From a record number of over thirty entries VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S was announced the winner for its innovative HydroPen system designed to fight onboard container fires.  Both PSA International and Cargotec Sweden AB were highly commended.

The ICHCA International (ICHCA) and TT Club collaboration once more recognised the crucial role played by organisations across the world in constantly searching for better solutions to the challenges of improved safety in the cargo handing industry.  While the three short-listed entries, and particularly the eventual winner VIKING, were to be congratulated, the efforts of all the organisations that provided details of their innovations are to be admired.  Their striving for improved safety underlines the need for increased vigilance in the cargo handling and freight transport sector to reduce the loss of life and damage to property while facilitating global trade.

The ceremony, held virtually at TT Club’s offices in London was aired this afternoon and addressed by Heike Deggim, Director of Maritime Safety Division, International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has been a consistent supporter of the Awards both currently, and in the past.  The ceremony also gave an opportunity for each of the three short-listed companies to give a presentation of their successful safety innovations.  A recording of the whole event will be available shortly on ICHCA and TT’s websites.

Hosting the presentation on behalf of ICHCA was Richard Steele, the association’s CEO.  “The list of innovations from our award entrants is truly exciting,” he said.  “Innovation doesn’t just happen by itself.  All the participants have put in hard work, drive and ambition and I am sure there are many entries not short-listed today that will inspire others in the industry and achieve practical success in reducing accidents.  To that end we will be providing a digest of all the entries in the coming months.” Steele also thanked the panel of judges, made up of professionals from across the industry including representation from the International Transport Worker’s Federation (ITF) for their dedicated conscientious work.

The winner, VIKING’s HydroPen helps address the increasing incidence of fire in containers while onboard ships at sea.  The complexity of the cargoes carried and the frequent challenge of accessing the containers makes fighting fires most difficult for the first responders, the ships crew.  HydroPen enables such fires to be attended from a safe distance and the judges were particularly impressed by the specific online training that is provided with each unit.

PSA International’s highly commended Video Analytics solution helps with preventing in-terminal collisions of the heavy cargo handling equipment that can be so damaging to both life and cargo, while Cargotec’s innovation deals with the tricky task of container inspections from below; safely identifying any damage to the under-side of containers and ensuring they are clean and free of any invasive pests.

TT Club was delighted with the industry response this, the fourth, Innovation in Safety Award  Mike Yarwood is the international insurer of cargo handler’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention.  “It is hugely encouraging to have so many entrants seeking to solve a host of challenges from the provision of geo-spatial data and predictive maintenance software to technology that measures local climatic conditions.  The last two years have been incredibly busy and difficult for all concerned and safety issues have arguably increased significantly.  It is good to see that despite these conditions the industry’s commitment to be resilient and increase safety is undiminished.”

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT’s Risk Management Director commented, “This Award was inaugurated to celebrate solutions that have proven to make the industry workplace safer. We find that sharing such ideas openly is core to the Club’s mission to make the industry safer and more secure.”

Bill Brassington, Chair of the ICHCA Technical Panel was keen to emphasise the partners in organising the Award’s consistent efforts to improve safety.  “In recent years the shipping industry has suffered a number of severe fires originating in containers and the TT Club and ICHCA have been campaigning consistently to reduce these life-threatening events,” he highlighted.  “Frequent webinars and publications have been dedicated to creating a greater awareness of the difficulties in containing fires both below and on deck especially where the container is high in the stack.  It is therefore heartening to congratulate VIKING Life-Saving Equipment and their innovative HydroPen System.   I would also like to congratulate all of the entrants to the TT Club Innovation in Safety Awards; I am sure that the diverse and fascinating subjects that they covered taxed the judges deeply.”

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.  

www.ttclub.com

About ICHCA International

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.

Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan and plus Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

Over 30 organisations from around the world have submitted entries for the 2021 TT Club Innovation in Safety Award.  Covering products and procedures that achieve a demonstrable improvement in cargo handling and transport safety, the submissions range in focus from bulk cargo handling to containerised cargoes; safety reporting and education to environmental monitoring and fire- fighting.   

London, 20 January 2022

Designed to both encourage safety innovation at a time of increased operational demands on the global cargo handling infrastructure, and to celebrate the practical success of such initiatives, this will be the fourth time that the Award has been presented. TT Club, as a prominent freight transport insurer, and the association representing cargo handlers, ICHCA International, have long worked together to identify and promote operational safety in the industry.  They consistently produce safety advice and support innovation to improve safety in cargo operations and logistics.

“With over 50% more submissions than in any previous year, I am thrilled to see a record year for entries to the TT Club Innovation in Safety Award,” said ICHCA CEO, Richard Steele.  “The judges had an abundance of creative, innovative and thought-provoking content to consider.  This level of response emphasises that there are lots of smart, dedicated people who are working throughout the cargo handling world to improve safety and we are proud to be part of that endeavour.”

