Write about baggage handling services and how they use RFID tags to track and
trace passenger bags. I have been very fortunate because I have only had one instance where my bags
were mishandled. I say mishandled because they were not lost. After a late three-hour flight, I was tired and
ready to go home. When I arrived at the airport, my bags were not on the baggage carousel. After filling out
forms to describe the luggage and its contents, my bags arrived on the next flight about an hour later.
The stress of not knowing where your bags are can now be avoided thanks to the latest mandate driven by
Airports Council International and International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) Resolution 753, which
was passed in June of 2018 (IATA, 2018). Before this directive, airlines such as Delta relied on barcodes to
track lost baggage. Which means agents had to manually read each bag’s bar code to find a customer’s
luggage and retag it for the new flight. So, you can just imagine how tedious that would be. Not to mention
how easy it would be to miss a tag. Resolution 753 requires airlines to track bags at four points: surrender
from the passenger, loading onto the aircraft, delivery to transfer area, and return to the passenger (Reid,
2019).
According to Gianluigi Lo Giudice, Vice President of Alitalia Ground Operations, “The mishandling rate has
been reduced by more than 40% compared to 2015 (IATA, 2018).” As of 2016, Delta Airlines has fully
committed to the use of RFID and customers can track their bag’s journey using the Fly Delta mobile app
(Prince, 2016). Delta handles 120 million bags annually and reports that the use of RFID has correctly
identified 99.9 percent of all baggage (Prince, 2016). Delta installed RFID readers on their belt loaders,
which read each bags RFID tag before it enters the plane. A flashing green light lets the agents know that
the bag is being loaded onto the correct flight (Prince, 2018). According to Reid (2019), the RFID scan
machines are more economical than the bar code readers. According to Andrew Price, the Head of Global
Baggage Operations, IATA, “RFID is cheap, it can be used globally, and it provides a hugely effective
tracking solution” (IATA, 2018).
Reference
IATA. (2018, December 10). RFID: Back to the future. Airlines. Retrieved from
https://www.airlines.iata.org/analysis/rfid-back-to-the-future.
Prince, P. (2016, April 29). Delta Gives Green Light to RFID Baggage Tracking. RFID JOURNAL. Retrieved
from https://www.rfidjournal.com/delta-gives-green-light-to-rfid-baggage-tracking.
Reid, J. (2019, June 3). IATA resolves to improve bag handling through RFID and real-time tracking.
Business Traveller. Retrieved from https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2019/06/03/iataresolves-to-improve-bag-handling-through-rfid-and-real-time-tracking/.
2nd Student Roxanna Hanson
Nothing moves without transportation, this is why firms are always looking for ways to improve their
transportation methods. One of the ways companies implement improvements is through the use of
technology. RFID technology is one of the tools that companies can turn to. This technology has been
around for a while but has can be costly, now that the cost has started to decrease more and more
companies are looking at it as a solution (Ting, Wang, & Ip, 2012). One of the areas where RFID have had
a major impact is in the movement and tracking of standardized containers. Private companies and
transportation companies frequently use standardized containers to move goods because they are easy to
move with intermodal transportation (Ting, Wang, & Ip, 2012). These containers can be transported on
tractor-trailer, rail cars and freight liner ships.
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The issues that arises with using these types of containers is that they all look very similar since they are
built to the same size standards. It is easy to lose track of a specific container in a shipping yard, rail yard or
anywhere these containers are stored. Firms are able to use RFID tags to help identify containers.
Transportation ports can use RFID technology to monitor incoming and outgoing containers (Ting, Wang, &
Ip, 2012). They have the ability to identify containers by using either passive or active RFID tags. They can
set up RFID readers at their entrances and exits to capture the movement of containers. This ability allows
them to collect a number of different performance measurements that will indicted the effectiveness of their
operation. Additionally, they could share this information with their customers as a way of showing how long
it takes their container to be off loaded and on to their next stop.
References
Ting, S., Wang, L., & Ip, W. (2012). A study on RFID adoption for vehicle tracking in container terminal.
Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 5(1), 22–52. https://doi.org/10.3926/jiem.412
3rd Student Carl Tucker
Hello Class,
The product I have chosen to look at is cement on a Construction project. I will illustrate how RFID tags are
increasing proficiency in delivery and decreasing the uncertainty of products not reaching their destination
on time. When trailers are dispatched for a pickup of materials for construction projects. Most companies
use RFID tags on the vehicles to identify the location the truck is supposed to go to and what product it will
picking up. The also tend to have weighing scales that will measure the amount that they receive during
pick up to ensure they have picked up the correct amount. Some trucks are setup where they also do a
visual check in addition to the IT system to ensure that they have picked up the right material. The RFID
checks the correct association of tractors and trailers. It also identifies to the driver that he has hitched up to
the correct trailer usually identified with a “telematics system in the truck”(Transport, 2016). Now remember
this system is also like a GPS so the one the truck has left the docking station and pick up the materials the
main system can track the destination by sending a ping to that specific truck to find out the location of that
truck. I had a case one time where I had a Mobile Housing Unit (MHU) stolen from an area before it was
actually installed. Being that it was not fully installed the RFID tag was still located on the MHU. Once we
went to the system and ping that actually RFID tag. We notified the police where the MHU was located and
they proceeded to the location to retrieve the stolen MHU. TO make a long story short when they asked the
residents where they received the MHU from they told them that a guy sold it to them for $10K. The driver
from the vendor sold them the MHU. In conclusion RFID technology has increase delivery proficiency.
Question: Do you think RFID tags will be used on all delivery packages in the future.
