 | Welcome to TT Talk Edition 130
Dear Brian The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry's leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. TT Talk is a newsletter dedicated to providing information about legal, regulatory and loss prevention developments to participants in the transport, logistics and shipping industry. It is published as and when information is available and will be circulated to our exclusive database. I hope you find this edition of TT Talk interesting and helpful to you in your professional life. I will be delighted to pass-on subsequent editions to you and welcome your comments on content and possible improvements to TT Talk. Ian Lush
 Marketing Director, TT Club
Contents: 1. Supply chain security - new handbook
2. A problem with flatracks
3. Container corner fitting failures
4. Good practice in handling packaged dangerous goods
5. Conclusion
1. Supply chain security - new handbook
The TT Club, in collaboration with the International Security Panel of ICHCA International, launches a new handbook on Supply Chain Security.
This handbook entitled ‘Supply Chain Security - Management, initiatives & technologies’ is intended as a guide to operators on how best to enhance value through effective security implementation. It aims to define the principles of security in the supply chain and to guide all operators in the supply chain on how to enhance value through effective security implementation. The handbook not only promotes good practice but also explains why security need not be seen as an unnecessary drain on resources and can actually provide a significant contribution to the bottom line.
Ports and cargo handling terminals - as key nodal points - are vulnerable links in the supply chain from the security point of view. However, all operators throughout the supply chain are exposed to security issues and commercial realities mean that the effective integration of security regimes into business workflow is critical.
A number of initiatives have been developed on supply chain security, and have gone some way to improve security - for instance TT Club has noted a fall in the number of incidents of pilferage and theft at ports since 2002 when ISPS was implemented. But, as Carina Dixon, who chairs ICHCA’s International Security Panel, points out these initiatives had limited value in international terms. ‘The real problem with such protocols is enforcement and reciprocity. Although many countries signed up to the ISPS Code, enforcement remains the responsibility of the ship’s flag state or the country in which a port was based. What is lacking is a globally verifiable and universally accepted standard’, she observes.
The answer in part is provided by ISO 28000:2007 ‘Specification for Security Management Systems for the Supply Chain’, which provides what ISO terms ‘A high-level management standard that enables an organisation to establish an overall supply chain security management system’. In other words, a means of analysing the security implications of systems and practices currently in use, so that the operator can adapt the way things are done to meet security requirements.
TT Club’s Risk Management Director, Peregrine Storrs-Fox, believes there are a number of practical benefits to be gained from adopting ISO 28000. ‘The standard has been designed to incorporate most of the requirements of the various security regulations and initiatives now in force, so by adopting ISO 28000, operators will automatically be complying with these regulations - it’s a sort of security one-stop-shop’, says Storrs-Fox.
The TT Club continues to encourage its members to adopt ISO 28000. The standard offers a systematic approach to security management that can both improve operational capabilities and increase confidence on the part of customers and regulators. All businesses that are reliant on the supply chain for business continuity will benefit by adopting the sound management principles in ISO 28000.
Storrs-Fox asserts that ISO 28000 offers a different approach to supply chain security, ‘If you look at security from an operational management perspective, and integrate it with your management systems, then you can start to see how it can work for you and bring benefits. It’s a question of making security part of the way you manage your business’, he went on. In the longer term, being certified to ISO 28000 is likely to deliver competitive advantage. Customers will be more inclined to contract with those who are following good practice in security matters. It will demonstrate to customers, business partners and employees a company’s commitment to effective security practices and the protection of their personnel, goods and assets.
The booklet is available both in printed form and in a web-based version, the latter providing links to further information. It will be available free to Members of the TT Club and ICHCA International, and can be purchased by non-members at £36 through the TT Club website and from ICHCA. 2. A problem with flatracks
The handling of flatracks is an issue which affects many TT Club Members. ICHCA International in its Information Paper No 45 reports the details of possible problems as described by a member:
‘We have identified a type of flatrack that can give problems during engaging/ disengaging with certain spreaders when the sides of the flatrack are collapsed. With the ends collapsed, the type of flatrack has a recess on the perimeter of each corner fitting. When a spreader with mechanical interlocks is used and the spreader twistlocks are landed and engaged into the four corners, it is very likely that the deposit pins of the spreader will coincide with the recess and as a result, the spreader control system will give a false indication and the crane operator will not be able to release the spreader from the flatrack using the crane controls.
If the spreader gets jammed on a flatrack it can be recovered by raising the deposit pins to the ‘engaged position’ through manual intervention of engineering personnel. If the problem occurs on the quayside, then there is no particular safety issue as the spreader can be accessed easily. However if the problem occurs on a vessel, engineering personnel need to access the stranded spreader in some way or other bearing in mind that the spreader may be located 6 high above deck and the quay crane is inoperable due to the jammed spreader. So this presents a risk to Engineering personnel.
