The Cold Chain Solution — Compliance and Implementation Guide

User Guide

•

0 mins to read

The purpose of this document is to provide all the information necessary to successfully deploy a customer’s Cold Chain solution, so either our Partners or our Support team can help with the steps required.

Partner Guide

Disclaimer

! IMPORTANT: If you are reading this documentation on support.geotab.com, you will only be shown the Partner Guide.

For the full documentation, including the Ordering Guide, Troubleshooting Guide, FAQs, and ThermoKing Integration Guide (for North American deployments), click here.

You can then use the tabs along the left side of the screen to navigate between guides:

document Image

Overview

This document provides all necessary information to successfully deploy a Customer’s Cold Chain solution, and is intended for our Partners and/or Support team.

! IMPORTANT: Use of the Cold Chain solution elements outside of the manner in which they are presented in this document and associated documentation may not be compliant with Cold Chain regulations. Contact your Geotab Partner or the Support team for questions.

Document sections

Background

Explains high-level details and basic concepts of the Cold Chain solution.
Differences between regions
Explains the differences between solution implementation in North America (Canada, US and Mexico) and Europe/Australia. This is an important aspect to consider to understand how the Cold Chain solution works.
Step 1 for Geotab hardware: pre-deployment steps
Covers refrigeration unit and/or thermograph (for EU region only) compatibility, required harnesses, and supported features for each compatible refrigeration unit controller/thermograph. The section also covers the steps you should take before purchasing a GO device, IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED, and Cold Chain harnesses for the Customer’s specific needs.
! IMPORTANT: Obtaining the make and model of the refrigeration units and/or thermographs (for Europe region) is critical to ensure the solution will work as expected, and so the customer knows what features will be supported for their particular assets.
Step 2 for Geotab hardware: deployment processes
Describes the installation process for Geotab hardware.
Step 3: Ongoing supervision
Covers the steps to ensure proper use of the Cold Chain in the MyGeotab portal.
The Basic Cold Chain Implementation process for Geotab hardware scenarios is complete after finishing Steps 2 and 3.
Appendix
Links to useful tools and tips for Cold Chain solution use. We recommend you review and follow the instructions for anything that may be relevant to you or your Customer’s use cases.

Background

The documents in the sections below will help you understand the basics behind the Cold Chain solution. It is critical that you review this material to understand the various features of the system before progressing with the pilot or rollout.

Understanding the Cold Chain solution

Fleets using vehicles with refrigerated units need visibility and control over their cold chain operations to comply with regulations and operate efficiently.

Geotab’s cold chain solution delivers key data to fleet managers to help them manage their fleet operations, and seamlessly monitor and control cargo temperature during transportation for industries such as:

Food & beverage

Monitor temperature throughout the delivery process to satisfy customers, and prevent the loss of goods from spoilage.

Pharmacy

Regulations require specific temperature ranges throughout the transportation process to maintain the integrity of the cargo.

Transportation & logistics

Optimize operations and remain in compliance with full visibility of drivers and shipments.

Basic concepts

Here are the definitions of some basic terms and concepts of the Cold Chain solution:

Refrigeration unit: The refrigeration system installed on a straight/box/rigid truck, trailer, or van used to regulate and adjust the temperature of the cargo.
Refrigeration unit controller: The control system, which consists of an ECU and a display screen.
Thermograph: The device used in Europe for any Cold Chain solution that needs to be present to store/log all temperature readings of the cargo. It is used to print out the temperature readings to ensure cargo has not been compromised.
GO device (GO9 or GO9 RUGGED): A telematics device, required to send all data gathered by the IOX-COLD and IOX-COLD RUGGED to the MyGeotab database.
IOX-COLD or IOX-COLD RUGGED: The IOX device that connects the GO device to the refrigeration units
Harness: A special cable used to connect the IOX-COLD and IOX-COLD RUGGED to the refrigeration units and/or thermograph.
Cargo temperature: Temperature retrieved from the thermograph sensor, or from the return air sensor of the refrigeration unit.
Setpoint temperature: The desired cargo temperature.
Threshold: The temperature range within which the setpoint temperature is allowed to vary above or below to avoid cargo spoilage. In other words, the safe temperature range for the cargo.
Hardware error codes: Any errors that are flagged by the refrigeration units that are related to hardware.
MyInstall: The tool used to verify GO device and IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED installation, and needed to send the necessary configuration to the IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED to communicate with the refrigeration units. It is mandatory to use this tool once the devices are installed to ensure they are correctly configured to transmit the proper telematics data.
Extra temperature sensors: in case of unsupported refrigeration units, there is the possibility of installing up to three 1-wire wired temperature sensors (they require to be DS18B20 1-wire type) and connect them to either the IOX-COLD (HRN-CCAC harness will be required) or IOX-COLD RUGGED (HRN-RCCAC harness will be required)

Understanding the offered features

Via the MyGeotab Cold Chain solution, Geotab delivers real-time temperature monitoring, custom alerts, proof of delivery reporting, and hardware error code detection.

