They are closed by bringing the head and body together by hand and opened by means of bolt cutters. This is achieved through the different methods of branding available. The main advantage is that they can have sequential coding to ensure safety. Hence they provide some level of security against intrusion eye bolt into sensitive property. As mentioned before, these types also have to be standardized to verify that they can be trusted.
They also have to conform to a number of standards to enable them to be accepted anywhere in the world. It consists of a strip with a punched hole such that when the strip is pulled through the hole a ball inside a covered section holds it intact. Both the head and body have codes to prevent the substitution of either part.
There are mainly two categories of security seals. The single use type could be plastic or metal in composition and their effectiveness is determined by the used material or the production technology in use. There are different technologies that are now in use to customize the seals to each consumer. They can also be laser etched on for branding to enhance the tamper resistance.
A reusable seal is usually electric or mechanical and is widely used on shipping containers or on the rear of trucks or trailers. It is fitted on the doors and when it is activated a unique code number is generated. They could be branded to provide proof of tampering while also providing safety from theft.
The fixed length types are not adjustable and are more secure since they do not have any sliding sections. However, they do not have a key and are opened by wire cutters at the specified break point. Indicative types are made from foundation bolt plastic or thin material and can be easily broken but they provide proof of tampering.
