Dairy science: satellite monitoring system controls ice-cream quality

Ice-cream. Who doesn’t like it? But have you ever thought of the path it travels before appearing on the shelf of the shop where you buy it? Or of the dangers, it can be exposed to on the way if temperature breach happens? The guys from Sri-Lankan Kloudip company know how to handle the transportation process so to avoid it. Read our article to learn how they do it.

Problems

The island is known for its tropical climate. It is hardly ever colder than 30° there. For this reason, during freight shipping by trucks, the temperature inside cargo containers can reach up to 35 °С within a few hours. The problem of perishable products transportation can’t be solved solely by the use of the newest refrigerators because drivers turn them off fairly frequently in order to save some fuel. In this case, such an ordinary product as ice-cream can not only go bad but even become dangerous. A wide range of pathogens come into being when it starts melting. They may cause bacterial infections, intestinal issues, allergies and other serious diseases. That’s why ice-cream refreezing is so harmful.At the same time, end users are not the only ones who may suffer from bad products. Even several containers of melted and refrozen ice-cream is a considerable loss for shippers and receivers. The same is with thefts. It takes a lot of time and human resources to locate a misplaced unit. And it doesn’t mean that after a long search you will get the goods of a proper quality.Therefore, food manufacturers, market suppliers, and transport companies from around the globe try to fully control the conditions at which food products are transported in real time. There are even special exhibitions organized in different parts of the world such as, for instance, Global Cold Chain Expo that this year took place in Chicago, USA, or India Cold Chain Show 2017 that is still to be held in December in Mumbai, India. The latest satellite telematics solutions can solve these issues and lots of others. They can also minimize the risks of all sides involved and reduce fuel costs.

Solution

Kloudip, a telematics service provider from Sri Lanka, has successfully proved it having implemented Wialon tracking system in the workflow of a big ice-cream manufacturer.This company not only produces dairy products but also deals with reefer shipping across the country. After failed attempt to use tracking systems, a national-level ice-cream manufacturer was looking for a new solution allowing to control cargo status and location. The solution should have been stable enough to provide smooth monitoring even during peak periods (New Year holidays that take place in April in Sri-Lanka). The integrator had to provide technical and customer support at all stages of system introduction. Kloudip had what to offer:Real-time monitoring. The dispatchers of the transport company track the reefers movements on the map and temperature conditions inside them at all shipping stages (from the manufacturer’s factory to the client’s warehouse). If an emergency occurs, the dispatcher contacts the driver right away.Online notifications system is used to let the dispatcher know about the temperature breach, route deviations, and unauthorized stops. It makes cargo theft more difficult. Specialists of both manufacturer and cargo receiver can get these notifications. Such practice provides a total transparency of the shipping process.Routes control. Knowing exact addresses of delivery, the company set up everyday routes automated planning and optimization.Reports. The company specialists use the reports with data on the mileage, the route history with delays and hurries to optimize their logistics. They can also view tracks and event markers in the reports.Kloudip decided to use Queclink trackers and wired temperature sensors for this project. Since on a national scale the client's routes are quite lengthy (about 250 km), they installed long-life batteries in all the units. It helped to prevent communication failures and data losses on complicated road sections.The dispatchers use Sensolator tool to control temperature on a real-time basis. This web-app is worth a special focus because the major part of financial losses was caused by the product damage due to temperature breach and not by thefts.Wialon can control temperature not only in individual containers but, let’s say, in different sections of one semi-trailer. In such case, temperature monitoring is carried out with the help of sensors serial numbers. Each sensor is displayed in Sensolator client area and is of green color. At temperature breach, the sensor’s color changes into red and the app sends an alarm notification to the dispatcher.For concerned customers, Kloudip developed a special mobile app for temperature control that works like Sensolator. As soon as the sensor fixates the temperature change, his color in the app alters letting a responsible employee know about the emergency.

Due to a temperature sensor and a GPS-tracker, the transport company delivers cargo without temperature breach and containers loss.

Result

Today this piece of GPS technology helps to control more than 50 reefer containers. Sanjeeva Cooray, the Kloudip CEO, says that Wialon usage has already proved its efficiency and allowed their customer to save a considerable amount of money on spoiled goods. Considering 3 months seasonal periods, the ice cream manufacturer came up with 60% savings compared to the previous year not having to discard spoilt ice-cream due to melting at remote locations. Moreover, the company saved over 35% on their labor and transportation costs as they could monitor status online while their staff didn’t have to visit remote sites and return/resend cargo expenses reduced. Besides, it has increased the credibility of all current telematics solutions and services in general, which makes a positive impact on the adoption of new technologies in the region.Want to share with the community your own experience of Wialon utilization? You are most welcome! Send your case story to marketing@gurtam.com and we will publish it on our blog.