Reference
Transport Business. (2016, January 22). RFID in Transportation. Retrieved from
https://www.transportbusiness.net/features/rfid-transportation
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4th Student Teshon Earl
The organization called the Border and Transport Security (BTS) is responsible for protecting the Americans
from terrorism that might be pilfered into the country through the cargo plane (Burns, 2019. BTS uses a high
level analytical framework to understand better the complex phenomena that might play out during cargo
shipment and transportation into the country. The department of homeland security (DHS) is among the
government agencies charged with the responsibility of border security. The shipment of cargo must be
made in such a way that it protects the rights of the American citizen and the suppliers. The DHS ensures
that investigations are done into the contents of the imported cargo so that only acceptable consignments
find their way into the country (Burns, 2019. There US coast guards and the US customs investigation and
interior investigations are other agencies that are charged with the cargo security and the protection of the
inbound cargo. The organizations are responsible for the maritime border protection and the other cargo
security so that the country is always safe and protected from possible security breaches and terrorism.
CRS is a report on border security initiated and developed by the congress of the United States of America
to deal with the issues of import and export of goods (Burns, 2019. The reports develop strategies that the
relevant organizations and government agencies should use to deal with the security of the business and
the land. The reports were developed to analyze the possible security breach scenarios graphically and to
tackle the breaches one by one in a manner that is both holistic and constitutional (Burns, 2019). The
analysis of the operations that leads to the protection of the borders and the materials entering the border
must always be re-evaluated so that should the criminals invent new methods, the government agencies
will still nub them.
References
Burns, M. (2019). Containerized cargo security at the US–Mexico border: how supply chain vulnerabilities
impact processing times at land ports of entry. Journal of Transportation Security, 12(1-2), 57-71.
5th Student William Paasewe
After an entire week of speculations on effort to improve information sharing between agencies, and the
U.S. government approach to push back borders for cargo security, we switched gears this week by
identifying responsibility of different stakeholders in cargo security and providing analysis on how the CRS
Report for security views border and transportation security.
Prior to commencing my studies at APUS/AMU, I was of the belief, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) sole responsibilities was to screen bags and travelers at airport terminals. It was an
absolute surprise to learn that TSA, which is perhaps, one of the leading stakeholders in cargo security,
also manages security policies for railroads, buses, pipelines, ports, mass transit systems and highways.
On the other-hand, Commercial Air Carriers are responsible for maintaining the security of passengers,
baggage, and cargo entering airplanes in accordance with FAA’s standards and guidelines. Third &
foremost, Freight forwarders which is another important stakeholder, do recommend shipping solutions to
minimize cost or environmental impacts and they aid greatly in securing cargo by determining efficient and
cost effective methods of moving goods from one location to another.
The Congressional Research Service Reports on border and transportation security was “eye-catching” and
very intriguing. One of the report assessments indicates that most U.S. ports are publicly owned by a port
authority, and many of the U.S. Marine terminals are operated by foreign-based companies which raises the
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issue of whether foreign marine terminal operations pose threat to U.S. Homeland Security (Frittelli & Lake,
2006).
The Coast Guard is in charge of the security of port facilities and vessels which is a good thing, while
Customs & Border Protection (CBP) is in charge of the security of cargo. Notwithstanding, these marine
terminals are critical infrastructures that shouldn’t be handed over to strangers lightly. There are indeed
times when one should trust blindly (and those are the days of pre-9/11), just as there are times when one
should not. As Quinn (n. d.) puts it, “wisdom consists in being able to tell one from the other.”
References
Frittelli, J. & Lake, J. E. (2006, April 20). Terminal operations and their role in U.S. port and maritime
security:
CRS Report for Congress
Quinn, D. (n. d.). Inspiring quotes: Retrieved from https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/4832-daniel-quinn
6th Student Christopher Neal
The security of the global supply chain relies upon many factors in order to achieve a safe and efficient
supply chain. The CRS report for congress (2004) defines transportation security as securing the flow of
people and goods along the nation’s highways, railways and waterways. The department of homeland
security (DHS) has the responsibility of ensuring that maritime cargo, both air and sea have been secured.
The Safe Port Act of (2006) was signed into law in October of 2006 with the aim of strengthening the
government’s ability to protect seaports and maritime commerce from terrorist attacks(Bush, G 2006 p.
1817). This maritime responsibility can be further divided into other sectors.
After 9/11 the USCG “Unites States Coast Guard” was tasked with its largest peace time security mission
since WWII (Anonymous, 2004 p.55-56). The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2003 authorized a 7.5 billion
fund package to help support the increased role (Anonymous, 2004 p.55-56). This increase was due in
large part because of the added increase to port and maritime security posed by legislation following 9-11
and a war on two fronts both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lobiondo(2006) highlights the fact that on September
10, 2001 the service was tasked with securing only 2% of port operations in the U.S. After the attacks the
next day, their mission was overhauled and the securing of the 60% of the nations port operations were
placed in their care.
In summary, there are numerous stakeholders in the securing of the cargo coming into and leaving the ports
of the United States. Numerous experts believe that government policy and legislation are enough to keep
critical infrastructure safe from harm. Other experts believe that a human factor exists and that it should be
the primary focus of security initiatives and training. This human factor includes such things as training for
civilian seamen and port workers in identifying potential threats and procedures for reporting such instances
the appropriate authorities in a timely manner.
Reference:
2004 annual report of the congressional research service. (2005).

Anonymous. (2004). U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill Approved by Congress. Sea Technology, 45(5),
55–56. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198666929/
Bush, G. (2006). Remarks on Signing the SAFE Port Act. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents,
42(41), 1815–1817. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195209261/
Lobiondo, F. (2006). Supporting the Coast Guard, Who Protect Our Homeland. Sea Technology, 47(1),
18,20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198688829/