TCS tasked to develop system to track air cargo

Chennai: Bhadra International India Limited, which handles cargo at the Chennai airport, is looking forward to automating the cargo management process with the help of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The plan is to create systems to track cargo going in and out of airport while presenting status reports to airlines.
Talking to Express, Bhadra chief Prem Bajaj said the cargo coming into the airport cannot be tracked at present. "Boxes come in just with the addresses they need to go to. We plan to create a bar code for them as soon as they are unloaded and weighed. The cargo will go for further scanning only after this process," Bajaj said.
"Even when Customs want some of the consignment opened for inspection during check-in, those boxes will be identified separately and the consignor/airlines will be able to track the status through information feeds on an online system," he added.
Bajaj opined that the system would help to check theft and damage to a great extent as the consignment would be under constant vigil.
"Even while the cargo is loaded on pallets to be taken it into the aircraft, a mother bar code will scan these boxes and identify them. The numbers have to tally all the time," Bajaj explained.
While this application was for cargo leaving the Chennai airport, the loaders have already been provided with battery-operated tractors, forklifts and transporters for handling cargo. "The battery operated cars have reduced pollution to a great extent. The 1,100 loaders now feel more at ease at work," Bajaj told Express during a tour of the cargo area. Baggage coming in from an aircraft would again be pasted with a bar code sticker.
23/04/11 ExpressBuzz

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Categories: Cargo Apr 2011, New Apr 2011