The conveniences of the modern world are amazing sometimes. There’s never been another point in history where we’ve had so much access to so many things all at once. Unfortunately, there are many challenges in creating that accessibility and bringing those products to consumers everywhere. One of them is temperature control. Temperature-sensitive products are used in a vast array of different industries. These include (but aren’t necessarily limited to) the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and food service sectors. Any small change or fluctuation in temperature can affect the quality of your product or even ruin it entirely. Nothing causes more problems along a cold supply chain than product spoilage. Temperature and humidity issues can be devastating for your supply chain. That’s why temperature sensing technology is so critical nowadays. Without new and improved procedures for having cold storage and transport, the pharmaceutical industry wouldn’t be able to thrive and evolve as much as it has in recent decades. Whether you regularly ship cargo along a cold chain or only occasionally dabble and refrigerated shipments, temperature indicators are an essential tool for your organization. Here’s a short guide to the benefits of using them at your business.
The Effects of Time-Temperature Abuse
Time-temperature abuse is normally a concept one might hear in reference to food service and management. But the concept can be applied much more broadly across other types of products as well. Temperature abuse often results in lost profits, negative publicity, and damage to your brand. And that’s after it practically destroys the product itself! Per the FDA, 43 percent of vaccines are improperly stored or shipped as they move along supply lines. That’s a lot of waste, spoilage, and mishandled products. When products such as food and medicine get exposed to abnormal temperatures, consuming them/using them can be deleterious to someone’s health. Preventing time temperature abuse during the manufacturing stage, storage, loading
, and shipping phases is the only way to ensure quality goods reach their destinations without suffering any damage or compromise.
Gauging Temperature Ranges
When you’re trying to prevent time-temperature abuse, it’s best to use a time temperature indicator (TTI). TTI’s are small devices—usually stickers—containing a dye or bacterial liquid. When the temperature changes significantly over a period of time, the liquid runs out and creates a bright spot indicating how long exposure occurred. Different temperature ranges/sensitivities exist for this purpose. Usually they’ll fall into the following ranges:
- -18°C / 0°F
- 0°C / 32°F
- 5°C / 41°F
- 10°C / 50°F
- 20°C / 68°F
- 25°C / 77°F
- 30°C / 86°F
- 37°C / 99°F
Using these ranges get supply managers a good jumping point for maintaining the quality of their shipments and can be beneficial in the long term.
Preventing Humidity/Condensation Damage
Along with time-temperature abuse, humidity and condensation can be significant problems in cold storage and transport. Preventing humidity and condensation damage in cold storage and transport is critical to preserving cargo. Too much humidity can cause mold or mildew to grow, which is a surefire way to damage your goods. Another problem is condensation, which can quickly create pools of water that can damage goods. To prevent these problems, you should use temperature sensors and monitoring tools. That makes it easier to keep track of the environment inside the storage area or truck trailer, ultimately creating a proactive measure to keep humidity and condensation out of your cargo. By using monitoring tools and temperature sensors, it’s much easier to take swift corrective action to prevent or manage any additional damage related to these two factors.
Reducing Costs
One of the more significant benefits of temperature indicators is in cost reduction as part of an overall cold chain logistics plan. Packing, shipping, and storing anything that’s temperature sensitive requires quite a bit of capital investment. Whether it’s reinforcing the Integrity of your refrigeration equipment, maintaining your cold chain fleet, or investing in quality packing materials, it’s impossible to understand the importance of doing things in a cost-effective manner. Temperature sensing technology is a valuable tool for reducing unexpected costs. Costs associated with spoilage and damage along your cold supply chain can be a major issue sometimes. By monitoring the temperature of your products, you can prevent or mitigate the very problems that lead to these costly concerns. Temperature sensing technology helps ensure products remain at safe temperatures, ultimately reducing waste and improving efficiency along the entire chain.
Stopping Damage and Spoilage
Damage, spoilage, and mishandling can cost businesses quite a bit every year. Everyone knows that certain goods, especially the ones that are temperature sensitive, can be damaged or spoiled if they’re not maintained at a certain temperature. Food, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other temperature sensitive items all fall into this category. Preventing damage and spoilage at all points of your supply chain is crucial to maintaining their quality. It’s also important to have a system in place for checking the temperatures of these products regularly throughout the process (which is where your temperature indicators can really make a difference. A significant amount of food is wasted each year due to poor management and time-temperature abuse. Whether you’re storing them in the warehouse, loading/unloading them, or moving them along Supply routes, preventing damage should be among your top priorities. By the time goods reach their destination, a lot of things can happen to cause issues, so staying on top of it is critical to ensuring