The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has published Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity interface standards for shipping containers.
The standards
have been published in conjunction with DCSA’s nine member carriers.
The new guidelines
can be implemented by vessel operators and owners as well as ports, terminals,
container yards, inland logistics providers and other third parties to ensure
interoperability between smart container solutions at the radio interface
level.
With these
standards in place, carriers and supply chain participants will be closer to
providing customers with an uninterrupted flow of relevant information
regarding the whereabouts of containers and the status of their contents at any
point along the container journey.
The new
standards are the first of three planned IoT standards releases addressing the
connectivity requirements for reefer and dry containers, as well as the RFID
registration of these containers.
Future
releases will focus on data structure and handling, physical device
specifications as well as security and access management.
Thomas
Bagge, CEO of DCSA said, “This release is an important step in enabling mass
deployment of smart containers and forms the foundation of a group of standards
that will address the industry’s most critical container use cases. Once
implemented, our IoT standards will enable, for example, reefer container
tracking, monitoring and controlling along the entire container journey, with no
connectivity ‘blind spots’.”
In
addition, Maria Rosaria Ceccarelli, Chief of Trade Facilitation Section for
UNECE, said, “Interoperability of IoT devices is one of the keys to enable
massive smart containers deployment, taking the digital age of shipping one
step further beyond paperless processes by embracing the Internet of Things
(IoT) to support enhanced decision-making by the various sectoral stakeholders.
“This
standards release by DCSA is very important and complementary with the
UN/CEFACT interoperability standards, namely the Multi Modal Transport Data Reference
Model and the Smart Container Business Requirement Specifications in
particular. I believe that these standards will play an important role in
aligning the industry in terms of IoT interoperability.”
