Tim Purpura, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Morse Watchmans explains how transport hubs can fight shrinkage by securing their keys.

Physical security technology

Physical security technology prevents shrinkage for transport industry facilities and prevents the shrinkage of profit margins.

Adding key control as a layer of physical security allows transportation hubs to manage assets down to the details with accountability.

Whether protecting warehouses, maritime import and export shipping terminals, cargo airline carriers or freight rail services and stations, the busy logistics of transport hubs presents a plethora of security challenges.

Freight truck drivers and operators also need to transport inbound and outbound cargo safely and securely to the next destination without occurrences of hijacked goods.

The transport industry has faced increasing incidents of theft initiated by organised crime rings; whether they are from inside the business, outside the business or a combination of both.

According to a November 2024 report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on freight and logistics crime, “Securing Our Supply Chains: How the Government can crack down on freight crime,” in 2023, there were 5,370 reports of HGV and cargo crime in the UK, amounting to £68.3m worth of goods stolen due to freight crime – and £1b true value of losses since 2020 due to freight crime.

Inflation also has a global impact on transport security. When merchandise and provisions become more difficult to afford for many people, these goods become prime theft targets at transport centres.

Containing costs and optimising business operations is vital for managing the supply chain during any phase of logistics in transport security.

A review of possible loopholes for freight crime is key to warding off unscrupulous thieves.

Preparing a master security plan that includes intelligent inventory management systems to physically protect assets can also reduce liability by preventing theft.

One such intelligent inventory management system that transport security establishments can benefit from is electronic key control.

Key watching at transport centres

When goods and assets are in short or long-term storage before the next leg of transport, thieves lie in waiting, seizing opportunities to steal goods for cash through the black market.

Monitoring access within transport centres is essential, particularly for controlled substances and curated high-value items, such as jewellery and irreplaceable art.

Food and electronics are the most frequently targeted commodities because they are easy to sell on the black market.

Within warehouses, valuables are often secured in larger, gated areas.

These gated areas often contain storage rooms, lockers, cages, offices and closets that are secured with traditional locks and keys.

Inventory management systems are also susceptible to being tampered with by an insider with knowledge of daily logistics operations.

Server rooms containing computerised inventory stations, along with computer hard drives and hardware, are also better protected under lock and key and be made accessible only to individuals with authorized permissions.

Keys for fleet vehicles, including forklifts, motorised carts, trucks and cars are often randomly placed in desk drawers or haphazardly left in vehicle ignitions.

These also need to be secured within an electronic key control system to prevent thieves from making a getaway with inventory goods or even driving a fleet vehicle stocked with inventory items inside the cargo area of a tractor-trailer.

Preventing fleet vehicles from unauthorised vehicle use is essential to keep transport operations secure.

Special software on fleet management key control systems secures and controls the keys, but can also track utilisation and optimise fleets, making sure vehicles are appropriately rotated to manage wear and tear and to control business costs by right sizing the fleet.

Keys that protect valuables have value

The hundreds to thousands of keys which secure gated and locked areas in transport centres and start fleet vehicle ignitions are also assets within transport security that must be protected.

It is essential to identify, secure and track every single key. When all keys are assigned to individuals with permission and added to the key control system, only authorised personnel can obtain the keys through the system to open specific areas of managed inventory areas.

Accounting for all keys by assigning them to individual users within the system provides security and tracking so it is transparent as to who is using them, when and for what purposes.

Keys are always kept on the premises, safely locked away in the key control system and no longer are brought home by employees where risk of them becoming lost, forgotten or stolen increases.

How key control works

Electronic key control systems manage and track who accesses each key. Key control administrators assign keys to those who are authorised to only use specific ones.

When the keys are programmed and secured within the cabinet, users enter their credentials and the ports to their authorised keys illuminate and unlock.

All other keys that they are not authorised remain unlit and locked in place. If an individual attempts to remove a key they are not authorised to use, managers are alerted.

Key removals and returns are all recorded by the system’s software, which provides an audit trail report that can be downloaded and printed at any time.

Key control systems also reduce incidents of lost keys, saving transport centres thousands of dollars in re-keying cost.

When keys are overdue for return to the system, alerts are sent to administrators so action can be taken to ensure the missing key is returned by the individual before the end of a work shift.

For large transport centres, multiple networked key control cabinets are an ideal solution because keys can be returned to any cabinet location. The system will always show where they are located.

For highly sensitive information or valuables, including multi-factor authentication for access to these assets is essential to further protect them.

Key control systems provide multi-factor authentication capabilities by programming the system to require more than one successful login to gain access to specific keys to these assets.

This preventative security solution ensures that the potential for insider threats is reduced.

Electronic key control systems are modular, scalable and expandable for changing transport operation’s needs.

Locker modules are also available on key control systems, which securely store personal assets, laptops, mobile phones, hand-held radios and more.

Theft in transport centres and security technology solutions

If there is an area of the transport centre where there is suspected theft, key control provides important forensics through the audit trails to detect patterns of key usage to help pinpoint and identify the culprits.

Key control systems, along with video surveillance and access control systems, provide a trifecta of security data and information.

Getting down to the details with whoever has access to specific keys creates a security access control plan that deters thieves because of the extra layer of security it provides.

A layered approach does not make it easy for thieves and key control is an important layer that should never be overlooked. Electronic key control systems can also be integrated with other security systems.

When data is synchronised between all security systems, complete and accurate security data is always current.

Practical physical security with solid ROI

Keys in the modern world provide effective access control for asset management for transport industry operations.

Keys are assets that need to be kept out of the wrong hands in transport industry operations facilities.

Adding key control security technology provides another reliable method of protecting transport operations assets with the aim of reducing incidents of theft.

When profit margins are tight, and transport centres are challenged to reduce costs, electronic key control provides practical access control and asset management physical security – which makes this security technology tool a solid investment for loss prevention and risk management.

This article was originally published in the September edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.