provided by: Modern Materials HandlingEver since Sept. 11, 2001, security has been higher on the to-do list of most companies. It's true at the enterprise level, and it's also true at the factory and warehouse.
?There is certainly more awareness of security today than there was 20 years ago,? says Bryan Jensen, a partner with the St. Onge Company (717-840-8181, www.stonge.com). In part, says Jensen, that's because the value of some products has gone up dramatically while the cost of technology to segregate it has gotten more justifiable.
Security is especially important in industries like pharmaceuticals and retail that distribute high-value products that can easily be pocketed by employees, truckers and delivery personnel. ?As a general rule, if a company takes security measures around a product in a store, it's probably kept in a secure area in the DC,? says Jensen.
With that in mind, here are 10 ways companies can use technology and materials handling systems to create a more secure plant or distribution center.
1. TOTES, PACKAGING AND STORAGE
One of the simplest ways to secure high-value products is to create a system for storing and routing those items through the DC, says Jensen. For instance, the highest value products can be stored near the top of a high-bay, narrow-aisle storage area. ?If you store product 65 feet up in the air and restrict access to the turret truck to authorized personnel, you limit the opportunities for pilferage,? Jensen says.
Some retailers create another layer of security by routing high-value products through the facility, or to a store, in different color totes than regular merchandise and apply a security seal. ?If the seal is broken, a DC supervisor or store manager knows to inspect that tote right away,? Jensen says.
2. FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Fleet management systems are most commonly used to optimize the use of lift trucks and operators. But these systems can also be used to provide a measure of security, says Ken Ehrman, president and chief operating officer of I.D. Systems (201-996-9000, www.id-systems.com). For starters, the systems can be programmed to ensure that only trained and authorized drivers get access to a vehicle. In addition, the system allows end users to create a ?geofence? that limits access to an area to those operators who are authorized to be there.
?If an unauthorized driver tries to enter one of those areas, he will first get an alert on his display that he's entering an area where he's not supposed to be,? says Ehrman. ?If he ignores the warning, the system will disable the vehicle and send an alert to a supervisor.?
3. SECURE WMS
Warehouse management systems (WMS), like lift truck management systems, are usually used to control inventory and optimize the activities of operators. Those same track and trace capabilities can be tied into other systems to create a more secure DC, says Steve Simmerman, a partner with NextView Software (602-524-7662, www.nextviewsoftware.com). ?If you integrate a WMS system into a broader security system, you can track who accessed an area, when they were there, and get visibility into the inventory they picked,? says Simmerman.
4. AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING SOLUTIONS
?When it comes to high-value items, security is a No. 1 priority,? says Jeff Hedges, director of business development for HK Systems (800-457-978367, www.hksystems.com). ?That's especially true if you have small high-value items that can be easily obtained and confiscated.?
Highly automated materials handling systems that eliminate or reduce the human activity in those areas are one way to secure that inventory. In those solutions, raw materials and sensitive products are taken directly from the receiving dock into a secure area for processing. The product is then transported directly to the storage area to avoid staging. Often, that is done without human intervention, using an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) to transport the material and an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) for storage. ?The goal is to eliminate as much human handling as possible,? says Hedges.
5. RFID PORTAL
Jewelers and retailers have traditionally created a ?cage? area for their high-value products, accessed by lock and key. ?That's an area where we're seeing the introduction of RFID technology to automate processes and enhance security,? says Jerry McNerney, senior director of transportation, distribution and logistics solutions for Motorola (847-576-5000, www.symbol.com).
One approach is to create an RFID portal at the entrance. Access is only granted to authorized people who are identified by an RFID chip in their badge when they pass through the portal. Meanwhile, the portal also reads the RFID tags on the products leaving that area, associating a product with an individual. ?That creates a checking process,? says McNerney. ?You know when someone is in the area, and you know all the products they pulled out of that area.?
6. REAL-TIME LOCATION SYSTEMS/VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
Real-time locating systems (RTLS) use RFID technology to accurately track objects to within a few feet of their actual location. That technology is now being combined with video surveillance technology to initiate camera-recording whenever a tagged product is scanned. ?Right now, the technology is being used by logistics companies to record transactions in the warehouse for customer dispute resolution,? says Josh Slobin, director of marketing for AeroScout (650-596-2994, www.aeroscout.com). ?That's why recording starts when an item is scanned. However, the system could be programmed to trigger recording any time it senses that a tagged product has moved.? That would create a video record of whoever moves the product.
7. SECURE PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
No matter how secure the plant or DC, high-value products are vulnerable once they're loaded onto a pallet and leave the facility. One new solution, developed for the armed forces, involves tamper-resistant stretch wrap. Today, a stretch wrapper is retrofitted with a device that applies a thin wire with resistance performance, along with the stretch wrap, to the load. At the end of the process, an RFID label that includes a circuit to monitor the resistance levels on the stretch wrap is also applied. If someone cuts the stretch wrap to remove product, the circuit is broken. Software can then send an alert that will notify a decision maker that something is amiss.
The next step, says Jeff Middlesworth, principal development engineer, for Pliant Corporation, (847-969-3306, www.pliantcorp.com), a manufacturer of stretch film, is to replace the wire with a conductive silver ink that can be printed on the stretch wrap.
8. YARD MANAGEMENT
Knowing who is going in and out of your DC is important. So is knowing who is going in and out of the yard. That's where yard management systems (YMS) come into play, according to Chad Collins, vice president of global strategy for HighJump Software (800-328-3271, www.highjump.com). ?During the check-in process, a yard management system is collecting information, like the commercial driver's license of the trucker, and comparing what's being delivered to what was supposed to be delivered,? says Collins.
The system will also direct people at the gate to capture the serialized number on any container seals and inspect for tampering. While containers are in the yard, a YMS enables audits to make sure the right containers are in the yard and in the right locations. Finally, the system validates that the right container or trailer is leaving the yard with the right driver.
9. ELECTRONIC SEALS
Mechanical seals have long been used to secure shipping containers and trailers. Electronic seals, which include real-time locating and communication capabilities, are the next step, according to Pat Burns, vice president of licensing for Savi Technology (650-316-4700, www.savi.com). ?An electronic seal is a lot like a bicycle lock,? says Burns. ?There's a mechanical component that secures the container in transit. Then, there's an electronic component that can proactively record the time the seal has been breached and send an alert to a pager, cell phone or handheld device.? Used in combination with RTLS technology, the seal can also broadcast its location in the yard.
10. NETWORK SECURITY
Real-time information is the fuel that powers the supply chain. The Wi-Fi networks that enable wireless communication inside a factory or DC, however, are easily hacked, according to Dave Kennedy, practice lead for profiling and e.Discovery for SecureState (216-927-0115, www.securestate.com), a network security consulting company. ?We have been able to sit in a car a half mile away from a manufacturing plant, and gain access to their network in just 10 minutes,? says Kennedy. ?There's a lot of exposure there.?
While Kennedy says network security is primarily the responsibility of corporate IT personnel, there are steps plant and DC managers can take to limit easy access to their networks. ?The goal is to minimize the points of exposure to your network,? says Kennedy. ?A manager can make sure there's no exposed network cable that someone can plug a computer into. You can also ask employees and security guards to keep an eye out for people driving near the facility with big antennas on their cars. There's a sport in the hacker community called war driving, where the hackers drive around and look for weak access points they can attack.? Factories and warehouses are prime targets for war drivers.
author: By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large
Modern Materials Handling. Copyright © 2008 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.