What is remote monitoring ?
As the word suggests, we speak about monitoring specific parameters of cold chain remotely, in a different room or even a different continent from our cold chain device. To do so, we use so called RTMDs, remote monitoring devices.
How do RTMDs work?
RTMDs are basically data loggers. They are able to log different data points, mainly temperature, humidity, GPS, door status, using probes and sensors which are set inside refrigerators, freezers, cold rooms or even transport boxes, and transmit those data in set time intervals to a remote could storage. The data transmission is often done using GSM, 2G, 4G, 5G networks because the location in which the cold chain equipment is installed does not provide wired or wifi internet access. Ideally the RTMD comes with a pre-installed SIM card which can operate world wide.
Why is monitoring important?
Every cold chain equipment can fail, either get too cold or too hot, for different reasons. Very often the failure is due to lack of maintenance, dirty solar systems, but also failures of components or lack of electrical power supply can be a reason. When it comes to such an event, usually in the very beginning there is no need to worry, because the refrigerator provides autonomy of 24h or more. However it is important to monitor the temperature inside the refrigerator, and alarm the user once the temperature rises to critical limits. As the user is not always on site, the alarm can be transmitted by the RTMD using the cloud portal, and app on the users phone, or even SMS or whatsapp services. As we can see, the RTMD, using its remote alarm capacities, is able to alert users and therefore provide additional safety for the life saving medicines and vaccines.
How to identify a good monitoring solution? While thousands of solutions exist in the market, only very few are suitable. A good monitoring solution comes not only with reliable hardware, but also brings the necessary access to the data and analytics. Nobody has the spare time to monitor thousands of refrigerators, and therefore a reliable system will do that by itself. Get in touch with the specialist at GSHV to get guidance on the best monitoring systems.
