To say that Alpha Cargo Technology (ACT!) is unique is an understatement. We stand apart from the competition in so many ways. At ACT! we challenge ourselves everyday to follow a different path toward the ultimate in supply chain security. Our philosophy is simple:
- To lead…never follow the competition.
- To not sell our customers but to assist them with securing their supply chain.
- To specialize in products that provide true tamper evidence, not a false sense of security. You will never hear us say, “that all seals can be defeated (opened without leaving evidence) given time, tools, and opportunity”…as you do from the competition.
- To never send a seal salesman (pushing for his commission) to help our clients. Only ACT! engineers are trained on the advantages and disadvantages of all seals on the market, and are experts on providing seal solutions to improve your supply chain security.
- To constantly learn what the bad guys know, update and improve our products, and pass the results to our loyal customers...the good guys! We never push worn out designs that provide only a false sense of security.
- To always exceed the requirements of ISO and all other testing/standards bodies.
Why is the seal design solution so critical? Simple…by definition, a seal’s only purpose is to provide absolute evidence of tampering. Given the effort that your firm has devoted to C-TPAT requirements and to securing your supply chain, it makes little sense to allow anything but the very best mechanical seal into your supply chain. That one very small detail (the seal) is your only proof of what has transpired while your container, rail car, or truck has moved from the head to end of your supply chain. Do you really want something that is easily tampered with and allows for theft and clandestine entry?
The ubiquitous bolt seal is not without is problems and is no longer considered an option for Tier Level 3 status under C-TPAT rules. Why? For many reasons including the vulnerability of the door hasp (the rivets can be removed from the hardware allowing entry without altering the bolt seal). Also, two part seals such as bolts are vulnerable because their parts are interchangeable. Defeating a bolt seal is easy by cutting or removing one part (to gain entry) and replacing any damaged part with another (to hide the illegal action). Bolts are also vulnerable to an attack known as spinning which defeats the seal and allows for theft and clandestine entry.
The best business case solution (one that is affordable) is a heavy duty cable seal which prevents entry (by removing the rivet on the door hardware) by securing the keeper bars. However…BEWARE as not all cable seals are created equal. Cable seals are not without their inherent design problems which allow for ratcheting, picking, removal and changing of the cable, and freezing. All are very common techniques for manipulating and defeating the seals predominant in today’s market. The bad guys know all about this, do you? Fortunately, there are time tested solutions for all of these defeat techniques (ACT! patented designs) which make for the best possible high security seal on the market today. Your current vendor will say these problems don’t exist (would you expect them to say something else?), yet our growing customer base knows differently. Looking for something new, something that truly works, something different than the “same old-same old”? Why not talk to the design solution experts at ACT! regarding best business case solutions that simply will not let you down.
