Solutions for Item-Level Temperature Logging!
The temperature-logger market is still growing fast, due to increased demand from cold-chain operators in food, pharma and other segments for cost-efficient solutions in item-level logging. Smartrac, an Avery Dennison company, has the appropriate offer – in the shape of two innovative products that leverage the latest digital ID technologies.
More Transparency Over the Handling of Products
Pressure is increasing on operators of coldchain logistics systems to provide more transparency over the handling of products.
This is driven by a few factors including the increasingly strict health and safety requirements, aimed at protecting the public, as well as demand from retailers who want to improve loyalty and trust with consumers by offering the ability for them to check for themselves whether a temperature-sensitive product has been stored and transported at the correct ambient temperature.
For many operators, this increased scrutiny means that they are being forced to investigate ways of logging the temperature not just of a truck’s cargo bay or a specific pallet, but of individual products themselves – what is known as item-level temperature logging. Avery Dennison can provide robust solutions to satisfy both demands – compliance with health and safety regulations, and supply chain transparency – with two different temperature loggers
Temperature Logging Made Robust
The first is the Maxdura Thermologger, a new semi-active UHF RFID temperature logging product. Equipped with EM Microelectronic’s EM4325 EPC Gen2 IC with integrated temperature sensor, it combines high accuracy and robustness in a hard tag and opens new possibilities for cold chain applications in food, pharma and other segments. As the product name indicates, Maxdura Thermologger combines “hard tag-like” robustness and maximum-level environmental resistance with compatibility to existing RAIN RFID (UHF) reader infrastructures and practical temperature logging capabilities.
The latter are enabled by a battery-powered logging unit that is guaranteed to work for three years or five use cycles. Providing a scalable log memory, an operating temperature range from -30°C to 60°C (- 22°F to +140°F), and an accuracy of up to ±0.1 °C, Maxdura Thermologger fits the widest possible array of application needs. That also applies to the temperature measurement intervals which can be set between one second and 24 hours.
Universally Applicable Reader Interface
To maximize application flexibility and future viability, Maxdura Thermologger features a universally applicable reader interface. Thus, sensors with higher accuracy and different functionalities (pressure, humidity, gas, acceleration) can be integrated in the future without affecting this interface.
Maxdura Thermologger has a hard tag-like form factor measuring 100 × 75 × 11 mm (4.0 × 3.0 × 43 in) and comes with 3072 bits user memory that enables the storage of up to 1000 data measurements (8 bit / 0.5°C resolution). Higher memory capacities are available upon request, as are higher precision temperature sensors.
Temperature Logger NFC: Accessing Logged Temperature Data Made Easy
The second product is the Temperature Logger NFC, which is a battery-powered label system for accurately logging temperature data in supply-chain applications. By measuring and recording temperature readings during the transport of temperature-sensitive items, Temperature Logger NFC helps customers make informed decisions about shipment quality, inventory and logistics. The product is designed in a standard size of 85.6 x 54 mm and is equipped with an embedded temperature sensor, NFC inlay, real-time clock and data store.
The use of NFC, rather than other embedded chips, means that costs are greatly reduced while enabling unheard-of level of supply chain transparency. Since NFC is installed on most new smartphones, accessing logged temperature data couldn’t be easier. Temperature Logger NFC generates a data file for uploading, and a temperature graph that is easy to read. The logging process requires no special equipment, just the installation of an app on the smartphone.
