A log book hanging on a nail by the blast cell
A producer sends in chilled product to be blast frozen before storage. The pallets go into a blast cell, the time is written in the book, and the operative checks them at the intervals the procedure says, writing the readings down. When the product reaches the temperature your procedure specifies, the pallets are released to the freezer and the release is written in the book.
The book is full of crossings-out and gaps, particularly on night shift. When the customer asks for the blast record for a batch, someone copies it out of the book. When accounts bills the blast freezing, they work from a separate sheet.
Why blast freezing records are patchy
Blast freezing is a busy, time-sensitive process run alongside everything else on the dock. The paper log is at the cell; the WMS and billing are elsewhere.
- The log is on paper and separate from the WMS.
- Check intervals are missed when the dock is busy.
- Pallets move from the cell to storage without the release being recorded in the WMS.
- Blast charges are billed from a separate sheet.
- Customers' requests for blast records need copying out.
What patchy records cost
Missed or late checks leave gaps in the record your customer relies on. Pallets released without a record raise questions later. Blast freezing charges get missed. And the time spent copying records for customers is repeated with every request.
How we record each blast job
- A blast job is created when pallets are received for freezing, with the customer, product and pallets scanned into it.
- Loading into a cell is scanned, recording cell and start time.
- The device prompts the checks at the intervals your procedure sets, and readings are recorded, from a Bluetooth probe where available. Missed checks are alerted to the shift leader.
- Cell temperature can be recorded from the cell's controller or a sensor alongside the product checks.
- When the operative records that the release criteria in your procedure are met, the pallets are released and put away in the WMS by scan.
- The job record is available to the customer, and charges flow to billing by pallet, weight or time according to their rate card.
| Step | Recorded |
|---|---|
| Receipt | Customer, product, pallets |
| Into cell | Cell and time |
| Checks | Readings at each prompted interval |
| Release | Time, operative, putaway location |
| Billing | Charge per the customer's rate card |
The check intervals and release criteria come from your procedures and your customers' requirements. We prompt and record against them.
What the blast freezing operation looks like after
A screen showing every cell, what is in it, how long it has been there and when the next check is due. Complete job records available to customers on request or automatically. Blast charges on invoices without a separate sheet.
Capacity planning improves too. With every job recorded, you can see how long cells are typically occupied for each kind of product and plan incoming blast work around real cell availability, rather than taking a booking and hoping a cell is free.
Is your blast freezing log a book on a nail?
- Blast freezing is logged on paper by the cell.
- Checks are missed on busy shifts.
- Releases to storage are not always recorded.
- Blast charges are billed from a separate sheet.
- Customer requests for blast records mean copying from the book.