At its healthcare facility in Ghent, DSV, a global supplier of logics solutions mainly deals with the storage and distribution of temperature-sensitive products and healthcare articles, such as medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The company has five different temperature zones, where goods are stored in line with the strictest temperature requirements.

Accreditation

During audits in view of accreditation reporting, DSV has to be able to demonstrate how exactly goods are stored. The company was looking for  a solution that offered continuous monitoring and reporting capabilities. DSV wanted to monitor temperature and humidity among others. For each of the sensors it should also be possible to set different threshold values. When these values are exceeded or not reached an alert sounds for the person who has been assigned to that particular sensor at that time.

Wireless solution

During the search for the most suitable solution different suppliers were compared. In the end, DSV decided to choose PHI DATA’s solution.

“What convinced us most were the extensive possibilities to set alarms and the reporting capabilities”, says  Willem Wijnant, Project Manager at  DSV Solutions. Another decisive argument to choose PHI DATA’s solution was the system’s extensive flexibility: the connections are wireless and the sensors can be easily moved. Moreover, the alarm threshold values and other settings are easy to change.

PHI DATA installed an AeroScout condition monitoring system. The installed solution is very complete and flexible and offers an overview of the site’s floor plan in which each  sensor’s location is clearly visible.

Because these are wireless sensors, no extra cabling nor additional access points are necessary. And when the sensors go off line unexpectedly, not only does an alarm sound, but the sensor’s memory retains the storage conditions for a period of time until a connection between server and sensor is re-established.

The data extraction and reporting is very user-friendly. By working with an access rights system, each user has different options. A warehouse worker for instance will be able to see the temperature in ‘his’ temperature area but will not be able to modify the configuration.

By opting for a solution with a service contract, all upgrades and updates and the software support are included in DSV’s package. Without a contract a licence needs to be renewed with every large update. Moreover, support by PHI DATA is included in case of questions or problems, both remotely and on site.

Smooth implementation

“The implementation ran very smoothly”, says Willem Wijnant. “PHI DATA was clearly very knowledgeable about the product and offered good support during configuration. We were already working with a system that monitored temperature but that didn’t allow reporting within the software. With this new system the reporting runs very smoothly, so that is a big advantage. Before, we had to run reports manually, whereas now we can simply run them from the system. Moreover, the adjustments to our existing system and our location were minimal. Because everything works via Wi-Fi, we didn’t have to foresee other hardware investments.”

In time, DSV wants to extend the solution to other branches in Belgium.