Are you monitoring your product shipments for potential hidden damage? If your products are sensitive to potential damage from impacts or you have experienced problems in transit, consider monitoring your shipments to create accountability.
Accountability is Never More Visible
A manufacturer of electronic and laser equipment recently contacted Impact-O-Graph. Their precision equipment was consistently getting damaged when shipping to customers. It was determined their crating and packaging was adequate in preventing damage in transit. However several units were receiving excessive shock resulting in costly internal damage causing the equipment to malfunction.
A Low Cost and Simple Solution
The objective was to determine the best monitoring solution for this customer. This was accomplished through a detailed discussion and evaluation of the company’s product and shipping methods. The final decision was to use the Impact-O-Graph Trans-Monitor TD impact indicator.
The unique benefit to the Trans-Monitor TD [timer display] is its ability to tell when the impact occurred. The device is activated right before shipment and if an impact meets or exceeds the calibrated g force, the clock will stop. Therefore based on the time elapsed, you can determine when the shipment was damaged, and from this information, who in the transportation chain was handling the product to determine accountability.
Conclusion
As it turns out, the manufacturer did have a couple instances where the Trans-Monitor TD did receive excessive impact. Based on the time of the high impact, they were able to identify the carrier handling the equipment causing the excessive shock to their equipment. The manufacturer was able to make the carrier accountable and as a result corrected an expensive problem.
Impact monitoring devices can provide added knowledge and value of knowing if the shipment has experienced severe impact or mishandling. A low cost impact indicator like the Trans-Monitor TD provides this critical information plus when the impact occurred.
