Nebraska carrier designs device to protect against unnecessary cargo claims

By Sean Kelley

Tom Pirnie is the kind of guy who worries about bad things that can happen to his business and does something about them.

Last year, Pirnie, president of Grand Island Express, heard that one of his competitors lost $4,000 because the flimsy seal affixed to the competitor’s trailer broke between stops. So he enlisted the help of an inventive cousin to keep the same problem from occurring to the Grand Island, Neb.-based carrier, which employs 90 company drivers and 45 owner-operators.

“Most of the things we’ve learned in our business, we’ve learned by doing it wrong first,” Pirnie says. “The best learning experiences are the ones that happen to someone else.”

More than 50 percent of loads hauled by Grand Island Express is beef— much of it coming from a processing plant across the street from the carrier’s headquarters. The company hauls the meat west to neighboring Colorado and east to the Atlantic Seaboard.

The loads often require multiple drops, which is where problems can arise. When a load is first put on a trailer, the processing plant affixes a seal, a thin strip of numbered metal or plastic that is bound through the trailer’s hasp lock. When part of the load is delivered, the receiver affixes a new seal through the hasp and so on, until all the loads are delivered.

In the past, a broken seal simply meant that the receiver and driver would count units of beef, and if the count was accurate, everything was fine. But the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — and fear that the food supply could become a target — changed all of that.

In 2003, a driver for one of Pirnie’s competitors arrived at his second receiver on a multi-stop run with a missing seal. Instead of counting the load and taking delivery, the receiver declared the load unfit for human consumpnon, and it was rendered.

“They were fearful the meat might have been tampered with,” Pirnie says. “They charged the carrier $4,000 for the load. I’m not even sure if that was legal, but I’d rather not have to pay myself.”

For the receiver, it didn’t matter who was at fault in the situation. The first receiver might never have affixed a seal. It could have broken in transit or it could have been snipped by a competitor. Since the driver is the only one who can open the lock, the driver controls access to the seal and can be held accountable for any problems.

“When we heard about the story, we asked ourselves what can we do to make it more difficult to tamper with a seal,” Pirnie says. The carrier that lost the load was lucky: The portion that was rendered was a partial shipment of cheap meat. If it had been a full load of high quality beef, the cost could have been much more substantial. “If it had been a full load of rib eyes — that’s way over a dollar a pound. A cargo claim like that would raise your rates.”

Grand Island Express trailers already feature a low-tech security device designed to prevent cargo theft — a small metal bar affixed with a bolt to the trailer frame that prevents the door from being opened. A large Allen wrench is required to remove the bar, and Pirnie says thieves typically don’t carry Allen wrenches in that dimension. The bar can he defeated, hut it takes time — something Pirnie says most thieves don’t have.

While adding security to the door was relatively easy, protecting the seal provided a greater challenge. The company had to develop a box to cover the seal and the hasp assembly and still resist efforts by a determined thief. The idea came from Pirnie’s cousin, Keith Pirnie. The carrier’s chief technician, Randy Kunze, produced a working model. The design had to work with cable seals as well as flat metal or plastic seals.

The group of would-be inventors spent time wandering through their customer’s yards looking at trailer models and seeing what the seal guard’s design required. After a couple of months of fiddling, the team had a prototype. They took it to a local manufacturer, who produced 50 seal guards. Pirnie passed theiii out to his drivers to experiment with them.

The staff also did its best to break into the locks. Pirnie took part in some of the

testing himself, slinging a heavy sledgehammer at the final product until he bent the pin so badly it nearly required a blowtorch to remove.

Pirnie says his drivers are trained to inspect seals and have never had a claim like the one that his competitor suffered. The new lock makes that job easier, in part, because receivers can’t break the seal without the driver removing the box.

“A receiver will say ‘I’ll just break the seal” Pirnie says. “My driver will say ‘Go ahead and try.’ This gives something additional for our drivers to do to make sure the seal is in place.”

The final hasp and seal cover consists of three parts:

• A rectangular metal sleeve with a pin that slides through and around the hasp, protecting the back and sides of the seal.
• A stainless steel cover that slips over the base and protects the front of the seal.
• A specialized bolt that locks the box and requires a special wrench to remove.
• A variation of the device allows a padlock to be affixed for loads and carriers in need of more security.

