Sunday, 4 November 2012

Reduce the risk of perished products with humidity and temperature mapping

Mapping of the temperature and humidity of a warehouse can enable a company to find the best places to store certain products. For example, if food products are being stored, the temperature cannot be too warm otherwise they will perish. Temperature and humidity mapping is highly important in ensuring that all products are suitably stored.

In a single room, the temperature can differ up to 10°C from one area to another, and temperatures in certain areas, such as the corners, can fluctuate much more than other areas like the centre of the room. Mapping these fluctuations will enable you to identify the areas that are best for storing your products, and also the areas that need to be monitored to ensure the storage area is always at an ideal temperature.

There are many different factors that can affect the humidity and temperature of a warehouse, such as doors being opened, the presence of people in the room, heating systems and weather conditions. Temperature data collection through mapping will allow you to find out how many different variations of temperature there are in one room, so that you know which places need to be monitored.

Humidity and temperature mapping usually takes places during the hottest and coldest times of the year, so that you can make sure the temperature in your warehouse is suitable for your products even in the most extreme condition changes. When the mapping process has taken place, you should install a monitor in each different temperature zone, so that every area of your warehouse can be monitored constantly, and you can keep a record of any temperature changes.

The temperature data collection equipment you use may differ depending on the type of products you are storing. If your products are highly dependant on a very specific temperature, using more expensive equipment is a good idea, as it can give you an accuracy reading of 0.3°C off your actual temperature, whilst cheaper equipment may be less specific. Although this equipment is more expensive, it could save you a lot of money in spoiled and wasted products.

During temperature mapping, information regarding the building's affecting conditions such as weather exposure can be very helpful. Many warehouse buildings are more exposed to weather conditions than other buildings because they have usually more externally facing walls. This means that some places inside the building will be more affected by these conditions than others, and the information will help you decide where permanent monitoring systems should be located.

Temperature and humidity mapping is extremely important in storage because it not only ensures that your products are safe for use by consumers, but also greatly reduces your risk of losing money through spoiled and perished products.