Fleet planning keeps the risk of breakdown on the vehicle side: a spare truck, a recovery agreement, a service contract. A cold load raises a second question: when the vehicle stops, does the cooling stop with it?
| Failure | Effect on cooling |
|---|---|
| Engine failure, on a unit driven from the vehicle engine | Cooling stops |
| Running out of fuel, on a unit with its own diesel engine | Cooling stops |
| Alternator or battery failure, on an electric unit | Cooling stops |
| Failure of the unit itself | Cooling stops, the vehicle still drives |
| Waiting after an accident | Even with the unit running, door and body integrity are in doubt |
With eutectic plate equipment the picture changes; the ATP roadside inspection guide puts it this way:
Because eutectic refrigerated equipment works independently of the vehicle, a constant temperature is always provided. Perishable food stays protected even if the vehicle breaks down.
Once the cold source is detached from the vehicle, fleet flexibility stops being a question about spare trucks.
Independence is not unlimited: a plate has a cold budget, and that budget is calculated against the trip plan. While the load is still cold it can be moved to another vehicle, and since what moves is the container itself, the product does not change hands.
The contingency plan carries these lines:
- How many minutes it takes to move the load to another vehicle, and where that vehicle is
- The address of the transfer point and its dock
- At what interval temperature is recorded while waiting
- Who decides whether the product is accepted
- Where the record and the photographs are kept
Turkey's Food Hygiene Regulation (17.12.2011), Article 7 paragraph 3, asks for the cold chain to be maintained and recorded together. The record kept during a breakdown is the ground for the later argument about whether the goods can be accepted.
A spare vehicle solves a mobility problem and a spare container solves a cold problem; the spare belongs where your route breaks more often. Test the plan on a quiet day: move a full container from one vehicle to another and time it. That number is the real value of the first line in the list.
