Best Practices To Adopt When Using Refrigerated Transport

Thousands of trucks move across the country every day, transporting a wide variety of goods from one place to another. It’s an essential part of the supply chain. Al the items on these trucks need to be looked after to ensure they arrive in optimum condition. But, this is especially important when dealing with goods that need to be kept chilled. Refrigerated transport is the only answer

You need to adopt the following best practices of Refrigerated transport to ensure the goods arrive in the best possible condition.

Keep Them Refrigerated Prior to Transport

If you’re shipping items that need to be kept refrigerated then you should ensure they remain at the right temperature all the time. That means preparing them to be moved but not removing them from your own refrigerated compartment until the truck is ready. 

They can then be transferred into the refrigerated truck and maintain the correct temperature. There are many items that need to be kept cooled but food is the most common and can easily be damaged if warmed then cooled again. 

Make sure your business has the right procedures in place to keep refrigerated items refrigerated.

Use The Right Company

You need to use a company that specializes in refrigerated transport. They’ll have the trucks and other equipment needed to ensure your goods remain chilled and get where they need to be. But, they’ll also have the knowledge and experience to deal with any issues that occur.

Alongside this, the right company will have a good reputation to protect, they can’t afford for your goods to arrive in poor condition.

Label Everything

It’s essential that all items are properly labeled. This doesn’t just tell the driver where they are from and where they are going. It also tells them how heavy things are, whether items can be stacked on top, and even how fragile something inside is. This is all useful information to ensure the driver and other workers take the maximum amount of care possible with your packages.

Responsibility

A key part of the refrigerated transport process going smoothly is making sure all parties are accountable. This starts with your workers being trained in the right procedures. They should sign to confirm they’ve been trained.

They’ll also need to sign to confirm the outgoing goods are in good condition and have followed the in-house processes.

It’s a good idea to incorporate temperature trackers on your packages. These have a solid color on a standard label. The label is coded with temperature parameters. If the temperature moves outside the permitted range the label changes color, alerting the driver and the receiver that there has been an issue during transport. 

It helps apportion liability for insurance purposes and inspires everyone involved in the process to treat the packages with care.

Don’t forget that you need to review your in-house systems regularly to ensure they are working correctly and looking after your goods before they get dispatched. There is always room to improve procedures!