Rep. Thompson welcomes U.S. Customs specs for box device

Rep. Thompson welcomes U.S. Customs specs for box device

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday published its long-awaited technical requirements for a container security device.
   The agency has not signed off on the technology in the past for use in voluntary or mandatory cargo security programs because of stated concerns that the stresses of ocean and truck transport trigger too many nuisance alarms.
   The specifications are designed to help device makers come up with a product that meets CBP requirements for detecting and providing notice of intrusion through the container doors. The announcement is not a request for proposal, but simply a request for information to help the agency and vendors understand if any devices are able to meet the government’s standards.
   CBP said basic requirements are that the device:
   ' Detects door openings after it has been armed.
   ' Uses a non-proprietary and interoperable radio frequency wireless communications platform.
   ' Provides reads at the point of origin, a designated intermediate point such as a port, and the termination point.
   ' Provides high probability of detection.
   ' Provides low probability of false alarms.
   ' Provides low probability of critical failure.
   The requirements document specifically eliminates from consideration so-called electronic seals that are attached to the locking mechanism on the outside of the container. CBP said it wants devices that are mounted inside the container or trailer for security purposes. Other considerations are that the CSD not adversely affect normal shipping operations, installation or removal of the device doesn’t require special tools, and that it does not nullify ISO certification or decrease cargo capacity.
   CBP’s performance requirements are that the CSD be at least 95 percent accurate detecting actual door openings and that the combined false alarm and failure rate not exceed 4 percent of loads. The device must be able to communicate with a reader at a minimum distance of 100 feet, and 10 feet for a hand-held reader.
   The CSD is to include data elements such as the container ID number, the seal number, the manifest number, as well as trip and status information.
   CBP said it would hold open its request for information for 60 days.
   Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement to Shippers’ NewsWire that the request for information is welcome but long overdue.
   He reiterated concern that DHS and CBP may try to limit the use of the devices to specific applications instead of requiring them on all inbound containers and truck trailers.
   “Congress mandated the placement of container security devices on all cargo containers coming into the United States — anything less would be a disservice to the American public who are looking to the department to improve maritime security,' Thompson said.
   Meanwhile, GE Security issued a statement of intent to respond to CBP’s request. GE Security makes a device called CommerceGuard that CBP tested for a few years in an attempt to quickly implement its “Smart Box” initiative and give so-called “green lane” status to shippers who voluntarily deployed it as part of a security certification program. But CBP officials became frustrated with the performance of the GE Security device, especially with what they claimed were unacceptable nuisance alarm rates, and lost interest in the technology until Congress pushed for its evaluation as part of the SAFE Ports Act.
   GE Security officials held that their system worked well but that CBP requirements seemed to be a moving target because they were not well documented.
   The new technical requirements are in part an attempt to correct that problem and give technology providers a fixed set of goals for their products to meet.
   CommerceGuard has the advantage of meeting the CBP specification that the device be mounted in the interior of the shipping box or trailer.
   To read the summary and full document, visit the Federal Business Opportunities Web site at: www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/USCS/PDDC20229/Reference%2DNumber%2DRFICSD/listing.html. ' Eric Kulisch