Monitoring Transport Conditions Could be Key to Meeting the Food Wastage Problem Head On

In a report published last week by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), it was revealed that as much as half of all the food produced in the world ends up as waste every year.

IMechE found that poor harvesting, transportation and storage were to blame for the 2 billion tonnes of food wasted. Despite the report pointing some of the blame to poor transport facilities, we believe that the haulage industry can become part of the solution, rather than the cause.

One reason for food being wasted is the transported produce failing to meet retailers' exacting quality standards. Here's where technology can help. Because thanks to integrated telematics and temperature monitoring systems, fleet managers now have access to critical real time data, giving them a complete picture of fleet performance and temperature conformance. Monitoring activities such as door open/closed, fridge on/off alongside compartment temperature helps fleet managers identify activities that put produce at risk, and remove them from business operations. With these tools hauliers can do everything possible to ensure that loads remain within set conditions, reduce load rejections and produce waste.

This information empowers you to reduce all kinds of waste - including fuel wastage, time wastage as well as food wastage. It's a solution, which the government, development agencies and organisations, should be encouraging refrigerated fleets to adopt, in order to meet the food waste challenges.

As well as helping to challenge the food waste problem, the technology also provides new ways for businesses to maximise efficiency and simplify records. At a time when businesses need to remain competitive, telematics adds even greater value to refrigerated fleets.

Waste happens at every step in the supply chain, but through the use of telematics, the haulage industry can play a key part in helping to address the nation's food wastage problem.