Once drivers began using the locks on their trailers, competitors and receivers took notice, asking where they could buy them. So Grand Island Express is now marketing the device — officially called the Enforcer Seal Guard Lock — through Transport Security Inc. in Waconia, Minn. Transport Security’s John Albrecht says Grand Island Express retains the patent and will benefit from sales of the product.

“The exciting thing is that shippers and trucking companies will benefit from the invention,” Albrecht says. Transport Security has improved the lock’s design, making it more difficult to defeat.

“I’m not saying you can’t get in there, but it’s going to take tools and time,” Pirnie says. “With seals, you don’t know until you have a problem. We got a break in that it happened to someone else.”

Now with his innovation, Pirnie is hopeful the problem never happens to him.

As truckers, David and Barbara Cormier had been on the beaten path for nine years. Little did they know, fate would create them a new one. “There were some great runs that came up that we didn’t take,” said David. “Good runs that paid great money to Miami. But I wouldn’t take a truck down there because I couldn’t secure it.”

“We went looking for something to secure our truck and couldn’t find a thing,” said Barbara. “We went to truck stops, chrome shops, and even tried the Intemet. But we couldn’t find a lock that would protect the tractor and trailer from theft.”
Prior to coming to Landstar, the Cormiers had tried a lock that encased the air valves on a truck, but found it impractical. “It had too many pieces to it,” said David. “When you took it apart, it was like putting a puzzle back together. And it was secured with a padlock. A thief could easily remove the lock with a pair of bolt cutters.”

Then a light went on: Why not develop a simpler device? It would still encase a truck’s air valves — the dash-mounted knobs that control the brake system — but would be easier to use. Inspiration led to motivation, then to perspiration and, oh yes, lots and lots of plastic. “The garage floor was covered with white plastic shavings,” said David. “I was working with a plastic called HDPE and using a drill press, table saw and router to cut and shape the plastic. Pretty soon it was deep enough for our granddaughter to lay on the garage floor and make snow angels.”

When Samuel Richardson said, “Necessity may well be called the mother of invention — but calamity is the test of integrity,” it could have been in reference to the Cormier’s garage.
“I had enough plastic scrap left over to start an industry,” said David. But he kept at it, and in a matter of months, crafted an anti-theft device the couple would eventually name the Air Cuff Lock.

Then Barbara came up with the idea of creating a lock to encase both air valves for the tractor and trailer. It would provide more security than just a single lock on the tractor’s air valve.

Back to the garage — more drilling, sawing and routing. The pile of plastic shavings on the floor grew deeper. But the new lock was close to the real McCoy. The two-piece design was easy to use and fit on just about any tractor.

The lock was nearly flawless.

“David kept saying, ‘It’s not quite right. It’s not quite right,” said Barbara. “The lock had a flaw,” said David. “It was possible to push the air valves in, if a thief drilled a hole in the front of the lock.”

Stumped on finding a solution, the Cormiers took to the road. David was behind the wheel one morning on Interstate 10 when — POW! — a eureka moment:

“Set screws! The thought just hit me out of the blue,” he said. “The screws could be adjusted up or down, so if a hole was drilled through the front of the lock, the air valves would stay in place.”

Barbara, asleep at the time, remembers waking up to find her husband clamoring like a kid. “He kept saying, ‘I got it! I got it!’”

Back home, David headed for the garage, waded through the plastic shavings, and tweaked the lock. It worked.

Would the world beat a path to their door? The Cormiers were anxious to find out. They demonstrated the lock to other truckers who wanted to know where they could get one.
The couple called their agent Shirley Anhalt, then Landstar BCO Advisor Nancy Johnson, and Landstar’s Security department.

The Cormiers were soon put in touch with Transport Security, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of anti-theft products for the transportation industry. When the Cormiers demonstrated the Air Cuff Lock to John Albrecht, vice president of Transport Security, he wasted little time in hammering out a deal.

“There’s a tremendous need for this type of product, especially on high- value loads,” said Albrecht. “There’s nothing on the market to protect tractor theft. David recognized this need and created a product to fill it.”

