Travelers in rail traffic may stay overnight in sleepers during their voyage through Europe. By the very multifaceted rail network passengers are able to travel from many locations such as Zurich to Amsterdam or from Munich to Venice. Such a long journey often takes its time and passengers are reliant on a perfect organization of the carrier. It is therefore self-evident that the host is serving excellent food and beverages during the stay. To enjoy provided services, storing the perishable products at the right temperature is a necessity. Otherwise the voyage may end up obtaining a "strange flavor".
By traveling south, the risk of power failures, voltage drops and technical defects are most likely caused by a breakdown of the cooling unit. In addition to this the wagons are parked outside in the heat when they are not in use.
In case a cooling unit fails, the carrier as well as a service team have to be informed immediately so failures can be maintained. If temperatures inside the unit exceed the maximum allowed limit for meat or vegetables, the perishable goods would have to be disposed which would result in financial losses.
If goods cannot be replaced by the carrier in time, passengers will be served a reduced menu which causes inconvenience and can damage the company's reputation.
Common practice is using ordinary sensor technology for monitoring the temperature. The sensors are placed in certain areas and have to be read manually, which is very work- and cost-intensive.
Solution
RFID tags with integrated sensor technology are the ideal solution for guaranteeing an automatic and permanent monitoring of perishable products.
Therefore the wagons with integrated cooling units can be supplied with these sensor tags. They are able to continuously measure the temperature and send a beacon to the reading system every minute. The RFID reader collects the data and hands it over to the above layered host system via GPRS. In this system all measured values are monitored and evaluated. If cooling problems occur an alarm will be raised and a maintenance team informed immediately.
The RFID sensor tags will be integrated into the cooling units. Receiving data of as many as ten tags, that are easily deployed without any mechanical intervention to the cooling unit, only one RFID reader is necessary.
The reason for not using any additional cable coupling is because the transfer of data between sensor tags and reader is secured by wireless technology. In case of a power failure the RFID reader is equipped with a battery that lasts multiple days. The wide availability of GPRS for transferring the data guarantees a safe operation and monitoring of temperature fluctuations internationally.
Advantages
The usage of RFID sensor transponders offers significant benefits for monitoring the condition of cooling units towards conventional methods. Because of the continuous and automatic monitoring directly inside the units, carriers and service teams are able to react "just in time" before temperature is raised to a critical level. The combination of RFID and sensor technology reduces financial damages through perishable products as well as maximizing the efficiency of human resources. Just as important as reducing the carriers cost-intense processes, is the ability to maintain high quality services to the customer. What could be more rewarding than a happy satisfied traveler.
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