NEWS\\\


Issue 8 2019 - Freight Business Journal


7


Tech is no magic bullet for Irish border


The possibilities for connected technology are almost limitless, but it should not be considered as a silver bullet to solve difficult issues such as the Irish land border aſter Brexit, says Nick Smith, UK regional sales manager for security specialist, Genetec. In an interview with FBJ at


the opening of the company’s new UK headquarters in the City of London on 21 November, he said he personally believed that the technology to create a completely frictionless Irish border did not exist, or at any rate did not exist yet. “The technology isn’t there to check every single vehicle,” he explained. While systems


to capture truck number plates exist, and are growing in capability, the information is of little use in isolation. The situation at a land border


like Northern Ireland’s, where vehicles are constantly crossing and re-crossing is different from monitoring vehicles entering a seaport through a limited number of gates, where the vast majority of trucks would be expected and the number of unexpected vehicles quite small. On the Irish border, by contrast, said Smith, “in 80% if cases, you would have no idea who they are, or where they are going.” Nor would number plate reading technology necessarily


be able to deal with the problem of


‘cloned’ vehicles, or goods


being shiſted from one truck to another. Some politicians, notably


Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have suggested that the Irish border problem aſter Brexit could be solved by some technological ‘fix’ that would be able to control goods movements and secure revenue while retaining the current frictionless situation. However, as Smith points out, other land borders in Europe such as Switzerland are still controlled through


traditional provide miracle border


checks and customs posts. But while technology cannot a


cure for Ziegler to open London Gateway site


The UK arm of Belgian- headquartered forwarding and logistics company Ziegler has taken a long-term lease on an ambient distribution facility at DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, due to be completed in April 2020. The 95,000sq ſt warehouse will be its London logistics hub, handling import and export


consignments as well as its UK headquarters. Ziegler UK will offer customs,


deconsolidation and supply chain services. The Ziegler Group operates


sites in 15 countries, and the new distribution centre will handle products arriving at London Gateway from around the world


through to final destination. Managing director of Ziegler


UK, Lee Marshall, described the new site as “an unrivalled location, not only right beside DP World’s state-of-the-art deep sea port and rail network, but close to London, the South East and all major access roads. This will allow us to continue to facilitate the fast,


the UK’s post-Brexit issues, the possibilities of linking up different systems are very exciting, he continued. Genetec has been working with a number of UK port operators, including Hutchison in Felixstowe on integrating information used for security purposes such as video monitoring or driver biometrics with automatic number plate reading (ANPR) systems and the vehicle booking systems that are increasingly being used in UK ports. “We’re moving from being focussed solely on security to the management of vehicles and cargo,” he said. Genetec was increasingly working with other data providers to link systems together, something that was


being increasingly made possible by the new generation of IP (Internet protocol) soſtware. The day was not too far off


when information on how traffic was flowing on a main trunk road many miles from the port could be fed into the port operator’s own system, allowing it to see at a glance when traffic could be expected and whether there would be any surges or bottlenecks. Traffic information from the likes of Google was becoming increasingly detailed and accurate. ANPR, too, had become a much more reliable and effective tool in recent years. As with the Irish border issue,


Smith points out that technology can be a huge help in detecting stowaways in freight, but it is not


the whole answer and human expertise will always have an important part to play. Artificial intelligence and machine learning could be deployed to detect minute differences in the density or temperature of scanned cargo in trailers, for example, and could help human operators decide whether or not to physically intervene. It’s impossible to say whether


available technology could have prevented the recent tragedy in Tilbury in which 39 stowaways died in a refrigerated trailer. “The technology isn’t completely foolproof though maybe, given enough budget, it could be made so in perhaps three years’ time. Technology and computing power needs to evolve – but I think it will get there.”


global flow of goods and save our clients’ money, while also ensuring a more sustainable supply chain that reduces carbon emissions and protects the environment. “The best in class building


will provide a range of bespoke customer solutions including value-added services, from bespoke packaging to customs related formalities and fiscal representation, providing a personalised service for clients.”


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