Detector, our cargo protection solution

A dangerous situation

Trailer cargo theft is a common problem that not only affects the transporter’s financial situation, but also the driver’s mental health, as a theft might make him or her feel less safe at the job. Another unsafe situation is when people traffickers try to enter the trailer to smuggle people from one region to another, which often happens at the border between the European mainland and the United Kingdom. Those stressful events have an enormous influence on the drivers and can cause serious mental and physical health problems. It goes without saying that people trafficking is a serious problem that has to be stopped.

Vaccine transport protection

The coronavirus pandemic that started at the end of 2019, has resulted in the deaths of more than 2.3 million deaths and more than 100 million people have been contaminated with the virus. Luckily, researchers have managed to develop vaccines that help fight the pandemic.

Many countries have started to vaccinate residents and, obviously, those vaccines need to be transported from the manufacturing sites to the hospitals and vaccination centres. Those transports need a high level of protection, as it is feared that the transport of the COVID-19 vaccines will be robbery targets.

The Detector solution

Detector is the result of a collaboration between Sioen and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, the company that took over WABCO. It contains Sioen’s Protector technology and ZF’s TX-Trailerguard™. Protector is a multi-layered tarpaulin that consists of textile and steel wire. It stops deep cuts made by knives and has conductive layers that can be used in trailer doors, roofs and sides. Protector also provides extra abrasion resistance for the side curtains during pallet loading and unloading activities.

ZF’s TX-Trailerguard™ technology, on the other hand, causes an alarm to go off the moment someone tampers with the tarpaulin. Different scenarios can be triggered. Notifications can be send to the driver, fleet back office or control tower. In addition, a sirene installed on the trailer can be activated to scare off the intruder.

Effect

Detector has been thoroughly tested on the field. For the first testing phase, full body trailers have been used, as they are commonly used to transport more expensive goods, such as pharmaceuticals and electronics. This is also the type of trailer that is used to transport the COVID-19 vaccine. It was also tested in curtainsiders.

Even though similar solutions might generate false alarms, there haven’t been any false alarms throughout Detector’s testing phase. This certainly is an advantage for everyone involved in the transport, as drivers might turn off the security system when false alarms occur, causing damaging effects to the company, to the victims of people trafficking and the people who are waiting for their COVID-19 vaccine.

An award-winning innovation

Detector has won the Telematik Award in 2020. It is the highest award that can be granted to companies that show outstanding achievements in the telematics field. The Telematik Award is organised by Telematik-Markt.de, which honours outstanding development achievements and solutions in the field of telematics.

SDGs

Sioen strives to be part of achieving the 17 sustainable development goals. With detector, we contribute to realising the goals set in SDG 3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, as we aim to improve the drivers’ well-being, to fight people trafficking and to get the COVID-19 vaccine safely to the hospitals and vaccination centres.

With the Detector solution, we also foster innovation, as is stated in SDG 9: “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

Our partner

ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a global technology company and supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology, enabling the next generation of mobility. ZF allows vehicles to see, think and act. In the four technology domains Vehicle Motion Control, Integrated Safety, Automated Driving, and Electric Mobility, ZF offers comprehensive solutions for established vehicle manufacturers and newly emerging transport and mobility service providers. ZF electrifies different kinds of vehicles. With its products, the company contributes to reducing emissions and protecting the climate.

ZF, which acquired WABCO Holdings Inc. on May 29, 2020, now has 160,000 employees worldwide with approximately 260 locations in 41 countries. In 2019, the two then-independent companies achieved sales of €36.5 billion (ZF) and $3.4 billion (WABCO).