Transport of liquids and fuels: Six advantages the PROTEC2 CLIQ^™ access management solution offers

The transport of liquids and fuels is one of the hardest hit by theft within the transport and logistics industry, as they are mostly high-cost products – especially in the case of fuels, whose reselling is very attractive in illicit markets.

Likewise, the transport of food, such as milk, has also been affected; although it’s not highly priced, it is a basic product for a large number of households. The resale of milk, as a result of theft or adulteration, can become very lucrative, with the added risk of contamination likely to cause diseases in consumers and with significant damage to the reliability and reputation of the manufacturer or the logistics company.

In percentage terms, the losses by theft or adulteration of fuels sum up to 0.5%. That is a figure that may seem to be of little significance, but in just one country, Colombia, where more than 5 billion gallons of fuel are distributed per year, this "small" percentage represents about 25 million gallons, with a cost of around $50 million. In the most severe cases, these losses can amount to up to 2.5%.

Safety and security challenges in the transport of liquids and fuels

The challenges that the transport of liquids and fuels face are similar to those in other areas of transport. These challenges are the complicity of transporters in thefts and the scarce, ineffective or even non-existent controls in the process of filling, transporting and emptying these substances.

Similar to the safety of transport of goods, seals are used as protection, but they can be easily breached, thus allowing to a large extent the abduction, adulteration or contamination of the products, and there is even the possibility of fatal accidents due to improper handling.

In addition, there are some aggravating factors, such as the extensive distribution network of fuels and liquids in almost every country, the variety of geographic locations between the points of origin and the destinations of these substances, as well as variations in the volume transported due to temperature changes. Such factors make control tasks much more difficult to execute than those cases when other types of goods are transported (solids of any kind).

For this reason, the transport of liquids and fuels has a preset "acceptable" loss rate, which is abused by thieves to stay away from the radar (when it comes to the drivers themselves), and the corresponding cost is transferred directly to the end user. This is the reason behind the high cost of such products in the market.

How can manufacturers running their own tanker truck fleets, or the companies dedicated exclusively to the transport of liquids and fuels, have better control to avoid losses and significantly reduce costs and leverage their growth in the market?

Six advantages PROTEC2 CLIQ^™ offers for security in the transport of liquids and fuels

Abloy has an access management solution which allows for the control and monitoring of the openings of these devices while it minimises the handling of substances by the carrier.

PROTEC2 CLIQ^™ offers great advantages to carriers of these types of substances:

1.    Decreased spending on ineffective solutions

Examples include seals or electronic seals that can easily be breached and adulterated and therefore fail to prevent theft.

2.    Accurate identification of everyone involved in the process

The solution requires the validation and authentication of each of the individuals involved in the process of using the padlocks at the plant in which the filling has been made, during the journey and when offloading in the place established by the customer.

3.    Low impact on infrastructure adequacy

Quick deployment and use – the keys are instantly programmable with the access management software, wire-free mobile programming device and the CLIQ Connect mobile solution. Tanker trucks do not require special adaptations for the implementation of the solution, so no additional costs are generated for the transport companies.

4.    Audit trail available for each action

The PROTEC2 CLIQ solution allows end-to-end traceability of the transportation process, which can be followed through an audit trail; it is also possible to obtain management reports of the operation, and to carry out audits from the access control software.

5.    Increased reliability

The solution helps transport companies build reliability, credibility and market recognition for their ability to transport the product under optimal conditions.

6.    Global presence at your service

ABLOY Competence Centres, sales units and distributors on six continents provide customers with technical expertise, professional service and support.

Luis Quijada
Key Account Manager, Colombia
ABLOY Critical Infrastructure