In an effort to combat a possible terrorist threat, the Freight Transportation Security Consortium is working to establish standards for security-related messaging and data encryption for GPS location devices that track tank trucks and tank railcars carrying hazardous materials.

The Freight Transportation Security Consortium is an alliance of companies in the fields of asset tracking, vehicle monitoring, emergency response, mobile resource management systems, equipment finance and insurance. The consortium was assembled in late 2001 in response to the need for a comprehensive solution to the threat of terrorist attacks on the hazardous materials supply chain.
In order to help reduce the risk of hijacking, tampering or theft of hazardous materials loads, the group says data from modern location and sensoring devices should be collected and analyzed by a central monitor that can simultaneously track the 200,000 assets in the hazmat supply chain.
"If there is another terrorist attack, that monitor must be able to communicate rapidly and authoritatively with the police, fire and other first responders across the country," says Drew Robertson, director of the FTSC and president of ASI-Transmatch. "That's a round-the-clock job that is too big for any single shipper or carrier."
There are hundreds companies in the vehicle tracking and mobile resource management industries using many different proprietary communications protocols, Robertson noted. "We can't build an effective centralized security tracking system if we have dozens and dozens of operating systems that can't talk to each other. GPS tracking devices for railcars and truck tractors and trailers are ready to go. Now we need a Rosetta Stone to make them work together for national security."
Consortium members include companies such as Vistar, Powerloc, Terion, @Track and AirIQ.
For more information, contact Drew Robertson at 212-297-6226 or email at FTSC@transmatch.com.