As the leading specialist insurer of cargo handling risk worldwide, TT is a mutual organisation dedicated to reducing risk and advising on loss prevention through improved safety regimes.  TT Risk Management Director, Peregrine Storrs-Fox comments “We consider our founding of, and continuing support for the Innovation in Safety award as entirely appropriate to the Club’s core mission.  TT remains dedicated to safety through the industry and is proud to have celebrated past winners such as Hapag Lloyd’s Cargo Patrol, as well as terminal automation experts, Kunz and Yardeye for their work with CSX Intermodal Terminals, in addition to all the other worthy entrants, for their innovations, each of which can be seen to improve safety standards significantly in the global transport and logistics industry.”

The Award, open to any individual, team or company that is part of the cargo supply chain, is presented to the entry that has been judged as the best product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation delivering improvement in operational safety.  The Award event, a virtual ceremony to be held on 22^nd February, 2022, https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5371375306422039564 will profile a limited number of shortlisted entries, culminating in the Award being made.

Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Bill Brassington, Chair of the ICHCA Technical Panel, “It was exciting to read all of the excellent submissions covering such a wide variety of safety related innovations.  The quality and quantity of submissions demonstrates the importance of the TT Club Innovation in Safety Award, and it was hard to differentiate their value to the cargo handling world,” he commented.  “Out of this strong field, there were only a few marks between many of the entries. While the Award will inevitably recognise one entry, we will, as previously, publish a digest of all entries to give profile to all of the really valuable innovative work that is being done.  In that context, we would congratulate all for their work and dedication to improving safety in cargo handling.”

About ICHCA International

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.

Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan and plus Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

www.ichca.com

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.  

www.ttclub.com

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT

On behalf of Container Owners Association, Global Shippers Forum, ICHCA International, TT Club, World Shipping Council

The Cargo Integrity Group (CIG) receives the support of Bureau International Containers (BIC) and Centro Internazionale Studi Containers (C.I.S.Co) in publishing its Quick Guide to the CTU Code, and the accompanying Container Packing Check List, in Italian.  The official launch of the documents will occur during Genoa Shipping Week (4^th–10^th October).

Continuing its mission to encourage the greatest use of, and adherence to the guidance generated by the IMO, the ILO and the UNECE and published in the Code of Practice for the Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), the Group of five international freight transport orgainastions¹ has now added Italian to six other languages in which its Quick Guide is available.

In underlining the cooperation CIG has received in translating and providing peer review of the text, Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director at freight transport insurer TT Club commented, “It is vital to the cause of disseminating CIG’s Quick Guide to the CTU Code as widely as possible that those who are involved first-hand in packing containers, securing cargo and declaring content accurately can access in their own language this introduction to the Code’s definition of good industry practice. We are indebted to BIC and C.I.S.Co for their help with this Italian version.  Their industry knowledge and expertise has been key in producing an accurate translation.” 

The Italian Quick Guide and Container Packing Checklist is available HERE in addition to versions in all six official IMO languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.  The Group is delighted to have been able to translate its publications into all these languages, encouraging wider easy access to the materials.

To promote the Quick Guide and, in particular the Italian edition, partners in CIG will be contribute to conference sessions during Genoa Shipping Week (https://www.gsweek.it). In addition to Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President World Shipping Council will participate via video link.  The presentations will profile the content and methods of utilization of the publications, and how they both distill and give access to the lengthy and comprehensive CTU Code itself. Giordano Bruno Guerrini

Secretary General of Genoa based C.I.S.Co, the specialist consultancy group dedicated to container operations commented, “We are delighted to have contributed to the publication of these significant documents in Italian.  The pursuit of safety within

ICHCA International has opened the 2021 TT Club Innovation in Safety Award and invites submissions from anyone involved in cargo logistics who can show a demonstrable improvement to safety

ICHCA International, the global cargo handling association, has opened the 2021 TT Club Innovation in Safety Award, which aims to highlight the importance of safety at a time of increased operational demands on cargo handling infrastructure and operations worldwide. The goal of the Award is equally to champion and celebrate the many companies and individuals around the world who are 100% dedicated to ‘making it safe’ every day, and to acknowledge and foster innovation to improve safety in cargo operations and logistics.

Both ICHCA International and TT have a fundamental commitment to risk reduction throughout the supply chain, in particular to safety within cargo handling operations. Promoting such safety advice is paramount to the philosophy of the two organisations and the Award reflects this commitment.

In announcing the opening of the Award entry process for 2021, TT Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said, “TT has always emphasised the critical nature of loss prevention in its role as a primary supplier of liability insurance and risk management services to those in the supply chain industry.  As such, we remain dedicated to encouraging safety awareness and applaud ICHCA’s initiative in offering this prestigious award.  TT has worked closely with ICHCA for a number of years, producing safety advisory documents and urging sound operational.  We look forward to celebrating the wealth of safety innovation that will once more be encouraged by this Award.”

The Award is open to anyone – an individual, team or company – involved in cargo logistics.  Entrants are required to show that a product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation has resulted in a demonstrable improvement to safety. 

The deadline for entries is 12 November 2021 and full details of the entry process and judging criteria can be found in both English and Chinese at https://ichca.com/tt-club-innovation-in-safety-awards.

The Award ceremony takes place in February 2022 where we will celebrate the shortlisted and winning entries.

ENDS                         

About ICHCA – International Cargo Handling Coordination Association

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.
Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan as well as Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

www.ttclub.com

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT

on behalf of Container Owners Association, Global Shippers Forum, ICHCA International, TT Club, World Shipping Council

26 August 2021

In striving for greater awareness and usage of the CTU Code in order to improve safety in the intermodal supply chain, the Cargo Integrity Group (CIG) has published its Quick Guide to the Code, and its accompanying Container Packing Checklist, in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

The five organisations[1] that are collaborating in CIG are dedicated to achieving greater levels of safety, security and environmental performance within containerised global trade.  The production of a Quick Guide to the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), along with a Checklist of actions required of those packing cargo in freight containers, is pivotal to achieving safe and secure transport.

Now the Quick Guide and Checklist have been translated from the original English into each of the other United Nations official languages and are available for download HERE

 In announcing the news, Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director of insurer TT Club commented, “We must have higher standards of cargo integrity, if we are to arrest safety deficiencies in the supply chain – most vividly demonstrated by the too frequent occurrence of container ship fires.  This means those in warehouses and manufacturing facilities who pack and secure cargo in containers, as well as shippers and forwarders preparing documentation and declarations that describe the goods in detail, must take responsibility to ensure adherence to safety guidelines.  The CTU Code covers such roles and practices and one of the primary aims of CIG is to promote its universal use.  The Quick Guide has distilled the Code, our multi-lingual versions will help disseminate it.”

The Group is planning further translations.  This is to create a better understanding of the complex dangers that may result from poorly packed or mis-declared cargo.  The flexibility of containerised trade, and its efficiency in the movement of goods means individuals, many kilometres from the ocean, and with little knowledge of maritime operations, or indeed other modes of transport, are tasked with packing containers with a hugely varied range of goods.  Enabling access to safety guidelines, in their own language is crucial.

“If a product is packed in an incorrect way, it is usually because the packers have not been properly trained or informed about the potential risks,” commented Richard Steele, CEO of the association representing cargo handling organisations, ICHCA International. “The goods involved in initiating fires, stack collapses and vehicles roll-overs may not always be the more obvious hazardous chemicals.  Badly secured steel coils, poorly stowed barrels of any liquid or inappropriately packaged charcoal could all result in incidents of serious injury, or even fatalities as well as significant cargo and property damage.  Such understanding must surely be improved by a wider implementation of the CTU Code.” 

In addition to these efforts, the CIG partners are seeking changes to the relevant regulatory requirements in order to improve their effectiveness.  It hopes to encourage monitoring of packing performance through cargo screening and more effective container inspection regimes.  CIG’s overall aim is to work with other industry and governmental stakeholders to instil a better understanding of safe cargo packing and handling practices throughout international supply chains.

ICHCA International, the global cargo handling association, with the support of international freight transport insurer, is once more hosting the TT Club Innovation in Safety Award after a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The global supply chains and, in particular the cargo handling and transport operators that facilitate them, have been challenged as never before over the past year and a half.  In an environment of dynamic trade flow variation with mounting volumes in many areas, restricted capacity, congestion and disruption, it is vital to maintain vigilance in matters of safety. 

Both ICHCA International and TT Club have a fundamental commitment to risk reduction throughout the supply chain.  Their renewal of an award programme to profile and celebrate the work of those striving to find ways to mitigate such safety risks reflects the paramount aim within both the organisations’ philosophies.

Richard Steele is the newly appointed Technical Director of ICHCA.  “I am pleased that, early in my tenure, I am able to announce the re-introduction of this Innovation in Safety Award.  The world’s cargo handling industry functions, and its people live and operate, in stressful times,” he comments.  “At times like these when the exigencies of cargo flows, often peak to result in unparalleled congestion on berths and landside, that safety should be pre-eminent in our minds. This Award and the innovation it encourages will go some way to amplifying that message across the sector.”

The Award will be open to anyone – an individual, team or company – involved in cargo handling or logistics.  Entrants will be required to show that a product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation has resulted in a demonstrable improvement to safety. The Award champions and celebrates the many companies and individuals around the world who are 100% dedicated to ‘making it safe’ every day. Equally, it acknowledges and fosters innovation to improve safety in cargo operations and logistics.

In announcing his organisation’s continued sponsorship of the Award, TT Club’s Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said, “A key part of TT’s mission and deliverable to its Members, and the industry as a whole, is to emphasise the critical nature of loss prevention, and to supply safety advice of the highest quality.  As such, TT remains dedicated to encouraging safety awareness and is delighted to remain intimately involved in the functioning of this Award. It aims to energise and bring visibility to any innovation in equipment, systems or processes that result in improvements in safety and we look forward to examining the wealth of ingenuity expressed in the entries this year.”

Details of entry criteria and deadlines will be announced at the beginning of September 2021.

About ICHCA – International Cargo Handling Coordination Association

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.
Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan as well as Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

www.ttclub.com