Nowadays, transport plays a huge role in every economy; in Poland, this industry generates profits of 10% of GDP annually. In the era of globalization, distances between individual countries have shortened, and the development of transport and new opportunities have become attractive not only to transport companies but also to criminals. Poland is a transit country through which east-west and north-south communication routes run. Bearing in mind the annual losses in this industry in Europe amounting to over 8 billion euros, taking care of the safety of transported goods and the safety of drivers should be in our country’s interest.
For the security of the supply chain and the safety of operations in a logistics company, it is extremely important to ensure and adhere to appropriate security standards and to have an educated staff aware of various threats. Ideally, trucks should also be equipped with extensive telematics systems, but it is not always possible to coordinate all these factors at the same time. Often, smaller companies cannot afford to implement expensive and technologically complex solutions. On the other hand, these smaller ones provide transport services to the larger ones, so in the long run, saving on transport safety does not pay off. So where is it worth starting if a transport company does not want to or cannot immediately invest a specific amount of money in comprehensive system improvements?
According to the principle that cargo is safe as long as it remains in motion, the risk of losses incurred when the vehicle is stopped should be minimized. In European Union countries, about 72% of all cargo is transported by land. In its reports, the TAPA EMEA organization states that more than 1/3 of transport robberies take place in parking lots during stops, while robberies on the road happen in 23% of cases. When performing a transport service, we are unable to eliminate stops, therefore, places for rest should be chosen with care. Choosing secure parking lots is one of the simplest solutions that can be used to minimize the risk of losses and theft.
Services are increasingly available on the market that allow you to study the route in advance and recommend stopping places to the driver in advance. To this end, a route analysis should be carried out and the quality of parking lots along the route should be verified. The task of auditing all parking lots in Poland and confirming their standard in terms of safety was undertaken by a Polish company operating in the business security industry – Sasma Europe. The goal of the project it is conducting, “Secure parking lots in Poland”, is to provide transport companies with a list of parking lots that meet logistics security requirements, show them on a map, and provide a detailed description of parking conditions, including GPS coordinates and photos of the facility. The service will be available on the market at the turn of 2011/2012. So far, Sasma auditors have evaluated 487 facilities and traveled 35,000 km of routes.
The idea to examine the state of parking spaces in Poland came from statistical data and daily observations of the reality surrounding us. The Vice President of Sasma Europe, Sebastian Błażkiewicz, emphasizes that:
– In Poland, there is a lack of properly developed infrastructure in parking areas; many parking facilities do not meet basic safety requirements, but fortunately, there are also those where a driver can feel safe. This initiative is intended to help organize safe parking spaces for trucks, which, due to driver working time regulations, have to stop for such breaks anyway. The interactive system we are creating will indicate safe parking places on every communication route in Poland to logistics company employees, which will greatly facilitate the tasks of those responsible for planning transport routes.
When auditing routes and parking spaces, Sasma auditors pay attention to aspects such as: CCTV monitoring, parking fencing, quality of parking lighting, whether there is 24/7 station or parking service, whether a register of entering and exiting vehicles is kept, to what extent the catering and leisure infrastructure is driver-friendly, what is the distance of a given location to police stations, hospitals, and the Fire Department, and many other factors.
The logistyka.net.pl portal has taken the “Secure parking lots in Poland” campaign under its media patronage, and we hope that this initiative will not end with just auditing and recommending stopping places, but will influence the perception of the “transport business” in Poland. Carriers, instead of counting losses and pursuing their rights in cooperation with the police and the insurer, will be more willing to choose places that meet basic logistics security standards. Sometimes you don’t need to invest in expensive equipment; for starters, awareness of driver safety and a professionally planned route that takes into account potential road hazards and safe parking places is enough. Creating a map of secure parking lots and constantly updating it will allow for raising the level of logistics security in Poland, will show our maturity in the subject of logistics security, will significantly contribute to improving the state of infrastructure, and will also bring great benefits to the companies participating in this program.