In an industry like Cold Chain, where the demands for precision, trust and integrity are increasingly intensified thanks to an ever wider range of products that require unique temperature-controlled environments during haulage, evolution is imperative and thanks to great strides in IoT and live tracking, the industry appears to be in good health for the foreseeable future.
IoT (Internet of Things) is a rather vague term that in the context of this article refers to the web of machine to machine communication responsible for changing how shipping companies conduct their operations. The application possibilities of IoT technology make it uniquely efficient for the regulation and reporting of real-time temperature data for the cold chain. To do this IoT involves fitting sensors and combining them with software and other tech that reads, processes and transfers data across the internet connecting devices onboard with remote systems for real-time monitoring and if necessary, adjustment.
Prior to the advent of IoT, the industry was far less able to track and control the temperature of cargos, which meant that certain sensitive items were rendered more vulnerable to any minor fluctuations in temperature. IoT technology allow temperature data to be tracked and adjusted. Stability as well as precision is a vital factor and IoT means that temperature monitors report data to the cloud on a regular basis during shipment. This allows for supreme levels of stability and optimisation. As a result of these advancements, food spoilage is minimised, along with medical items like blood, vaccines and organs, for which even minor fluctuations in temperature can be disastrous. IoT systems provide instant text and email alerts if temperatures fluctuate outside of optimal ranges even for a second.
IoT technologies have also cut labour and paperwork costs as well as fuel consumption, while the component of human error is also minimised. In addition, it allows for fluid and accurate record-keeping, helping cold chain companies remain FSMA compliant as well as providing evidence that goods were transported at optimal temperatures, facilitating greater trust with clients.
Live GPS tracking of cold chain goods is vital. GPS technology is combined with environmental sensors that attach to pallets and containers with the aim of transmitting data in real-time. This data includes: GPS location; temperature readings; humidity readings; tampering or door opening events and vibration and tilt. All of these readings are transmitted to the cloud and mobile apps, allowing logistics teams a full picture of each journey. If any of these readings deviates from acceptable parameters alerts are triggered allowing for immediate adjustments to be made. Before these systems the labour cost and fuel costs were higher as a number of manual checks had to be made and problems were dealt with reactively (fire-fighting) rather than in real time.
In addition, such monitoring has led to route optimisation as data can show where on a particular route any deviations take place more regularly allowing for tweaks.
