Letter from the Editor

EDITOR’S LETTER

Back in the days before the internet, restless youths had to make their mischief on the streets, stealing road signs, frightening old ladies or making a noisy nuisance after dark. But with new technology came new ways of making mischief. One of the most remarkable bits of information I have picked up recently is that there are tools available on the internet that will allow anyone to become a hacker in the space of a weekend.

As digitisation and Industry 4.0 concepts gain increasing traction in the dangerous goods supply chain – as we saw in great detail in last month’s HCB – the threat posed by hackers is ever more significant. And it is not just spotty teenagers in bedrooms, generating malware that might just impact your IT systems: there are some nefarious players out there in the dark, who might want to hold your IT system to ransom, and others with more geopolitical aims who may well have a yen to bring down the capitalist system – and your company with it.

So, while we have been talking a lot in these pages about digitisation over the past two years, the conversation has more recently opened up to incorporate cyber-security issues. Not before time, too: don’t forget that all high-hazard facilities covered by the Seveso III Directive in Europe – and similar provisions elsewhere in the world – have a duty to address cyber-security, just as they do physical security threats.

Like many in the business, I suspect, I am not an expert in cyber-security and I console myself by thinking that there is someone in a room somewhere in the organisation with a responsibility (and the knowledge) to take ownership of the problem. At least, I hope there is, because I don’t really have the time – or inclination – to come up to speed on the technical issues involved.

But I did receive some succour from the UK authorities at a recent conference. It reminded me of a time I was sharing a podium with a rocket scientist. I asked him about his profession and he leaned in conspiratorially. “The thing about rocket science,” he said, “is that it’s not ‘rocket science’.” Similarly, it seems that cyber-security, despite its off-putting name, is not rocket science. For a start, any competent IT department ought to be able to put in place measures to protect against 80 per cent of cyber-attacks very quickly. Covering the remaining 20 per cent may take more time (and money) although, as with physical security, 100 per cent protection is unlikely to be feasible.

With increasing use of remote sensors to deliver data to control systems, many companies are laying themselves open to cyber-attack. Those vulnerabilities have to be identified before they can be managed, just as many companies have to identify and mitigate physical security vulnerabilities. In fact, they may well find that the assessment of cyber-security vulnerabilities is a whole lot easier than doing the same for physical security vulnerabilities, although the response to the assessment will necessarily be different.

But management of change will still be important: any change to a company’s IT network has the potential to open up new vulnerabilities, even if the greatest vulnerabilities will continue to be found at employees’ desktop and laptop computers. Be prepared for more restrictions on how you use the internet at work.

CONTENTS

VOLUME 39 • NUMBER 11

UP FRONT Letter from the Editor

30 Years Ago Learning by Training 01

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05

IBCS Containers of interest IPA reports rising sales Packaging made easy Schütz refines its IBCs 06

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New and improved Greif expands in Russia 10

Talk to your tailor Thielmann offers bespoke solutions 12 News bulletin – industrial packaging 13 TANKS & LOGISTICS Down by the riverside Ports make barges more efficient 14 High flyers Drones find a role in inspections 16 Plugged in Electronic ECD is a reality 20 Going for Ghent A new home for H Essers 23 All for one TCF rolls out booking platform 24 Plastic beach Rotterdam builds polymer hub 26 Open to opportunity What’s on at Intermodal Europe 27 News bulletin – tanks and logistics 28

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION A whole new world Fecc expects a different future 30

Chemical transformation Univar accelerates consolidation 35 News bulletin – chemical distribution 36

STORAGE TERMINALS The tank arena TSA talks it all through Singapore plugs in Vopak trials digital systems Process progress Ten years of IFLEXX 38

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Editor–in–Chief Peter Mackay Email: peter.mackay@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 7769 685 085

Deputy Editor Sam Hearne Email: sam.hearne@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4041

Managing Director Samuel Ford Email: samuel.ford@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0)20 8371 4035 Commercial Manager Ben Newall Email: ben.newall@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4036

Campaigns Director Craig Vine Email: Craig.Vine@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 8371 4014

HCB Monthly is published by Cargo Media Ltd. While the information and articles in HCB are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements directly with official sources before acting upon them, as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect. Cargo Media Ltd Marlborough House 298 Regents Park Road, London N3 2SZ www.hcblive.com

News bulletin – storage terminals 46

COURSES AND CONFERENCES Training courses Conference diary

SAFETY Incident Log In labels we trust US update from Reliance Label

REGULATIONS Buffer stock Finalising the 2019 RID rules New year, new rules What to expect from IATA Breaking the mould HCC a new forum for China

BACK PAGE Not otherwise specified 68

NEXT MONTH Report from the EPCA Annual Meeting Annual plastics drum survey What DG professionals think Gas shipping and storage

Managing Editor Stephen Mitchell Email: stephen.mitchell@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 8371 4045

Media Production Manager Jodie Oliver

Designer Natalie Clay

ISSN 2059-5735