Digi International introduced Digi SafeTemps. “Designed in conjunction with leading transportation and logistics companies, Digi SafeTemps provides precise and continuous visibility using wireless monitors that automatically generate temperature alerts and reports of perishable goods throughout the transportation and supply chain process,” the company noted.
As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the FDA issued new food safety rules to prevent food contamination during transportation. The rules require those involved in transporting human and animal food by motor or rail vehicle to follow recognized best practices for sanitary transportation, including properly refrigerating food. Shippers and receivers must verify that transport units are pre-cooled prior to loading, and track temperatures during transit. They must also capture, log and share temperature monitoring data to show end-to-end compliance.
According to the company, in addition to providing customers with the ability to meet new FSMA requirements, Digi SafeTemps also provides an independent audit of refrigerated trailers (reefers). In reefers, the temperature is controlled by a refrigeration unit that creates and maintains three temperature zones (frozen, refrigerated and ambient temperature). With Digi SafeTemps technology deployed directly within each zone inside the container a real-time and accurate record verifies that the reefer unit is meeting FSMA requirements, the company noted.
“Requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act present immediate challenges for our customers in the transportation industry,” said Kevin C. Riley, chief operating officer, Digi International. “Digi SafeTemps automates temperature logging and location reporting. Our solution is unique in that it continuously measures temperature at the point of product, within the cooling system itself, providing an independent verification of a trailer’s reefer equipment.”
“We’re using SafeTemps across our entire trailer fleet to give us continuous visibility, which is leaps beyond the interval-based level of insight of competitive solutions,” said Julie Trudel, operations manager, ASL Global Logistics. “It provides immeasurable value in ensuring accurate and automated reporting across our fleet and our ability to provide that insight to our customers.”
“The combination of the cloud-based service with the ease of installation made Digi SafeTemps an easy decision,” said Joe Pfeifer, director of loss prevention and food safety, Merchants Distributors, LLC, a privately owned wholesale grocery distributor headquartered in Hickory, N.C. “Any time your business is based on shipping, you can’t have your fleet sitting in the yard for technology upgrades. Digi SafeTemps was installed quickly and easily.”
According to the company, Digi SafeTemps offers the following:
- Location-Based Real-Time Temperature Monitoring: By linking positioning and temperature monitoring, the customer has complete visibility throughout the transport chain. The system can locate and monitor refrigeration units in trailer yards during preparation, as it leaves the shipper location (i.e. geo-fencing), in transit, arrival at destination, and location in the destination yard. During the course of the shipment, the system provides breadcrumbing and zone temperatures with five-minute stop detection. During transit, through integration with dispatch and telematics software, shippers and carriers are immediately alerted to any temperature event. Additionally, by placing the Digi SafeTemps gateway on the outside refrigeration unit, an LED light visibly alerts yard managers, shippers and carriers to any temperature fail event.
- Automated Trip and Shipment Reports: Digi SafeTemps provides automated and detailed trip, shipment and customer delivery reports. Information can be presented in a Digi-hosted dashboard, as well as be integrated with ERP, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Dock Management Systems (DMS), yard management systems and transport management systems.
- Data to Adhere to FSMA Requirements: By eliminating manual input of temperature information, sensor-based input saves labor, eliminates potential human error and provides reliable data to verify adherence to FSMA requirements. Additionally, automated data logging and temperature tracking provides verification to product specific temperature rule sets such as the four-hour and one-hour time/temperature rule set. Digi SafeTemps follows Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) standards to provide a traceable independent audit of both reefer units and product temperatures.
