TÜV Rheinland announced that it has been approved in North America as a third-party auditing body for the Trucking Security Requirements certification by the Transported Asset Protection Association. The TSRs include certifiable standards that help provide at least minimum levels of security throughout the supply chain using trucking and associated operations.
The TSR accreditation complements TÜV Rheinland’s Freight Security Requirements accreditation. TAPA developed the FSR to help protect products during storage and transit within the supply chain. TAPA certifications are recognized globally for cargo facility and transport security and are awarded only to facilities that comply with the highest security standards.
“TAPA highly recommends that the TSR certification standards be employed as an essential part of the shipper-carrier relationship,” says Lisa Greenleaf, North American business stream manager for TÜV Rheinland’s management systems certifications group. “Naturally, a carrier that has been certified to meet particular security standards will be more attractive to security-conscious manufacturers, shippers and logistics providers.”
TAPA’s TSRs address physical security of the truck and trailer, security systems such as incident notification procedure documentation and satellite tracking systems, security procedures such as secure parking and route scheduling, personnel security, driver training and enhanced security requirements such as double driver and armed escorts. Carriers are granted one of three certification levels, with classification 1 featuring the highest level of security.
“TAPA certification is an important step carriers can take to help ensure cargo security,” says Alan Spear, chairman of the TAPA Americas and director of cargo security loss control for Chartis Insurance. “TAPA members, who include manufacturers, shippers, carriers, insurers and service providers, intend to select suppliers that meet or exceed the TSR compliance requirements.”
