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Indicative Seals and Barrier Seals: What’s the difference?

Indicative or Barrier Seals, what is the difference for uses in logistics and supply chain routes?

How to know what type of security seal works best for your needs With the supply chain being at the core of business operations, ensuring that products move safely from their point of origin to their final destination is critical.

At TydenBrooks, we take seriously our company mission of “leading the way, securing the world” by offering the widest variety of security products to meet your needs. With so many security seal options offered, how do you know what type of seal is right for the needs of your company?

Efficacy and ISO 17712

Select the right security seal solution based on your industry, transportation mode, and required level of tamper-evidence and security. By adhering to the ISO 17712 standard which is segmented into three security categories being, (I) Indicative, (S) Security, and (H) High Security you can easily determine what solution needs to be utilized for your supply chain security program.

Type of Application and Transportation Mode

Protecting your supply chain from end-to-end is the most important thing you can do. Security seals play an important role in protecting the free flow of goods being moved and traded around the world. Knowing the basic differences between barrier and indicative seals in these key areas can help you make an informed decision on how best to protect your supply chain.

  • Barrier seals are used on the shipping containers themselves, such as long-haul trucks, ocean liners, and railcars to protect high value goods during transport.
  • Indicative seals come in a wide variety of types and can be used for shipping containers, the products themselves, or even classified documents or medical samples.

Preventative vs. Deterrent

  • Barrier seals are preventive, meaning they are designed to prevent unwanted intrusion and require special tools (bolt cutters, cable cutters, custom removal tools, keys) to remove.
  • Indicative seals are deterrent, meaning they do not physically prevent intrusion but are tamper evident to show when a product has been tampered with. They can be applied and removed without use of special tools.

Materials and Strength

  • Barrier seals are made from different metals and metal alloys making them heavy weight with higher break strengths or the force required to remove them, these include bars, cable seals, padlocks, and bolt seals.
  • Indicative seals are made of plastics, paper or flat metal making them light weight with a lower break strength or force required to remove them, these include plastic seals and security tapes, labels.

With a 149 years of manufacturing experience in the world of security seals, TydenBrooks is a global leader, helping many domestic and international companies protect their supply chain, not only within nations but also across international borders. We offer innovative and state-of-the-art indicative and barrier seal products to help protect your goods.

In today’s world, it is wise to use a multi-layered strategy of security. TydenBrooks’ wide selection of barrier seals and indicative seals can often be used together in a multi-layered approach to provide an increased level of protection throughout your supply chain and peace of mind for you.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can improve your supply chain security, get in touch for a free no-obligation consultation or an in person demonstration by contacting us directly at 1-800-458-7325 (SEAL) or [email protected]

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