How Temperature Monitoring Systems Keep Supply Chains Running Efficiently

First Posted: Nov 23, 2020 03:50 PM EST
Close
How Temperature Monitoring Systems Keep Supply Chains Running Efficiently

(Photo : How Temperature Monitoring Systems Keep Supply Chains Running Efficiently)

Modern economies depend on logistics and supply chain companies to deliver all kinds of goods. Many of these goods are fragile or extremely sensitive to the conditions in which they're stored, and disruptions are all too common

Temperature monitoring in the supply chain ensures everything from medicines, food and even flowers arrive at our doorsteps in optimal condition. Ensuring flawless delivery is, of course, a significant challenge, and advances in condition monitoring systems are changing the way supply chain companies operate. 

Here are a few industries that have experienced significant change thanks to advancements in temperature monitoring.

Logistics

Logistics is a vast industry that goes beyond package delivery. Package-level monitoring, with real-time data feeds, helps logistics companies provide data analytics to their customers. Manufacturers can set whatever condition thresholds suit their needs. For example, if the internal temperature of their package exceeds a certain level, employees receive an alert instantly. They can react quickly to these changes to ensure the product doesn't suffer extensive damage.

Tracking package and container-level temperature is now standard. Some of the other conditions that can be tracked include humidity, shock, light and the position of the package. To prevent package tampering, companies install light sensors. The light inside the package increases when it's opened. Sensors can detect abnormal increases in light and alert companies to possible tampering as a result.

During transit, logger devices that work with USB plugs, radiofrequency tags or QR codes help logistics companies keep track of the conditions within their parcels. Employees scan tags or codes and instantly deliver data to control rooms, and cloud servers store these data. 

As a result, manufacturers can create dashboards and view the status of their packages in real-time. Mitigating potential damage is easy, and losses in transit are reduced.

Healthcare

A 2019 study pegged the size of the global pharmaceutical logistics industry at $69 billion. Condition monitoring, which begins with temperature monitoring but goes well beyond that, is critical in healthcare. It's essential to store medicines and drugs in precise conditions. For example, storing Insulin in temperatures outside 36F to 46F renders it ineffective. As a result, monitoring everything from the package to the transport vehicle is standard practice.

Data related to the goods transported, including temperature, are relayed to control centers on the cloud. Hospitals, then, can verify the condition of the goods delivered to them by viewing the shipment's data history, for example. A delivery audit trail is established, and this increases transparency within the system.

Medicines aren't the only product that healthcare companies rely on. Laboratories utilize a variety of sensitive instruments to measure the health of their patients. Transporting blood and other biological samples is also routine. Logistics service providers offer precise sample level condition monitoring to aid laboratories. 

Some companies even use predictive analytics to map optimal transportation paths to minimize delivery times.

Food

Transporting food has traditionally been a pain point for logistics companies. A few estimates indicate that almost half of all food transported goes to waste. Such estimates are hard to quantify, but there's no doubt that reducing losses in food transportation is essential.

Food storage poses distinct issues, due to the strictness of regulations and codes. For example, storing dairy and vegetables together is a major violation. Meat has to be hung and stored in areas where air can circulate unrestricted. During transport, it's essential to minimize the time food spends outside refrigeration to reduce bacterial growth.

Logistics companies have begun, in recent years, to offer analytics services to their customers. These powerful packages allow businesses such as supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants and central kitchens to detect potential flaws in their supply chain and storage. The data that is gathered is granular enough for companies to be able to understand the precise time at which damage occurred.

As a result, it's easy to figure out who was responsible and how flaws ought to be fixed.

Construction

Delayed shipments of raw materials are among the biggest causes of losses in the construction industry. 

Builders insure their shipments against damage, and when they have to, collect on their policies based on the condition in which their goods arrive. Aside from transportation, storage and material tracking are important in this industry.

One of the biggest advances in supply chain tech has been the advent of multi-point temperature mapping. Construction companies can now detect issues both during and after construction, and they can pinpoint the time of damage. Audit trails are established, and losses during transportation and handling are reduced.

During the construction phase, humidity is an important factor. Mold and other fungal growth can contaminate freshly built sites if humidity and temperature are not monitored. Using devices that sync with the cloud when team members scan dynamic QR codes, condition monitoring logger tech allows anyone with a smartphone to monitor data and receive alerts.

Chemicals

Like healthcare, chemicals are a wide industry that spans regular household products to toxic materials. 

Controlled storage during transport is critical, since some chemicals cannot be stored with others for fear of causing reactions. Combustible chemicals are transported in containers fitted with sprinklers for safety purposes.

Beauty products, household cleaning products and medicines are just a few examples of finished goods that use chemicals. Naturally, monitoring the temperature of especially volatile chemicals is essential to ensure the safety of these products in transit. 

Adhesives are particularly problematic to transport. Transport providers have to satisfy a variety of condition handling regulations. These regulations mandate that goods need to be monitored for tilt, in addition to the usual data such as temperature, shock, and humidity. 

The Key to Modern Supply Chains

Condition monitoring is the key to ensuring product safety in modern supply chains. It reduces losses and more importantly, allows companies to detect flaws in their processes. As a result, the entire supply chain is safer and finished products are delivered in optimal condition.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

©2017 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of scienceworldreport.com

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics