June 9, 2020

Why Fragile Industrial Electronics Need Excellent Shipment Monitoring Practices

Moving different types of freight can require different kinds of shipment monitoring and safety precautions to ensure the undamaged delivery of products. One type of product requires extremely careful planning when it comes to shipping-- fragile industrial electronics.

So how can a business properly engage in lifetime monitoring for a fragile industrial electronic product, and how can such products be safely moved along the supply chain? Let’s find out. First, let’s break down exactly what a fragile industrial electronic is.

What are fragile industrial electronics?

Industrial electronics are types of equipment or tools that involve some type of electrical component and are used for industrial purposes, such as a lab, plant, construction site, etc. Fragile industrial electronics are industrial electronic devices that are particularly fragile or can break easily, such as meters, sensors, scientific or pharmaceutical testing equipment, semiconductors, transistors, timers, etc.

All of these types of electronics are often quite small and have very delicate components. Should these components break, the entire product could be rendered useless. Because of this, it is crucial to transport fragile industrial electronics very carefully at every part of the supply chain.

Moving fragile industrial electronics and the importance of final mile logistics

Fragile industrial electronics can and should be monitored while being shipped from the manufacturer to the distribution point to the parcel carrier. 

Just as well, the last mile is of the utmost importance for such electronics. It’s relatively simple to protect fragile industrial electronics during the main freight voyage, but once it arrives at a distribution center and is shipped yet again via a parcel carrier, those items could be damaged significantly. “Last mile” logistics seek to ensure that packages are in good hands once they end up with parcel carriers.

Much of the best practices for ensuring fragile industrial electronics ship undamaged comes down to testing and packaging. To start, allow plenty of time for testing. Try sending out trial or practice shipments that will mirror the fragility and weight of the products you’ll end up shipping. 

Another way to ensure fragile industrial electronics are taken care of during shipping is to seal packages with extremely high quality and pressure-resistant tape. This will ensure that packages are closed and cannot be damaged by outside sources such as moisture or excessive sunlight. The inside of the packaging should be heavily padded with styrofoam or another type of insulation as well.

It is also crucial to make sure there is no empty space inside of the product’s packaging. Because fragile industrial electronics can be rendered useless and damaged with just a slight bump, adequate packing and insulating is key. But this cannot be properly achieved unless the most possible space is taken up by insulation material so that the product cannot move around.

You should also consider the mode of transportation for your fragile goods. A lot of the time, air-ride transportation via a cargo plane can be a better choice than road-based transportation such as trucks or trains. This is because the friction between the road and truck tires causes constant vibration that could cause fragile elements of the product to rub against its package or insulation, eventually breaking it. Also take the time to inspect your warehouses and cross docks that will be handling your products during the shipping process. Are aisles clear and unobstructed so that forklifts can smoothly operate? Are personnel properly trained on why your products need to be handled with care? This ensures that when you can’t really keep an eye on activities that occur in your warehouses on a regular basis, you know that you’ve invested in a decent warehouse and staff.

Outside of these best practices for moving fragile industrial electronics, it is also crucial to invest in condition monitoring for your shipments.

Condition monitoring for fragile industrial electronics

Lifetime monitoring involves keeping an eye on various conditions surrounding the product journey of a fragile industrial electronic at every point in the supply chain. Freight monitoring vendors like Logmore make this process very easy by providing the right tools and software necessary to keep an eye on products throughout their shipping journey, whether they travel by plane, train, truck, cargo boat, or car.

Condition monitoring will often provide insight into a variety of shipping conditions in real-time, including:

  • Moisture and humidity
  • Temperature
  • Sun or light exposure, as well as ambient light
  • Bumps, shocks, or tilts
  • Temperature
  • Location

Fragile industrial electronics can be damaged by virtually all of these things, but they are most susceptible to mishandling. A condition monitoring platform will allow businesses to closely monitor the condition of their freight at any point during travel, including loading and unloading the product.

Some logistics platforms like Logmore provide impact, shock, and tilt indicators that can be easily attached to the outside of boxes or pallets in order to indicate if a particular piece of cargo has been manhandled, loaded incorrectly, or jostled because of terrain or road issues. This is very handy because it lets you find and solve damage problems and hold those responsible accountable.

The right solutions for moving fragile freight

If you need software that offers quality assurance and top-tier data logging, Logmore is an excellent choice. Especially if you have fragile freight to track.

Logmore is based on a QR tag system. Simply attach a tag to your freight, scan your tag, and instantly upload your condition data to the cloud. From there, you can analyze and view reports from the user-friendly Logmore dashboard from your mobile device. The beauty of Logmore’s tag system is that it can work virtually anywhere. Each individual tag is built with hyper-accurate sensors and enough memory to store thousands of measurements. Unlimited cloud storage also ensures that your tracking data will be safe and easy to reference whenever you need it.

Ready to change how you handle your business’ logistics? Order a free data logger to test Logmore’s temperature monitoring.

Don’t forget to follow the Logmore blog today for more articles and guides on logistics, shipment monitoring, freight protection, and more.