The organization
A regional cold-chain distributor moves chilled and frozen food from producers to supermarkets, restaurants and hospitals. It runs a fleet of reefer trucks and a cold room at each depot.
Its customers reject a load that arrived warm, so the business depends on refrigeration units, compressors and door seals working every day, on the road and in the depot.
The challenge
Temperature problems are found late, often by a driver or a customer. Truck and reefer servicing is booked by the calendar, even though some trucks run twice as many hours as others.
- Temperature loggers are read after the trip, when the load is already lost.
- Cold room alarms sound locally and nobody records what was done about them.
- Service intervals ignore how many hours each reefer unit has actually run.
- Odometer and engine hours are copied from dashboards by hand, when someone remembers.
- Compressor and door seal repairs leave no history to compare units by.
How it is set up in Asset Infinity
The distributor connects its trucks and cold rooms to Asset Infinity, so readings drive the work instead of someone noticing a problem.
Sensor limits that raise work
Temperature sensors in each cold room and reefer box have a limit. When a reading crosses it, a work order is raised for that asset and the right team is notified. (Connected)
GPS trackers on every truck
Each truck’s tracker reports its location, odometer and engine hours, so the readings arrive without anyone typing them in. (Connected)
Plans by engine hours and mileage
Preventive plans for engines and reefer units run on meter readings, so a truck that works harder is serviced sooner. Cold room plans run on dates. (Maintenance)
Parts at each depot
Filters, belts, door seals and refrigerant are stocked per depot with reorder points, and parts are issued to the work order that used them. (Stores)
How it works day to day
Here is how a day runs when readings, not phone calls, start the work.
- System: reads trackers and sensors. GPS trackers send each truck’s odometer and engine hours, and temperature sensors report from every cold room and reefer box.
- System: raises work on a breach. A cold room reading crosses its limit overnight. A work order is raised for that cold room and the depot technician is notified on the mobile app.
- Technician: fixes and records. The technician scans the QR label, finds a failed door seal, issues a new seal from depot stock, adds photos and closes the job.
- System: plans fall due by hours. A reefer unit reaches its engine-hour interval and its preventive plan creates a work order before the next trip.
- Fleet supervisor: schedules the service. The supervisor assigns the work order to a workshop technician for the window when the truck is back at the depot.
- Depot staff: runs the weekly inspection. Each cold room gets a checklist with required temperature readings, door and alarm checks, and photos. A failed check raises corrective work.
- Operations manager: reviews the week. Dashboards show breaches by site, open work orders and plans due, and a scheduled report goes out every Monday.
Before and after
| Before | With Asset Infinity | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature breach | Found after the trip or by a customer | Raises a work order when the reading crosses its limit |
| Cold room alarms | Sound locally, no record | A work order with an owner and a history |
| Service intervals | Fixed calendar for every truck | Engine hours and mileage from GPS trackers |
| Meter readings | Copied from dashboards by hand | Sent by the tracker |
| Spare parts | Bought when a truck is already down | Reorder points per depot |
| Repair history | Scattered across workshop invoices | On each truck, reefer unit and cold room |
The first month
- Register and labels. Trucks, reefer units, cold rooms and compressors are imported, and each gets a QR label.
- Sensors and trackers linked. GPS trackers and temperature sensors are linked to their assets, and a limit is set for each reading.
- First plans live. Engine-hour and mileage plans start for the fleet, and weekly cold room inspections are scheduled.
Example results
- Every temperature breach raises a work order within minutes
- 100% of reefer units serviced on engine hours, not guesswork
- 1 register for trucks, reefer units, cold rooms and compressors
- Each temperature breach has a record of who responded and what was done.
- Service dates follow how hard each truck works, not a fixed calendar.
- Weekly cold room inspections record readings, door seal checks and photos.
- Repair history shows which reefer units and compressors fail most often.
Why it worked
Time to act
A breach becomes a work order as soon as the reading crosses its limit, while the load can still be saved.
Service by use
Engine hours from the trackers decide when a truck is due, so busy trucks are not left running past their interval.
Proof for customers
Every breach, response and inspection is on record, ready when a customer asks what happened to a load.
Looking ahead
With sensors, trackers and plans in one system, the distributor finds temperature problems while there is still time to save the load, and services each truck when its hours say it is due.
The history built up in each asset record shows which units cost the most to keep running, which is the starting point for replacement and budget decisions.