Refrigerated Container Monitoring and Tracking Pilot Program
The Pilot Program was conducted over three weeks in February/March 2010 and consisted of monitoring and tracking both a refrigerated container and a dry container between the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Tokyo. As a control set, both the reefer and dry containers had an independent temperature data logger. The results of the Pilot showed that the iCHIMEs were able to measure temperatures throughout the container. The data was collected by a tag on the inside of the container which correlated and stored data. The collector transmitted the data through the container to the tracking and communications tag located on the outside. In the graphs below, the correlated temperature data from the iCHIMEs and collector are shown in blue and the independent data logger is in orange..
Reefer Container:
- The independent logger recorded 993 records. The iControl solution recorded 987 or 99.4%.
- Good correlation between Japan logger and iControl solution in temperature trends.
- Both systems show temperature stability on or about 5 Celsius until the end of the trip.
- Both systems show initial drop when reefer generator turned on, spike when reefer waiting to be plugged into ship power, and spike when reefer unplugged from ship power at end of trip.
Dry Container:
- A total of 1131 records were recorded by the independent data logger. iControl's solution obtained 1118 records or 98.9% of the total from the logger.
- Good correlation between Japan logger and iControl solution in temperature trends.
- Day-night temperature variation shows larger swing on shore than while on ocean.
How iControl's Solution Can Help You
As seen in the above data, iControl's products can reliably and efficiently provide you with the operational data you require to ensure that your assets are performing as required and notify you in real-time if a threshold or event is triggered.. For example, this pilot program revealed that the reefer container was idle in a terminal and the internal temperature of the reefer container reached unsatisfactory levels. With iControl's solution, the customer was able to contact the appropriate personnel and resolve the problem immediately, thus saving time, money and their customer's cargo.
