Hello everyone, the weather has been hot recently, and there have even been high temperatures of 34 and 35 degrees in southern China. In this hot weather, everyone must pay attention to protect themselves and pay attention to hydration. If you are a friend who often works outdoors, remember to wear a hat or sunglasses (wearing sunglasses is really not cool, even if the sun is not too violent, you should wear sunglasses. Because there are a lot of ultraviolet and infrared rays in the sun, it will affect the Our eyes cause damage), it is best to apply a sunscreen, and to reduce the exposure of the skin to the sun as much as possible, to avoid heat stroke or other more serious problems.
Well, before we officially start the lecture today, let’s review the previous article: The reason for the warehouse explosion. The reason is that after the article was published, an enthusiastic friend reminded me of one thing, that is, a very important factor that caused the warehouse to explode in the last two months. It also involves the increase in the inspection rate of customs, and airlines are also afraid of empty warehouses. , so double the situation of goods entering the warehouse. These two points are indeed very important factors. At the same time, it also responded from the side that air transportation is not an industry that exists alone, but an industry that is affected by various market factors. Because of the epidemic, the country has strengthened the control of the export of epidemic prevention materials. Because of this, the change of chartered passengers to cargo and the increase of flights have also increased the factors that cause airlines to empty warehouses. Therefore, we should try our best to consider all aspects in order to make the goods export smoothly. It is now officially added. Thank you Miss Li for your kind reminder.
OK, now we officially enter today’s topic. What I want to talk about today is the issues that need to be paid attention to in the process of temperature-controlled cargo handling. Maybe we don’t have many opportunities to contact this kind of goods, but its application range is very wide. Temperature-controlled goods belong to the category of PER goods, but PER includes many different types of goods, the full name of which is: Perishable (fresh and perishable). What we are going to talk about today is the most common type of fresh and perishable: temperature-controlled goods.
Now, it is the season to eat lychees. If we want to air transport some lychees to friends from other places, then this batch of lychees needs to be temperature controlled. Because lychees are fresh, if you use ordinary air transport, maybe when you enter the warehouse, the lychees are fresh, and after arrival, they become dried lychees… Therefore, during the transportation process, we need to keep refrigerated. Of course, there are many ways to refrigerate, such as putting refrigerant in the package, or placing solid ice directly. Or directly use the temperature control box for temperature control.
A lot of friends may ask, wouldn’t it be over if I put solid ice directly? Does it need to be so complicated? In fact, it is really necessary. Suppose we replace the lychee in the example with chilled fish, or a medical injection with temperature requirements. Then it is necessary to do temperature control, right? Otherwise, at the destination, the chilled fish will become salted fish, and the injection will become poison. Who will be responsible for this?
In fact, the principle of lychees is the same. Of course, solid ice can keep the freshness of lychees for a certain period of time, but the freshness of fruits, which are eaten into the stomach at the same time, must be very important. Who can guarantee that only solid ice will keep the fruit fresh all the way to its destination? What if the flight is delayed? So temperature control is very necessary.
So since it is so necessary, what should we pay attention to when transporting temperature-controlled goods? First of all, all temperature-controlled goods do not specify a fixed temperature, but a temperature range. I have already mentioned this in the previous article. Forgotten friends, see here: A brief description of special goods . For example, my lychees are required to be kept in the temperature range of 2-8 degrees Celsius. So, we have to think about how to maintain the temperature on our way to the delivery station? After entering the warehouse, does the cargo station have a cold storage that can meet this temperature requirement to temporarily store our goods? Can the temperature be maintained during the process of the cargo from the cargo station to the pallet to the bottom of the machine? Is there also a cold storage that can meet the temperature requirements in the cargo terminal of the transfer station? After the plane lands, does the destination cargo terminal also have such a cold storage? After picking up the goods at the destination, can the temperature be guaranteed before the actual use of the goods? Wait.
