Smart box initiative frustrates Bonner

Smart box initiative frustrates Bonner    Efforts to develop a tamper-evident container seal linked to a sensor that can indicate whether the doors have been opened have been slower to achieve than expected, said Robert Bonner, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner.
   A year ago the commissioner proposed that a minimum best practice for participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and receiving “green lane” benefits for customs clearance should include the requirement to use an mechanical hard-bolt seal with a display tied to a sensor to detect intrusions that might signal whether smugglers had tried to enter the box. Bonner’s prescription was relatively simple and did not include electronic seals linked to tracking systems.
   “It has been frustrating to get this to happen,” Bonner acknowledged in a meeting with reporters at Customs headquarters. “It’s amazing that someone hasn’t figured this out yet.”.
   The biggest problem has been the “cacophony” of systems, products and advise-givers.
   A pilot program is underway in which several large C-TPAT member companies are testing a so-called smart box device.
   “We don’t have it down to an acceptable level of false reads,” Bonner said.
   Bonner said if sophisticated refrigerated trailers and containers can be outfitted with sensors to monitor and adjust temperature then “why can’t we have a smart container for security against terrorists?”