Friday, April 30, 2010

Plaskalock – “Reaching new heights”

In the ever changing world of security, you need a reliable seal that can offer a high level of security at a reasonable price. Such a seal has recently become a more favourable choice for many of ABRIC’s customers.

Plaskalock is  a highly secure, single use seal made of Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) with a non-preformed, galvanized steel, aircraft cable. The cable diameter is available in 1.5 or 2mm (0.059 or 0.079 inches) with a tensile strength of around 50kgf (110.2 lbs), making it incredibly strong. The standard cable length is 150mm (5.90 inches), but can be customised to any length to suit your requirement.

This unique seal falls into the category between standard plastic seals and high security seals. If you require a strong barrier seal to secure a container you buy Unolock, if you need to secure courier or postal bags, there is the inexpensive JawLock. Plaskalock is the seal that fits nicely in between these two categories thanks to its high level of security & value. It is supplied to many industries including  Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Retail & Hypermarket among others, with its contribution to these sectors benefiting their security needs as well as saving cost, helping with the difficult economic times.



Benefits of Plaskalock:
· Increases security by providing tamper evidence
· Can include a bar code (if required) for easy identification and security
· High tensile strength
· Once cut the cable will splay, increasing security
· More affordable than higher level security seals
· Ideal for a variety of robust applications
· Available in a wide range of colours

But don’t just take our word for it. STS 2000 is a well known established company in the UK, providing services to the computer industry such as refurbishment, cleaning & storage of computer equipment. They purchase Plaskalock to supply dozens of retail stores across the country in helping secure their equipment.

  “I find Plaskalock to be a relatively cheap, reliable and highly secure seal that has served the application of the many  companies I supply”  - Steve White, STS2000 Ltd.






- Prepared by James Jackson
Sales Coordinator, ABRIC Europe Ltd.



Tuesday, April 20, 2010

ABRIC's FUN Personality Test

There are many popular personality test available online, such as the cryptic code of Myers-Briggs Personality Test, and the numerology based Life-Path Number, all of which have their unique ways of analyzing and interpreting a person's personality.


Here at ABRIC Worldwide, we would at least once a year perform such personality test with our beloved colleagues, which helps us better understand our colleagues working behaviour better and hopefully improve each other's relationships.


So what is this FUN Personality Test? As the name suggests, this test is rather, well, fun! Here is how it is done. Just like your typical personality test, everyone fills up a set of questionnaires, with more or less 40 simple straight-forward questions. Everyone would answer these set of questions based on how they feel they are at the current time. Not who they would want to be, but who they are at the point of time.


The test divides the results into four separate groups of people; the Lion, the Buffalo, the Zebra, and the Hyena.




The Lion
Lions are natural leaders. Decisive and independent, they get the job done on their own way, though some may perceive this to be insensitive. They are hugely motivated by rewarding challenges.

Strengths
Leader
Independent
Dependable
Decisive
Personality
Own way
Career-oriented
Gets job done
Daring & Bold
Weaknesses
Insensitive
Self-Serving
Arrogant
Inconsiderate
Motivation
Challenges
Rewards
Direct
Logic


ABRIC’s daring Lioness: Aznati, Yvonne and Adeline


The Buffalo
Buffaloes are the flexible doers. They prefer to do things in a quiet and reserved way. An easy to approach and a team member, Buffalos performs best with immense peer support and communication.

Strengths
Adaptive
Self-Controlled
Independent
Calm
Personality
Quiet
Do own things
Team Member
Easy Approach
Weaknesses
Passive
Fear Change
Procrastinate
Reserved
Motivation
Communication
Peer Support
Individuality
Structure

ABRIC’s quiet Buffaloes: Sidney, Suzana, Sue Aida


The Zebra
Zebras are disciplined players. They are analytical, loyal, friendly and easy to work with. Their sensitivity may outline Zebras to be insecure, emotional and rigid. They love to feel secured, and appreciated for their sincerity.

Strengths
Disciplined
Stable
Analytical
Loyal
Personality
Easy to work with
Build relationships
Nice to others
Sentimental
Weaknesses
Insecure
Emotional
Rigid
Easily discouraged
Motivation
Appreciation
Security
Sincerity
Sensitivity

ABRIC’s striped Zebras: Albert, Mike, SuhanaDeclan, Michael, Mary, Connie, Siti



The Hyena
The spontaneous opportunist Hyenas are the centre of attraction. They love popularity and enjoy life among friends. Though confident and optimistic, Hyenas at times find themselves irresponsible and lack commitment. Recognition and rewards motivate Hyenas most.

Strengths
Confident
Action-oriented
High-energy
Optimistic
Personality
Centre of Attraction
Like popularity
Prioritize friendships
Enjoy life
Weaknesses
Self-centered
Irresponsible
Unreliable
Lack commitment
Motivation
Recognition
Rewards
Positive
Listened to

ABRIC’s greatest Hyenas: Brian


We found the test to be somewhat accurate. However, some of our colleagues may show similar personalities in other animals as well (scores are close). The test may not be perfect, as it would be impossible to just classify the world into four different personalities. There would definitely be some overlapping, or some characteristics shown in other animals. But this gives a good and general indication of a person's behaviour. Perhaps now you would now how to approach the staff members better now!

Monday, April 12, 2010

What is a security seal?

Security seals are usually applied on vehicles, chemical drums aircraft trolleys, and other various applications. It is used typically as tamper evident seals, and a level of security depending on the type of seal. This helps to detect any sign on theft or tampering, be it authorized or unauthorized.


Spiderbox and SpiderLock - Special Purpose Seals


Generally there are two main types of security seals, single use and reusable. Single use seals are usually made of plastic; cheap, reliable, provides proof of tampering, easy to use and remove. Reusable seals are however more expensive, usually consisting of mechanical or electronic.


ABRIC also provides Special-Purpose Seals, which are designed for various of industries specific towards certain applications.

AluLock - Barrier Seal

Length
Most security seals are variable-length seals (more known as pull-tight seals). These seals vary in length depending on the application, e.g. Different bags come in different sizes, and depending on the contents, may require longer seals, therefore it is generally better to use variable-length seals to seal bags instead.


Fixed-length seals are more common applied in cargo doors. Due to its fixed loop size, this gives room for the cargo doors to move slightly without breaking the seal while transporting.

TwinLock - Fixed-length seal

Printing technology



Security seals are usually customized to fit the different purposes of each application. Typical marking includes logos,  consecutive numbering and 1D and 2D bar codes. 
The printing method/technology used by the industry standard are as follows:
  • hot stamping
  • ink jet printing
  • laser engraving
  • thermal printing
Each printing has its own benefits and uses, therefore depending again on the nature of the application, different printing methods may be used on different security seals.

Looking for a security sealing solution? Visit us at www.abric.com and contact our sales center closest to you and we will advice you on your security needs!