It can be seen that for temperature-controlled goods, the three most important points are temperature, temperature, and temperature. Whenever and wherever, it is necessary to ensure that the temperature requirements can be met. Otherwise, the purpose of “temperature control” will be lost. Of course, if it is this kind of cargo, the flight with less or even no transfer must be selected, because if there is one more transfer place, there will be more risks. Especially if the transit place is originally in the tropical area, it is even more important to pay attention.
Let’s look back now, how to ensure the temperature requirements of the goods, such as pulling the goods out to load the board, pulling the goods to the bottom of the machine, and after the goods arrive at the destination, before they are unloaded and put into the cold storage? First of all, when we pack the goods, in order to avoid accidents, we will definitely add refrigerants, such as solid ice, into the packaging. After the goods are pulled out of the cold storage, when a series of actions are performed, the temperature of the goods is maintained by these refrigerants. Due to the particularity of the nature of the cargo, the order in which these cargoes are placed and installed must be at the end. Because doing so minimizes the time the cargo is exposed. And the final installation can also ensure that after the plane lands, the first ULD unloaded is this ticket. During this time, the refrigerant inside the package comes into play.
Some smart friends may ask, why didn’t you mention the temperature control during the flight of the plane? Well, it seems that you are thinking very seriously. Kudos to your Sherlock Holmes little head. Usually, during the flight of the aircraft, the temperature of the cabin is not very high. If it is 2-8 degrees Celsius, it is generally satisfactory. I have seen the after hold on the 777-300ER, there is a button on the hatch that controls the temperature. Well, I haven’t pressed it, so I don’t know if it can be controlled purely from the cabin door. However, it is estimated that the captain’s room can also be controlled. Ha ha. So, don’t worry too much about the temperature during the flight. If you have an impression, when we take a plane, we can ask the flight attendant to ask for a blanket for us, and even a blanket is standard. What is the reason? It is because the cabin temperature itself is low, and when flying smoothly, it is generally flying in the stratosphere or troposphere. This flight altitude also determines that the temperature of the air around the aircraft will not be high. This temperature control method using the cabin temperature is called Passive Temperature Control. Keywords: Passive.
Let’s talk about Active Temperature Control. Keywords: Active. What I just said is the temperature control using the cabin temperature itself. Now let’s talk about the use of some devices to actively provide the rated temperature. This is where the thermostat comes into play. The so-called temperature control box, such as RKN and the like, R stands for Refrigerate (refrigeration). These temperature control boxes can actively generate the temperature required by the shipper and maintain this temperature continuously. The way of transportation in a temperature-controlled box is suitable for some situations with very strict requirements on temperature. For example, the injections just mentioned, or human organs, etc. For these goods, if the temperature changes, the whole batch of goods is likely to be invalid or deteriorated, which will be a big problem.
To use the temperature control box, you must make an agreement with the airline in advance to ask if there is a model that can use the temperature control box on the route. Because not all models can use the temperature control box. Also see if there are thermostats available. If both are satisfied, under normal circumstances, this special ULD must be booked at least a week in advance (depending on the airline’s regulations, there is no specified lead time). In the case of using a temperature control box, there are also two different ways to install the board. One is to take out the box and install it yourself, and the other is to not take it out and still install it by the board maker. In either case, there is an additional fee to be paid. For example, the rental cost of the temperature control box, some airlines may also require a deposit, and then the unit price of the ticket will be doubled. However, if the goods themselves must not take the risk of high temperature, it is better to use a temperature control box.
The difference between Passive and Active, in addition to price, is the persistence and adaptability of maintaining temperature (adapting to different scenarios). Relatively speaking, Active’s persistence and adaptability are much better than Passive. For example, if you think it is too hot, you have two choices, one is to sit under the shade of a tree, the other is to sit under the air conditioner. It is also relatively cool under the shade of trees, but the hot wind blowing (influenced by external objective factors) can still make people suffocating, but it must feel cooler under the air conditioner (reduce the influence of external objective factors). For cargoes that do not have too high temperature requirements, the ordinary cabin temperature can meet the requirements, so there is no need to use Active.
Alright, here we are for this issue. See you next time.