What Are Impact Recorders?

In shipping and transit, monitoring cargo at all points along the supply route is essential. There are many potential problems that can occur during shipping, whether it’s hauling freight across the ocean or moving cargo along typical supply routes Sometimes, damage can occur without warning. Assessing that damage and understanding how it’s going to affect the cargo isn’t always simple. That’s why there are tools that exist exclusively for monitoring cargo during shipping. The most useful and pragmatic of these devices is the impact recorder. Impact data loggers and recorders are the secret weapons for preventing damage to heavy-duty shipments. In this article, we’ll provide a guide to these phenomenal little devices and how they can be used in real-world situations to improve the integrity of your cargo.

What Are Impact Recorders And Data Loggers

Impact recorders measure shocks, impacts, and potential damage to your cargo. They’re used in shipping and transportation to monitor cargo for impacts, shocks, and mishandling. An impact recorder actively monitors cargo for impacts, shocks, and other damage as it travels. More advanced recorders also log data that can then be parsed and analyzed to help logistics managers reevaluate their shipping procedures and avoid damage in the future. For the best in impact recorders—and just about any remote monitoring equipment you need for your cargo—there’s one name that’s synonymous with quality: Spotsee. Using Spotsee impact recorders, data loggers, and other remote monitoring equipment can help you keep close watch on your cargo as it moves along your supply lanes.

Optional Add-Ons

For people who like to work on vehicles or computers, the option to upgrade and add accessories is a large part of what they do. But accessorizing and upgrading technology doesn’t have to be limited to hobbyists. With a Spotsee Shockwatch impact recorder, the sheer amount of optional add-ons is staggering! Imagine your logistics managers want to monitor or check shipments for variables other than impact damage. With optional add-ons to check humidity, temperature, and other factors, they can! If you are running things through the cold chain and want to monitor for condensation, moisture, or humidity then you can enhance one of these recorders with the appropriate sensors. Humidity sensors are especially vital because they can help you prevent moisture damage, which accounts for over 10% of cargo damage across most supply chains. Temperature sensors are also a fantastic add-on because you can monitor for temperature abuse over long shipping. That can cut back on costs for damaged goods, spoilage, or needing to replace items at some point in the future.

Cellular Module

Most impact recorders use different operational methods to govern their functions. Cellular impact recorder modules offer the benefits of using cellular technology to enhance the basic functions of the impact recorder. Cellular modules are ideal for real-time updates and don’t cause roaming charges because they’re connected to a large scale global network. These modules can also provide immediate notification of impacts that register as out-of-tolerance or unusual during transit. With a long battery life, excellent range, and a visual deterrent to theft or mishandling. The data they collect also provides a lot of insight into extremely specific events. These might include the time of an event, the duration, the impact severity, and more. Cellular modules are great for plenty of shipping applications and are worth considering when selecting impact recorders.

GPS

Although the concept of GPS—Global Positioning System—in transportation and monitoring tools is relatively new, GPS has been around for a long time. Using it for impact recorder technology is relatively new. GPS enabled impact recorders use a satellite system to give you all of the data and recording the cellular network provides but with an easier to use interface and a lot more scalability. Because of their wide coverage, satellites can track cargo throughout any supply chain and log damage, duration, forces, tilt, roll, vibrations, temperature fluctuation, and other factors that can then be analyzed throughout transit. This gives businesses plenty of useful tools to monitor, analyze, and create plans for their cargo throughout the supply chain.

Real-World Use Cases

Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks and other issues permeated the entire Supply chain. Not only were there raw materials shortages and manufacturing issues, but ships ended up getting bottlenecked at ports. This led to fewer supplies making their way into trucks and going across shipping lanes. But some of the problem doesn’t stem from this. Some of it is damage, mishandling, or even theft along those routes. Take for instance some of the common thefts that have been occurring over 2021. In these instances, thieves targeted food items and technology. Real Time monitoring systems could do a lot to prevent these types of vets and mishandling. Another real world case is when large power transformers are being transported across the country. These all important parts of a power infrastructure can be damaged by impacts. With a high quality impact Monitor and Data logger in place, it’s easier to spot damage that may not necessarily be visual before it can become an issue. Although things seem to be ramping up a bit more these days, the implementation and use of powerful real-time monitoring technology can only help improve and reinforce the Integrity of the entire supply chain as we travel into the future.