GDPR violation – Record 14.5 million euro fine imposed

Nov 21, 2019 | Uncategorized

GDPR violations can prove expensive, something which one real estate firm recently had to learn the hard way when it received a fine to the tune of 14.5 million euros.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR for short – is supposed to afford better protection to sensitive personal data. For businesses, this means stricter data protection standards. GDPR violations may be met with tough sanctions. We at the commercial law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte https://www.mtrlegal.com/en.html note that fines of up to 20 million euros or up to 4 percent of global annual turnover can be imposed.

One real estate firm recently learned the hard way that these are not empty threats. The company received a fine at the end of October in the amount of 14.5 million euros from Berlin”s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, the Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz- und Informationsfreiheit. The reason: The company used an archive system for storing tenants” personal information which did not allow data that was no longer necessary to be deleted. The data was being stored without checking whether its storage was legitimate and necessary. It was established, for instance, that data was being stored relating to personal and financial circumstances, payslips, voluntary declarations, account statements, etc.

The firm had already been strongly advised during an initial audit in 2017 to change the archive system. However, by the time of the second audit in March of 2019, little had changed apart from preparations by the company to address the shortcomings; too little to reach a state of legal compliance.

There were therefore compelling reasons to impose a fine according to Berlin”s Commissioner for Data Protection. The GDPR requires supervisory authorities to ensure that fines are effective and proportional in individual cases. The starting point for assessment is the turnover achieved in the previous year. For the purposes of reaching a specific determination, all incriminating and extenuating factors are taken into account. Incriminating factors in this case were that the real estate firm had deliberately created the archive structure and that the relevant data was being unlawfully processed over an extended period of time. On the other hand, the fact that the company had taken initial measures to address the shortcomings was considered an extenuating factor mitigating what could otherwise have been a significantly higher fine.

The decision demonstrates that supervisory authorities do not consider GDPR violations a trivial offense and are instead liable to clamp down. Experienced lawyers can advise on data protection issues.

https://www.mtrlegal.com/en/legal-advice/it-law.html

Innovative reusable plastic pallet for all areas of the glass container industry exclusively from Cartonplast

Nov 20, 2019 | Uncategorized

Dietzenbach, Germany, 20th November 2019 – Cartonplast Group has developed a new reusable pallet specifically for the logistics of glass container production.

The new plastic pallet has been developed with precise solutions for the logistics areas of the glass container industry. In particular, it ensures a trouble-free supply chain for glass containers within the beverage and food industries. Cartonplast (CPL) uses polypropylene (PP) or PP-recyclate to manufacture the pallet in compliance with international standards. The pallets are made with modern manufacturing processes and the manufacturing technology is transferable to every country in the world. The two different pallet variants weigh only 19 kg to 21 kg and, with 3 or 5 runners, and are perfectly matched to all locations in the logistics supply chain from glass container manufacturers to food and beverage bottlers.

Clever Handling – Perfect and Stable in Practice
The pallet solves critical stability problems encountered with 3-foot pallets under heavy unpacked loads such as glass bottles. Usual wooden pallets with three runners become unstable when high loads impact the pallet surface at certain points, as is typical for unpacked stacked glass containers. On the conveyor or during lifting, the pallet can twist so much that the load slips or is damaged. To avoid this, six U-shaped crossbars are integrated in the upper side of the pallet, which run across the entire width. On the model with five skids, two further connections between the longitudinal skids on the underside provide additional stability.

Technically Especially – Perfect for Shrink Wrapping Machines
Thanks to the wide skids, the pallets can be used on a wide variety of installations and are fully suitable for use on chain conveyors. Rubber inserts in the floor increase grip and reduce wear. When used on roller transporters, the pallet transfers its weight evenly and twist-free from roller to roller, keeping the load stable at all times. The pallet is suitable for lifting platforms and lifting tables of automatic shrinking machines. The floor and the spacing of the skids correspond to those of conventional wooden pallets and no adjustment of the control is necessary. The uniform edge at the top edge of the pallet forms a “collar” and allows a completely circumferential seal between the shrink film and the pallet. With the rounded corners and small notches, a stable connection is created which secures the glass containers ideally for transport and prevents them from slipping.

“Customers are very positive about our new plastic pallets for the transport of glass containers. An important argument for their use is also the multi-stage, fully automated production and logistics processes in the glass container industry. Due to modern warehouse automation, precisely fitting and high-quality designed pallets are in high demand internationally,” explains Thomas Grimm, Head of Supply Chain Management, Cartonplast Group.

Intelligent Pallets with RFID
CPL is currently building a rental pool of RFID tagged pallets at European level. Real-time tracking is provided by automated identification, controlled by CPL, which eliminates the need to manually capture pallets. The data of the entire supply chain is reliably documented and can be retrieved at any time. This precise pallet identification improves inventory
management and the various transport processes. The pallets can be cleaned in the CPL service centres. Prior to the environmentally friendly cleaning process in ultra-modern washing plants, the condition is checked and whether special cleaning is necessary for heavy soiling. The smooth plastic surface guarantees high cleaning capability without leaving behind germs and bacteria – in line with the high hygiene requirements of food and beverage manufacturers. After cleaning, the final quality check is carried out and the pallets are prepared for renewed delivery to the customers.

“The new pallet ideally expands our reusable transport product offer with the already available layer pads and top frames. This means we can now offer for our customers an all-encompassing closed offer, the complete one-stop service or individually as required. This is an important milestone for Cartonplast and for our international growth targets,” says Serkan Koray, CEO of Cartonplast, “Direct contact with our customers and partners is very important to us. This gives us valuable input and enables us to improve our services, products and processes,” adds Michael Heikenfeld, CSO of Cartonplast.

Rationalizing transport processes – One-Stop Packaging at its best
The stock of pallets can be quickly increased in the event of capacity bottlenecks – for example due to seasonal factors – without customers having to tie up their capital. Storage space becomes available and there are no disposal costs for damaged pallets. Glass container-, food- and beverage producers that already use CPL Plastic layer pads (PLPs) benefit from the one-stop service. The use of Cartonplast PLPs and pallets in combination with production and transport processes improves logistics processes through increased delivery and pick-up frequencies, as well as improved truck utilisation – ensuring that the cost of logistics processes are reduced. Cartonplast, as Europe’s leading operator of a pool system for reusable PLPs, closely monitors international best practices methods to provide customers with the best possible added value. CPL increases the influence of its rentable reusable transport products also through cooperation with customers and partners. The Cartonplas PLPs are currently used at more than 130 production sites in 20 countries to transport glass, cans and PET containers to over 7,500 filling plants.

The complete technical product information is available under this (https://www.cartonplast.com/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/CPL-Palletes-2019-Presentation.pdf) link. You can see photo material here (https://www.cartonplast.com/index.php?id=443&L=2).

For a pallet sample or further information, please contact Cartonplast Group by email at info@cartonplast.com or contact Michael Heikenfeld, Chief Sales Officer and Managing Director Cartonplast Group, michael.heikenfeld@cartonplast.com.