Albrecht says working with professional truck operators like the Cormiers, who invent products to make life on the road safer, is a win-win situation. “Drivers usually come up with the best inventions because they know what works and what doesn’t,” said Albrecht. “I knew David and Barbara’s invention would work. It’s easy to put on, can be removed in seconds, and it’s convenient to use because everything is right there in the cab.”

The Cormiers, who leased on with Landstar last September, are now doing what they enjoy most — being Landstar BCOs. They love the independence, calling their own shots, and seeing the country. That’s the life they want to lead. Even if they reap a financial windfall, they say, life won’t change much.

“All we wanted was a way to secure our truck,” said David. “The encouragement we received from people at Landstar helped a lot. We share the same attitude about freight. The only person who can protect it from the time you pick it up to the time it’s delivered is the driver.”

Thomas Edison said, “I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”

Ditto for the Cormiers. Wonder what they’ll come up with next?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “If a man can make a better mousetrap, the world will make a beaten path to his door.”

Click here for more information on the the ENFORCER® AIR CUFF™ LOCK.

By John Albrecht, Vice President, Transport Security, Inc.

In the transportation industry, a strong security and loss prevention department is a necessity, not a luxury. Theft of cargo and equipment is estimated to cost $10 billion to $15 billion annually. Depending on your operating ratio, it takes $10 to $15 in increased revenue to make up for every dollar lost through theft.

Progressive corporations should be guided by a strong security and loss prevention program, rather than depending on a crisis management team to react after the crime has taken place.

An effective security and loss prevention program should include the following: employee screening, a loss reporting system, a reward program, physical security and law enforcement involvement.

Employee screening is an important aspect of a successful company. An employer should keep in mind that a stable and honest employee will have credible references from past co-workers and former employers.

Developing a thorough background investigation procedure can single out a less desirable applicant. Employers should ask for specific information, such as names and phone numbers of past employers. If the applicant cannot provide this information or any other facts requested on this form, he or she should not be considered for the job.

If the applicant skips a question such as “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” the company should not assume the answer was no.

It is necessary to educate all drivers of their responsibility to report any losses of cargo or equipment via a loss reporting system. Unreported small losses can quickly add up to substantial sums at year’s end, but by this time it is too late to take any action.

Drivers should be able to contact a company official 24 hours a day when theft occurs s’ that immediate action can be taken.

The development of a loss report form is important to obtain all pertinent information regarding a theft: date, time, location, license numbers of the tractor and trailer, the vehicle identification numbers of the tractor and trailer, the make and model of the tractor and trailer, a description of commodity hauled, driver report, police notification and any suspect. Quick and effective reporting will increase the chance of successful recovery of stolen property.

Reward programs that pay for information are very effective. These programs must be administered very carefully, however, and in for matmon guarded to give credibility. The program should include a toll-free telephone number that is dedicated to reporting fraud, theft or misconduct within the company.

To develop an effective security and loss prevention program, strong physical deterrents are essential, including king pin locks, seals, padlocks, rear door locks and steering locks. King pin locks protect trailers from theft while they are spotted at terminals or retail stores.

The use of numbered seals on shipments, including multi-drop loads, is strongly encouraged.

Padlocks and rear door locks are very important in the reduction of pilferage.

Fleets initiating a strong lock and seal program have drastically reduced cargo theft.

There are many organizations involved with security and loss prevention: American Society of Industrial Security, Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council of American Trucking Associations, International Association of Chiefs of Police and National Cargo Security Council. Also, law enforcement and transportation companies have started regional cargo theft task forces. These include Mid-West Cargo Security Council, Chicago; Eastern Regional Transportation Security Council, Mybrook, N.Y.; Western States Cargo Theft Association, Cypress. Calif.; Midsouth Cargo Security Council, Memphis, Tenn.; Southwest Transportation Security Council, Dallas; Southeast Transportation Security Council, Atlanta: and Florida Cargo Security Council, Miami.

The objectives of these organizations are to reduce theft, develop contacts, exchange theft reports and establish a liaison with law enforcement officials in the cities where your fleets haul freight.

Thefts can never be totally eliminated, but strong preventive measures are vital in combating theft and maintaining good profit levels.