Error detection and correction in the container number code
Abstract
The global reliance on containers for transporting goods such as heavy machinery, cars, medical supplies, and spare parts underscores the importance of accurate and reliable container identification. The current system uses an 11-digit code with a modulo 11 check digit for error detection. This code is divided into four parts, a three-letter owner code, the equipment category identifier (U, J, or Z), a five-code serial number and the check digit. While this system facilitates error detection, it suffers from significant shortcomings, most notably its inability to correct errors. The 11-digit system is prone to certain error detection as well, including transposition, substitution, omission, addition, and calculation errors, which could result to cargo mis-delivery. To mitigate the short falls of the current modulo 11 container number code, we have proposed a new container identification system based on a modulo 13 code to overcome these limitations. The proposed system retains the familiar structure of the current code, consisting of a four-letter owner code, an equipment category identifier (U, J, or Z), a seven-digit serial number, with the first two digits generated by a linear congruential generator and the check digit. The modulo 13 code effectively detects substitution and transposition errors but, like its predecessor, does not offer error correction. Given these findings, the study recommends further research into error correction techniques to create a more robust and versatile container numbering system that could prevent cargo mis-delivery due to identification errors.