Solution | Freight Assessment System

The Need

Packages and other air cargo shipments not only move via dedicated air freight companies such as FedEx or UPS, but also aboard aircraft carrying passengers. To guard against terrorist threats or dangerous shipments on passenger aircraft, the Air Cargo Security Improvement required “systems to screen, inspect, or otherwise ensure the security of all cargo that is to be transported in passenger aircraft.” Under the Act, the US Transportation Security Administration is required to work with the airline industry to identify and inspect risky cargo shipments in a way that both addresses the threat and minimizes the cost, operational burden, and impact on processing times to carriers, shippers, and consignees.

To address these concerns, TSA needed a layered approach to air cargo security that included risk-based screening and data management.

The Solution

NTELX developed the Freight Assessment System (FAS), a real-time threat assessment tool designed and developed to help TSA improve the speed and efficiency of screening and inspecting of cargo transported via passenger aircraft.

FAS leverages NTELX’s predictive analytics, risk assessment, and scoring capabilities with TSA’s expertise and know how to determine the risk or likelihood of risk in shipments.  The system uses a rules engine and is supported by shipper data analysis, expert rules, regulatory policies, and intelligence information, to collect, analyze, and score data.  Results are granted a score that provides actionable insight to TSA inspectors.  FAS enables TSA to better allocate resources, mitigate risks, and improve overall efficiency in the screening and inspection process.  FAS was Certified and accredited by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008 for its ability to accept and warehouse sensitive data.