ISO 18185-2:2007

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 18185-2
First edition
2007-04-15
Freight containers — Electronic seals —
Part 2:
Application requirements
Conteneurs pour le transport de marchandises — Scellés
électroniques —
Partie 2: Exigences d'applications

Reference number
©
ISO 2007
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ii © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 18185-2 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 104, Freight containers, Subcommittee SC 4,
Identification and communication.
ISO 18185 consists of the following parts, under the general title Freight containers — Electronic seals:
⎯ Part 1: Communication protocol
⎯ Part 2: Application requirements
⎯ Part 3: Environmental characteristics
⎯ Part 4: Data protection
⎯ Part 5: Physical layer
Introduction
This part of ISO 18185 was prepared by ISO Technical Committee 104/Subcommittee 4/Working Group 2,
using the drafting conventions of ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
This part of ISO 18185 provides a system for the identification and presentation of information about freight
container electronic seals. The identification system provides an unambiguous unique identification of the
container seal and its status.
The presentation of this information is provided through a radio-communications interface providing seal
identification and a method to determine whether a freight container’s seal has been opened.

iv © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 18185-2:2007(E)

Freight containers — Electronic seals —
Part 2:
Application requirements
1 Scope
This part of ISO 18185 specifies a freight container seal identification system, with an associated system for
verifying the accuracy of use, having:
⎯ a seal status identification system;
⎯ a battery status indicator;
⎯ a unique seal identifier including the identification of the manufacturer;
⎯ a seal (tag) type.
This part of ISO 18185 is used in conjunction with the other parts of ISO 18185.
It applies to all electronic seals used on freight containers covered by ISO 668, ISO 1496-1 to ISO 1496-5,
and ISO 8323. Wherever appropriate and practicable, it also applies to freight containers other than those
covered by these International Standards.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 8601, Data elements and interchange formats — Information interchange — Representation of dates and
times
ISO/TS 14816, Road transport and traffic telematics — Automatic vehicle and equipment identification —
Numbering and data structure
ISO 17712, Freight containers — Mechanical seals
ISO 18185-1, Freight containers — Electronic seals — Part 1: Communication protocol
ISO 18185-3, Freight containers — Electronic seals — Part 3: Environmental characteristics
ISO 18185-5, Freight containers — Electronic seals — Part 5: Sensor interface
ISO/IEC 19762-1, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 1: General terms relating to AIDC
ISO/IEC 19762-3, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 3: Radio frequency identification (RFID)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 19762-1, ISO/IEC 19762-3,
ISO 17712 and the following apply.
3.1
electronic seal
e-seal
read-only, non-reusable freight container seal conforming to the high security seal defined in ISO 17712 that
electronically evidences tampering or intrusion through the container doors
NOTE The electronic seal is read-only in all aspects except being able to electronically record date and time of
sealing (as described in 4.2), and date and time of opening (as described in 4.3).
3.2
seal identification
seal ID
unique identification of each manufactured seal incorporating serial number (i.e. tag ID) and manufacturer ID,
the combination of which is called seal ID
3.3
interrogator identification
interrogator ID
code used to identify the source address during every communication session originated by the interrogator
3.4
localization
capability in any operational scenario to associate an e-seal to the container on to which it is affixed
4 Seal application requirements
The seal shall be uniquely identified by the tag manufacturer ID and the tag ID (serial number) combination.
This combination shall be called seal ID and shall be used in all point-to-point communication to uniquely
identify a source (seal to interrogator) and destination address (interrogator to seal).
4.1 Data description
Unique identification of each manufactured seal tag incorporating all necessary information such as seal tag
ID, manufacturer ID and seal tag type includes:
⎯ Seal ID: This is permanently programmed into the seal during manufacturing and cannot be modified.
⎯ Seal tag ID: This is the ID field (serial number) for the seal. The seal number is assigned by the user or
the manufacturer and is programmed by the manufacturer. Also, the ID shall be marked on the exterior
(casing) of the seal. Until the seal is closed and sealed, it will not respond.
⎯ Seal tag type: The manufacturer is responsible for determination of seal tag type, in compliance with the
high security seal requirements in ISO 17712, and programming (see also 4.7). Also, the seal tag type
shall be permanently programmed into the seal and marked on the exterior (casing) of the seal. Reading
of the seal tag type shall be remotely possible under the same conditions and parameters as reading of
the seal ID.
⎯ Battery life: The battery in the seal shall have a minimum life sufficient to remain in inventory for a period
of two years, followed by a trip of up to 60 days’ duration. The seal shall provide an indication of whether
there is sufficient battery power to last for a trip of duration of 60 days with a minimum of
1000 interrogations per trip. Additionally, the manufacturer shall, according to user’s specifications,
provide for the visual identification of the seal’s “use by date” (represented in numeric ISO format, as
defined in ISO 8601).
2 © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

⎯ The seal status bit: This is the status bit that indicates the seal having been opened or sealed.
⎯ The seal tag manufacturer ID: This is the manufacturer identification of the tag. This identification shall be
assigned in accordance with ISO/TS 14816.
⎯ The seal tag manufacturer ID of the seal is programmed by the RF Component Manufacturer.
4.2 Date and time of sealing
The seal shall give indication of the date and time when it was sealed in the format CCYYMMDDHHMM (UTC),
as defined in ISO 8601. The accuracy of the time compared to actual UTC shall be no worse than ±5 seconds
per day, as defined in ISO 18185-1.
4.3 Date and time of opening
The seal shall give indication of the date and time when it was opened in the format CCYYMMDDHHMM
(UTC), as defined in ISO 8601. The accuracy of the time compared to actual UTC shall be no worse than
±5 seconds per day, as defined in ISO 18185-1.
4.4 RF regulations
The device sha
...