温度传感器形形色色，用途广泛。在这篇文章中，我们将具体介绍IoT 传感器技术如何对供应链，更具体地说，对 "冷链 "产生积极影响。
在整个供应链中，卡车司机和杂货店工作人员等负责温度敏感货物的人员传统上都是读取温度计的读数，并将结果记录在固定在剪贴板上的纸张上。有时，这些数字会被输入电子表格或在线数据库。
虽然这个系统聊胜于无，但它存在严重的验证和可靠性缺陷，对人类健康有影响。谁能断言记录的温度值是否真正反映了货物温度的真实历史？如果温度在运输过程中剧烈波动，而只记录了起点和终点，那么可能会出现无法察觉的变质现象。这也是生菜成为新闻焦点的原因之一。
到目前为止，还没有一种很好的方法来证明这些用铅笔书写的数字的准确性。不过，时代正在发生变化。IoT ，大量新型温度传感器设备正在重塑供应链行业，尤其是最容易受温度波动影响的冷链货物。
冷链：对温度敏感的供应链
冷链是供应链中温度管理至关重要的一环，涵盖了从农业或制造业到运输和最终交付给消费者的所有环节。它包括农产品、冷冻食品和乳制品等日常用品，也包括必须保持在一定温度以下的药品，否则会失去药效。
在这两种情况下，温度监测和记录对健康和安全都至关重要，主要法规都要求进行温度记录，以防止产品降解或变质。这些规定的目的是保证以下产品 外观 安全的 是 实际上是安全的。此外，如果货物运抵时状况不佳，仔细保存的温度记录可以显示变质发生的时间。
由于这些原因，温度记录在卡车运输、零售、食品服务和制药行业中的重要性不言而喻，因此它们会定期接受审核。但整个系统依赖于手工记录监测的频率、及时性和准确性。
冷链监控的关键挑战
The problem with manually temperature logging is that the process is prone to errors. Drivers, grocery personnel and food service workers are often busy, which can result in an inaccurate or missed record. At best, a hurried misreading of the gauge, at worst, totally imaginary readings quickly jotted down to fill in for missed readings. This practice, also known as “pencil whipping,” can lead to spoiled product in the event that the logs go unchecked.
This is a difficult problem to correct for. Temperature readings can be taken as soon as a product arrives, as Target often does, but this is no guarantee that the product was kept at that temperature for the entire journey.
One way to solve for this is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which stipulates how often temperature readings should be taken, but again, compliance depends on the driver. Certain products may become spoiled if they reach a certain temperature for even an hour or two, and if the driver fails to check the temperature at the right time, they may miss this slip. Later, if a food-borne illness outbreak occurs, it can be difficult to determine culpability or prevent the same issues from recurring.
Typically there are four key actors who are responsible for a product as it moves through the supply chain to its destination, such as a grocery, pharmacy, restaurant or convenience store. They include the loader, carrier, shipper, and receiver. This means goods – and the responsibility for monitoring them – change hands multiple times. And each of these parties may be using a different recordkeeping system.
As these flaws in cold chain temperature management come to light with new health outbreaks, organizations across the cold chain, from shipping services to retail, grocery and food service organizations, are becoming much more concerned that they could sell or serve tainted foods to their patrons. As we know, the resulting public trust crises from these outbreaks have an enormous impact on public relations, profit and loss, and business viability.
Up to now there hasn’t been a solution. However, with IoT temperature sensors and automation, it is finally possible to ensure consistency, maintain quality and ensure goods are properly monitored during packing, shipping, delivery, storage and service.
IoT 传感器和自动化如何彻底改变冷链
An Internet-enabled temperature monitor can monitor goods 24/7/365. In sharp contrast with manual logging, automated monitoring enables ongoing monitoring and fast alerts, and can support a predictive maintenance program that ensures equipment is serviced before an entire truckload or restaurant refrigeration unit has spoiled.
With an IoT sensor, the temperature of a shipment is monitored and logged automatically. Those temperature readings can be viewed in near real time (typically 15 minute intervals), on any Internet-connected device from anywhere in the world.
There’s a rule of thumb that for a piece of technology to be replaced, the newer alternative has to be ten times better than the existing solution. In this case, IoT cold chain monitoring isn’t ten times better than a driver with a pencil, it’s exponentially better. Let’s look at five of the key advantages.
1.温度记录更简单
First and foremost, it makes the job of all cold chain personnel easier, as they don’t have to worry about checking temperature gauges and hand-recording temperature values. Monitoring can be done at company headquarters and the driver can be alerted only in the event that something is wrong, such as a refrigeration unit starting to fail.
2.温度传感器更精确
An IoT-enabled cold chain is safer. With near 100% accuracy, it’s possible to identify shipments which have exceeded their maximum safe temperature. Disposing of a truckload’s worth of produce is a very unfortunate loss. However, it’s several orders of magnitude cheaper and less impactful than a mass recall and the cost in human health and safety and lost business.
3.IoT 温度监测成本低廉
IoT temperature monitoring isn’t expensive to implement, and in fact it can pay for itself as personnel can use their time more efficiently than manually checking and recording temperatures. And in fact sensor technology itself is inexpensive. With devices like the SmartSense by Digi temperature and humidity sensor, the battery has been designed to last five years. After the upfront purchase and outside of minor on-going monitoring costs, there are virtually no maintenance costs, making it easy to budget for.
4.温度传感器易于安装
Plenty of logistics companies worry about the time it will take to upgrade their fleet, and groceries, restaurants and pharmacies have concerns about the business impact of retrofitting their monitoring systems. In the past, sensors may have required a full day or more to install. With a fleet of 50 trucks, or a chain of 50 retail stores, that would have meant 50 lost days of productivity, a major deterrent for any logistics or service organization.
However, with solutions like SmartSense logistics, food service, retail and pharmaceutical monitoring, the installation can take as little as five minutes. There’s no time-consuming drilling or threading of wires. Just find a convenient place for the sensor, attach it, and call it a day. With the sensor’s battery designed to last five years, it is a set it and forget it device that automatically sends reports, and can be checked anytime from a smartphone or tablet.
5.实时位置跟踪
最后，对于那些对终极冷链监控包感兴趣的人来说，还可以进行位置跟踪。例如，SmartSense Gateway 可以跟踪位置和温度，并将数据发回易于使用的仪表板。货物被标记为 "运输中 "的时代已经一去不复返了。有了无线跟踪技术，就可以准确地知道产品的位置，并准确预测产品的到达时间。
冷链物流的未来
我们正在迈向这样一个世界：所有冷链物流公司、餐厅和零售店通常都会使用IoT 传感器来跟踪和监控货物。工作人员可以把剪贴板留在家里，定期获取高精度读数，保证产品在整个运输过程中都保持在合适的温度。如果出了问题，很容易就能知道发生了什么，以及货物是否变质。
随着越来越多的组织和零售商发现IoT 支持冷链的好处，整个行业都将推动采用该技术，以提高准确性和人类健康与安全。
无论您是自建还是购买，Digi 都能通过嵌入式、蜂窝式和封装式解决方案，支持您对温度监控、供应链和零售管理的追求。请联系我们，了解我们的产品、服务和开发人员支持团队如何帮助您实现业务目标。