Chilled at plus three, when the order said minus eighteen
Most loads run at the set points the driver knows by heart. Then a customer sends a load that needs something different: a product at a specific chilled range, a frozen load on a trailer that ran chilled yesterday, a pharmaceutical load with its own band. The requirement is on the order, in the notes field.
The driver sets the unit from the loading sheet, which was printed from a template. The trailer leaves at the wrong set point. It is noticed at the first drop, if the customer probes the product, or not at all.
Why the right set point does not reach the unit
The set point is information that has to travel from the customer's order, through your order entry and planning, to a driver standing at a unit control panel. Every hand-off is a chance to lose it.
- Set point requirements are in free-text notes on the order.
- Loading sheets use templates with default temperatures.
- Trailers change regime from one load to the next.
- Drivers set units from memory or habit.
- Nobody compares the actual set point with the order before departure.
What a wrong set point costs
The product is at risk, and so is the customer's trust. A rejected load means collection, disposal and redelivery. Even if the product is fine, the conversation with the customer's quality team starts from a weak position.
How we check the set point before the trailer leaves
- We take the temperature requirement from each order as a structured field, not a note, through your order entry, the customer's EDI or a mapping of their product codes to regimes.
- The required set point, or the set point for each compartment, flows to the load plan and the driver's app.
- Before departure, the driver confirms the set point on the app. The unit's actual set point is read from telematics and compared with the requirement.
- If they differ, the driver is told immediately and the planner is alerted.
- During the journey, a change to the set point is flagged if it moves away from the order's requirement.
- The check result is stored with the load, as part of its record.
| Point | Check |
|---|---|
| Order entry | Temperature requirement is a required field |
| Load planning | Compartment set point matches the order |
| Departure | Unit set point read and compared |
| In transit | Set point changes flagged |
The required set points come from your customers and your quality team. We make sure the right one reaches the unit and is confirmed.
What changes on the yard
Drivers see the set point for each load on the app instead of relying on memory. Mismatches are caught before the trailer leaves, not at the customer's bay. The planner can see every load's set point check on one screen.
The check also protects drivers. A driver who confirmed the set point from the app, and whose unit matched the order at departure, has a clear record if a question is raised later, rather than their word against a loading sheet that said something different.
Could a trailer leave at the wrong set point?
- Temperature requirements are in order notes.
- Loading sheets have default temperatures.
- Trailers switch between chilled and frozen work.
- Nobody checks the unit's set point before departure.
- A wrong set point has been found at a customer's bay.