The Cold Chain solution offers two views: real-time and historical.

The real-time view (Cold Chain view) allows fleet managers to monitor each of their refrigerated vehicles, and empowers them to act as soon as possible when an issue is detected to avoid cargo spoilage.
The historical data view (Engine data profile view) allows fleet managers to either investigate the data to ensure cargo has not been compromised, or to provide proof of desired temperature data for a specified period of time.

Another important feature of the Cold Chain solution is the required hardware, which is a combination of a GO device, an IOX device (IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED), and one or more harnesses to connect the refrigeration unit and/or thermograph to the IOX.

This is important because what Cold Chain features are supported are directly related to the specific hardware involved. For more information about which features are supported by specific refrigeration units and thermographs, refer to the Cold Chain supported features section of either the IOX-COLD document or IOX-COLD RUGGED document. Note that any limitations on provided data are based on what the specific hardware is capable of transmitting, and is not limited by the Geotab solution.

! IMPORTANT: Ensure you check for compatibility before installing the solution. To perform this check, refer to the Pre-deployment steps in this guide.

Differences between regions

There is a difference between the North America region (Canada, US and Mexico) and Europe/Australia region:

North America

There are two installation scenarios: the regular installation scenario, and a different process for Thermo King® units, since a cloud-to-cloud integration between Geotab and Thermo King is supported.

For Thermo King® units, customers must:

Have the Thermo King® OEM device installed in the asset.
Have an active subscription for the refrigerated asset in the Thermo King TracKing® platform.
Install the OEM add-in in the MYG database Step 2 — Configuring Thermo King Credentials, and request to have the credentials created following the instructions in the link.
Activate the cloud-to-cloud integration by the partner, following the steps in the Thermo King (NA) Integration Guide.
Once all this is done, go to Step 3: Ongoing Supervision.

For all other refrigeration units, Customers must install Geotab hardware to obtain data from the refrigeration unit:

Step 1 for Geotab HW: Pre-Deployment Steps to verify that the unit is supported.
Step 2 for Geotab HW: Deployment Processes to install the hardware.

document Image

Europe and Australia

All refrigeration units require installing Geotab hardware:

Step 1 for Geotab HW: Pre-Deployment Steps to verify that the unit is supported.
Step 2 for Geotab HW: Deployment Processes to install the hardware.

Partner Prerequisites

The Cold Chain solution (including both Thermo King Cloud and Geotab hardware integration) is a specialized solution that requires both of the following:

Partners to complete the Cold Chain certification prior to any sale of the solution.
Certified installers using MyInstall (logged in) for Geotab hardware integration.

! IMPORTANT: All Cold Chain SKUs (including Thermo King Cloud integration and Geotab hardware) will be enabled in MyAdmin for resellers who have completed the certification.

For more information about Cold Chain certification, contact your Partner Account Manager.

Step 1 for Geotab hardware: pre-deployment steps

Before you start using the Cold Chain solution, you must verify if the refrigeration units and/or thermographs on the vehicles are compatible with Geotab hardware.

Is the hardware supported?

A full spreadsheet of all known compatible hardware is available here: Cold Chain Harness Compatibility. In addition, for all supported hardware, the spreadsheet also lists the harness that’s required for installation.

Make sure you’re looking at the sheet of the spreadsheet that applies to you - there’s a sheet for NA controllers, a sheet for EU controllers, and a sheet for EU thermographs:

document Image

✱ NOTE: If the refrigeration unit model is unknown, try using the Cold Chain Solution Refrigeration Unit Identification Guide to help you find out.

Once you’ve confirmed that the hardware is supported, you can refer to the Cold Chain supported features section of either the IOX-COLD document or IOX-COLD RUGGED document to see which Cold Chain features are supported by the specific hardware.

Next, enter all fleet information into a properly formatted spreadsheet:

Make a copy of the spreadsheet by clicking this link.
Rename the file to specify the company name.
Grant Edit access to this spreadsheet to any internal or external stakeholders who are qualified to accurately enter the information.
Enter all relevant fleet information into the sheet.

