Netshield has introduced Cell Lock, a system that secures goods in transit for logistics companies.
The system only allows the unlocking sequence of a door on a cargo unit when the vehicle transporting it reaches and enters the pre-assigned GPS perimeter, or destination geo-fenced area, of the delivery destination.
According to Netshield, Cell Lock was designed for easy fitment in the cargo container of logistics vehicles, and has an intelligent GPS locating and GSM communicating module that controls the locking and unlocking of a bolt locking system in vehicles.
The company says the lock can only be unlocked with two or more preselected options, when the container reaches a pre-allocated environment, within an allocated time. Once the destination is reached, the distributing and/or receiving supervisor action and then only if a predefined unlocking procedure is followed.
Buying time
Inus Dreckmeyr, CEO at Netshield, says the system was designed to buy more time for armed response to reach a vehicle in the event of a security problem. "Goods can't be tampered with while en route to their destination."
In this way, control is placed back into the hands of the logistics supervisor, who can also, with the addition of several sensors, continually view the vehicles progress and position, as well as monitor environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and flooding or leaks, he says.
"This is of particular value to companies with sensitive cargo such as food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Additionally, the geo-fence locking mechanism can assist cash-in-transit firms to add an additional layer of security to their vehicles," Dreckmeyr adds.
He says Cell Lock's ability to disconnect the driver from the system completely makes it popular in high-security situations. The door will not unlock under any circumstances, unless it has reached its intended destination, specific security codes that are generated by the supervisor on its arrival are used, or if it is brought back to the depot.
Transgression detection
Organisations can also leverage transgression detection, such as noting that a door is open while the vehicle is moving and suchlike. It also features an alarm dashboard, so that the logistics manager or supervisor can get a bird's eye view of the cargo and its movements for analysis at a later stage.
The lock can be overridden with an RFID card at the main warehouse to speed up loading and offloading, and additional intelligence can be built into the system by adding an RFID antenna that can track what goods are offloaded at each delivery point, sending this information back to the system.
"Fitting this device to delivery vehicles radically reduces the probability of internally orchestrated loss and theft, and increases the time needed to enter the vehicle in a hijacking situation," says Dreckmeyr.
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