TAPA urges European Commission to ‘listen to the voices of buyers and decision-makers’

The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) is urging the European Commission to ‘listen to the voices of buyers and decision-makers’ to drive the growth of its new EU Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPA) Standard as recorded cargo thefts from trucks in Europe break all previous records in 2019.

With the lack of secure parking places now representing the biggest threat to the safety and security of drivers, trucks and cargo in Europe, TAPA says it is ready to bring its more than 20 years’ experience of overseeing successful certification programmes to the discussion table to ensure businesses have access to, and trust in, a robust and affordable solution.

By aligning its own, fast-growing Parking Security Requirements (PSR) industry standard with the EU programme, the Association says it will help the Commission accelerate the growth of safe and secure parking places in Europe and eliminate any confusion in the industry between the two Standards.

In calling for constructive dialogue with the Commission, TAPA proposes adapting its PSR to embrace the core requirements of SSTPA, while retaining the Association’s existing and proven methods of oversight which has been supporting facility, trucking and secure parking certifications for the industry for over two decades.

Thorsten Neumann, President & CEO of TAPA in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, commented: “We are not looking to compete with the EU SSTPSA, we simply want to add value to it. As the leading supply chain security association for manufacturers and logistics service providers, we represent secure parking buyers and decision-makers. In PSR, we have developed a Standard which has been created by industry, for industry and is already being used at 53 parking locations offering more than 5,000 secure parking places in 10 countries. By the end of 2020, we expect to have 80 PSR certified sites and have put the infrastructure and expertise in place to deliver full end-to-end certification support to the industry.

“TAPA has played an active role in supporting the Commission’s safe and secure parking standard but we also recognise that businesses are cautious because the EU LABEL project, the predecessor to SSTPA, failed to attract many parking sites and certifications were not maintained. Our solution is based on this business reality as well as our knowledge of what customers of secure parking places will accept. We support all initiatives, standards and regulatory requirements which promote the safety and security of people, goods, equipment and services in the global supply chain as long as they are affordable, easy-to-adopt, fit-for-purpose and sustainable. We hope the Commission’s representatives will step forward to talk to us to achieve a real step-change in secure parking in Europe.”

TAPA already works successfully with EU LANDSEC to support its security objectives.

“We confidently believe a mutually-recognised TAPA PSR Standard, aligned with the EU SSTPA Standard, will receive broad industry support because it makes no sense to have separate standards. The proposal we are making offers assurance to buyers of secure parking places and Parking Place Operators because it includes TAPA’s proven capability of administering and growing independent certification programmes alongside the requirements of the EU,” Thorsten Neumann added.

TAPA’s solution is outlined in its new Position Paper on ‘Support for Truck Parking in European Union Member States’. To view the Statement, please click here

In the first 11 months of 2019, TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS) recorded over 3,500 cargo thefts from trucks parked in unclassified parking locations in the EMEA region. European Parliament research has previously estimated that cargo crimes cost businesses in Europe some €8.2 billion a year.