Transport and routing16 / 35

Record the return-load owner and container condition. Check the restraint method in vehicle and container instructions.

Preparation starts before the product leaves the freezer: box, coolant, product order and final stop belong to one plan.

Arrival is not delivery acceptance. Record readiness, waiting, lid events and dispatch updates; handle the goods under the applicable procedure.

Record the waiting conditions, use an approved holding location and follow procedure before opening. Do not assume a universal time or temperature limit.

A void may affect product movement and the measurement point; do not treat a partial load as a validated full load.

In most fleets the handover list ends with fuel and paperwork. On a cold load the container, the plate and the lid belong to the handover too; the plate's melting point and freezing target are in the table.

For frozen food the limit is -18 °C, and a short rise in distribution may not exceed 3 °C. Because the lid opens at every stop, the box is chosen for the final stop.

A bag is enough if the product stays at -18 °C, at most 3 °C above it, from the moment it leaves the freezer until it enters the recipient's freezer. The time that counts is the whole timeline, not the driving time.

Choose by product condition, actual carton suitability, cold source, closure, preparation and cost per completed use rather than litres alone.

A box's duration comes from what it was tested with: product, load, ambient conditions and coolant. The whole route has to fit inside the verified time.

EPP insulation alone does not guarantee product temperature; test the box, plates and route together.

A cold-chain box slows heat ingress during transport. It does not cool by itself; it becomes a system with the goods, the coolant and the route.

Dry ice sublimates at -78.5 °C and releases gas. We work out how much CO2 10 kg of dry ice produces in a closed cargo space, set it against the ADR limits, and show where a gel pack belongs.

Gel packs go above the product, with an insulating layer between pack and goods, and are held so they cannot move in the box. The layout is checked with a trial run for that box, the outside temperature and the transit time.

Before choosing a route, measure stops, door openings, product requirements and plate-charging energy.

Validate SKU conditions, vehicle layout and door openings together in a route trial.