Knowledge Center

Security seals 101

The two primary purposes of a security seal are to resist tampering and provide proof of tampering.

Many seals are being developed to meet specific criteria for different applications,  some of these criteria are defined by programs such a C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) and other international requirements, but often the requirements for security seals are entirely defined by the application or specific situation in which the security seals are being used.

The important challenge for the security seal industry is to continuously develop products that meet or exceed the requirements of the market while providing unique tamper detection features.  Equally important is the challenge for security seal manufacturers to educate the users of security seals. This includes making educated choices on what security seals to use for different applications and situations, how to use them and what procedures should be implemented around the usage of the seals.

Within the logistics industry, a very large percentage of tampering of security seals is done, even before the tote box, truck trailer or ocean container departs from its point of loading.  Therefore,  users of security seals that make a conscious decision to utilize security seals that are specifically designed to provide easy detection of pre tampering, will harvest the benefits of decreased pilferage.

In other words, security seals that provide easy identification of pre- tampering  also serve the purpose of being “pilferage deterrent”.

Often, the cost difference between using a poorly designed security seal and a uniquely designed product that adds real value in the supply chain is only a few cents per seal, so a cost-benefit analysis will most likely prove that it pays to choose good security seal designs.

Mega Fortris is very successful because our entire product development process is focused on designing security seals in the latter category. Our products offer real value to the end users, by providing the highest level of tamper detection.

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