In order to prevent spreaders developing this fault during discharge operations, we have issued an instruction to all personnel to check the corner fittings of collapsed flatracks prior to engaging with a spreader. Flatracks with a recess are to be handled with an overheight frame without mechanical interlocks. Alternatively, these types of flatracks should be placed in the middle of a bundle and not at the top.’
3. Container corner fitting failures
Another concern to TT Club Members are failures of container corner fittings. ICHCA International in its Information Paper No.46 reports that the recent meeting of ICHCA International’s International Safety Panel (ISP) in Casablanca considered a report on accidents in which lifting twistlocks have pulled out from the top corner fittings of freight containers. A discussion ensued on the implications and the possible causes of such incidents.
As a consequence, ISP has recommended that a confidential system be set up for its members to report such failures. The purpose of this will be to establish facts and also the possible degree of the problem. Accordingly, members of ICHCA International are invited to submit to the Secretariat (email address: info@icha.com) details of such incidents using the following headings:
- Date of incident
- Container number
- Container manufacturer
- Date manufactured
- Country of manufacturer
- Description of incident
- Container payload
- Cargo weight
- If moving under PES Scheme - date of last examination
- If moving under an ACEP Scheme - ACEP number
- Port/terminal of handling at time of incident
- Contact name and email address
It is stressed that such reports will be treated as confidential and only a summary analysis will be prepared for the meeting of ICHCA International’s International Safety Panel (IPS) in Tokyo on 18/19 October 2010.
The TT Club encourages those members who handle freight containers to take part in this survey and to provide the above details whenever such incidents occur. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
4. Good practice in handling packaged dangerous goods
The TT Club has issued its updated guide to risk management in relation to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, based on amendment 34-08.
‘The importance of compliance in the handling of packaged dangerous goods for international transit can’t be over-emphasised’, states Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT Club’s Risk Management Director. This latest guide, jointly produced by TT Club and ICHCA International, provides a quick reference to the marking and summary documentary requirements based on Amendment 34-08 of the IMDG Code, which became mandatory on 1 January 2010.
A high proportion of international packaged cargoes are deemed to have the potential to be dangerous to those who work in the supply chain. Despite this, millions of tonnes of such goods are safely transported every year, primarily due to international standards specifying how these commodities, whose properties vary widely, can safely be handled during packing, loading and unloading and in transit via different modes of transport. Codes have been developed for individual modes under an overall United Nations umbrella and the IMDG Code is the applicable publication for sea carriage.
Up-dated every two years by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), this Code specifies the ways in which dangerous goods are classified, packaged, marked and labelled, documented, stowed, secured and segregated inside freight containers and ro-ro vehicles; plus the relevant ‘placarding’ on the outside as well as stowage and segregation on the terminal and on-board the ship. A basic essential is for the goods to be properly classified and there are nine classes in the UN classification system. Once identified, the Code then specifies in detail the correct way of handling each substance.
Compliance with the IMDG Code by all the parties concerned is crucial to the safe receipt, handling, stowage and conveying of packaged dangerous goods. ICHCA International first published an explanatory document for its members on the IMDG Code in 1992 and has updated it every two years in line with amendments to the Code. Together with TT Club it has now re-published two pocket cards, as part of this latest guide and these appear under their appropriate covers. The first card (coded ‘IIL/1’) deals with documentation and specifies what detailed description must be included in declarations made by the shipper, according to the class of the substance or article. The second card (‘IIL/2’) shows all the various labels/placards, signs and marks that are appropriate in each case. Both pocket cards are intended to be carried and used as a reference during the working day.
The guide comes both in printed form and as a PDF, the latter providing links to related information. The PDF is downloadable from the publications menu on the Home page of the TT Club. It is also possible to request the printed version free of charge. However, a contribution to production costs may be required for larger orders. Please follow the instructions on the website for ordering printed copies. The guide is also available from ICHCA International Ltd.
As previously highlighted by TT Club, the latest amendment to the IMDG Code includes a mandatory provision for the training of shore-side workers, critically for personnel working for shippers, agents, forwarders, consolidators and others dealing with the goods and documents prior to entering the supply chain. The TT Club and ICHCA International have both advised their members to inform their shipper customers of this requirement and have highlighted the Exis Technologies e-learning package as one way of supporting appropriate function-specific training. Conclusion We hope that you will have found the above item interesting. If you would like to have further information about it, or have any comments you would like to make, please email the editor. We look forward to hearing from you.
Peter Stockli
Editor
for the TT Club
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