FEATURE ARTICLE

November 2005

Researchers Seek the ‘Perfect Shipping Container’

By Joe Pappalardo

The Department of Homeland Security is investing in a host of programs, both long and short-term, to create the perfect shipping box.

The ideal solution, according to DHS officials supervising the research, would feature some cutting-edge attributes, including the ability to communicate any incident back to a command center, detect breaches in any door or wall, lessen weights and embed sensors in the walls of the crate. Also on the wish list are security systems that can monitor the boxes within those crates, allowing officials to keep an eye on them as they pass from port to train to truck.

“We have to make sure the domestic leg is protected,” said Elaine Dezenski, acting assistant secretary for policy and planning in DHS’ Border and Transportation Security Directorate.

The ambitious goal faces some obstacles. One of them is finding an appropriate battery to power security devices. In order to match the batteries with the pace at which cargo containers are maintained, a battery with a 10-year life span is needed, Dezenski said.

Another obstacle, she said, is a disagreement on the way the devices should communicate with a wider monitoring network. Also, there is no agreement on how to handle data shared by rail, shipping and trucking industries, despite the fact the supply chain links them all.

“We’re going to have a tremendous amount of work to do on standardization,” Dezenski said.

Also lacking is a testing methodology to ensure the reliability of detectors. “We can only tolerate less than a 1 percent false positive rate,” she said, emphasizing the need for strict standards and testing regimes.

The DHS container projects are in various stages of development. The long-term solution is intended to be an Advanced Container Security Device, which is meant to become the next-generation shipping container.

The program is expected to down-select from five contractors to three next year, with the goal of testing prototypes by fiscal year 2007. Final testing and production are anticipated by 2008 or 2009, according to Bob Knetl, container program manager for HSARPA (Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency).

Additional container programs include the Marine Asset Tag Tracking System, Knetl said. This system aims to defeat a prominent problem in maritime shipping security—the need for clear signal paths from satellites for positioning and communications.

In maritime shipping, containers are placed on ship decks and in holds with less than a foot between the containers on all sides. On deck, containers can be stacked six to 20 high. Signals from tags to satellites can be blocked. This is not as great a problem for trucking and rail cargo, where the containers are not stacked as tightly.

By the end of the year, he said, DHS program managers are expected to approve standards for the containers’ security architecture, a first crucial step. By 2008, production and testing of the maritime component is expected to begin, he added.

Joint testing with rail and road systems, Knetl said, will help the eventual push for a common tag for each mode of transport.

Policy and technology drive and influence each other in government, Dezenski said. She stressed, however, that the private sector had to be convinced that changing its ways or using novel devices was cost effective. Technology, she said, could help convince shippers to adapt to the new security paradigm.

There is ample room for improvement at several critical steps in the supply chain, Dezenski and Knetl said. For example, the initial packing of a carton, called “stuffing” by the shipping industry, offers little verification of what is being placed inside. Even in situations where the shipper has this information, it rarely is shared with the U.S. government.

DHS officials frequently stated their intention to expand worldwide use of radio frequency identification tagging for track shipments at a level below the 20 foot-by-40 foot shipping container, even down to the carton, box or item.

In pursuit of this goal, HSARPA initiated a “secure carton initiative,” and plans to select five contractors in 2006 to produce prototypes within the next year. “Our primary goal is to detect a tamper event,” Knetl said.

Secure cartons of various or flexible sizes, compatible with existing ISO containers, will have a secure “skin” or boundary that can detect tampering, an active RFID and secure information-sharing system, a local communications capability for alerting the Advanced Container Security Device—and through it, the National Targeting Center—of any integrity breach.

An advanced materials container program is looking at sophisticated composites to create a sensor-studded container that would be 30 to 50 percent lighter than current equivalents, Knetl said. That would translate into savings for the shippers, as well as added security, he said. It could also help sell the program to shippers who are reluctant to take on additional cost.

“The scope of the problem, from a security standpoint, is quite broad,” Dezenski said. “Research and development can contribute to better policy, and vice versa.”

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