for an effective access control solution is data, it adds.
“As data plays an increasingly important role across all businesses, the appetite for insightful information around security operations is growing.
“The Maple access control platform ensures all door activity is captured as part of a comprehensive audit trail, including who accessed a vehicle, when and where. All of this information can then be transmitted to the client’s database, thus providing an indisputable electronic event-log that assigns accountability, providing complete transparency of operation.”