✱ NOTE: The spreadsheet has two tabs:

Fleet Information: This tab contains vehicle information. Please be careful not to overwrite the automatically filled columns, as these are populated based on the provided vehicle data.
Material Needed: With the exception of the GO9 device harness information, all data in this tab is automatically calculated based on the data entered in the Fleet Information tab.
You can hide columns related to EU Market-only products if they're not relevant to you.

What if the hardware is not supported?

If the make/model of the refrigeration unit is not supported, only wired temperature sensors can be offered. The only supported sensors are 1-wired DS18B20 temperature sensors that need to be purchased by the partner/customer. In this case, the required harness is either HRN-CCAC (in-cabin) or HRN-RCCAC (outdoor/trailer).

What Geotab hardware is required for installation?

Understand which Geotab hardware set is required to be used per type of refrigerated asset that will be connected to MYG. Contact your Geotab partner to make sure that you order the right harness based on the compatibility check. document Image

For more information about the required SKUs and the required harness per make/model of refrigeration unit, refer to the Cold Chain Solution Ordering Sheet and the GEOTAB Truck Solution - Harnesses Identification and Application document.

Step 2 for Geotab hardware: deployment process

At a high level, the following steps are required before installation of the devices to ensure they communicate with the IOX so it can be configured correctly:

The GO needs to be assigned to the relevant customer in MyAdmin before installation.
The GO device needs to have the correct rate plan (GOPlan, Pro or ProPlus) in MyAdmin.
The GO device has to be added in the MYG database in an existing MYG asset.

Vans/LCVs

Installation in vans/LCVs requires a GO device connected to the OBDII port.

Installation instructions are available in the Quick start guide here: http://gtb.link/ioxcold

The installation MUST be verified using the secure version of MyInstall tool, which requires a MyAdmin partner installer account (see Creating MyInstall Credentials for instructions on how to do this). Ensure that an installer account has been created and the credentials have been shared with the installer before installation.

Straight/box/rigid trucks

Installation in these vehicles requires either a GO device connected to the OBDII port, or a 3-wire installation using harness HRN-CW03K3.

Installation instructions are available in the Quick start guide here: http://gtb.link/ioxcold

Trailers

Installation on trailers requires the GO RUGGED with a 3-wire installation using harness RW03K4-A.

Installation instructions are available in the Quick start guide here: http://gtb.link/ioxcoldrugged

Step 3: Ongoing supervision

This step covers how to access the Cold Chain view in the Compliance section of MyGeotab. The Cold Chain view shows refrigerated vehicles and their cold chain data. The only setup required in MyGeotab is to enable Cold Chain rules on the Groups & Rules > Rules page and specify threshold and duration values for your use case.

The specific rules you can configure are Cargo Temperature Out of Safe Range (Zone 1), Cargo Temperature Out of Safe Range (Zone 2), and Cargo Temperature Out of Safe Range (Zone 3):

document Image

Set the relevant “thresholds” and “duration” settings in the customer’s database for each cargo temperature rule to have the Cold Chain solution running as expected. Refer to the Using the Cold Chain page section of the Cold Chain User Guide. To understand how the Cold Chain rules work, refer to the following example for a single-zone scenario:

document Image

Appendix

Software guides

Using the Cold Chain solution in MyGeotab

The Cold Chain User Guide is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to use the Cold Chain solution in MyGeotab.

MyInstall tool for installations

The MyInstall tool for GO devices is a tool used to validate whether the GO device installation has been performed correctly and to allow communication between GO and IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED devices.

✱ NOTE: It is mandatory to use the non-public MyInstall tool to complete an installation, which requires an installer account (How to create MyInstall installer credentials guide) created in MyAdmin to verify the installation and configure the devices. Ensure that an installer account has been created and the credentials have been shared with the installer prior to the installation.

Hardware Guides

GO Device Installation Guide

The GO device installation guide is a short guide featuring the GO device installation steps to ensure the device installation is performed correctly.

GO Device Rugged Installation Guide

The GO9 Rugged device installation guide is a short guide featuring the GO device installation steps to ensure the device installation is performed correctly.

IOX-COLD and IOX-COLD RUGGED Installation Guide

The IOX-COLD/IOX-COLD RUGGED device installation guide is the guide featuring the installation steps to ensure the device installation is performed correctly.

To understand the supported/read data points per refrigeration unit controllers (see Step 1 for Geotab HW: Pre-Deployment Steps to find the right controller depending the make/model of a refrigeration unit), please visit the Cold Chain Supported Features section in the IOX-COLD support document or the Cold Chain Supported Features section in the IOX-COLD RUGGED support document, and verify the available relevant functionalities depending on the controller’s name.

Harnesses Guide

The list of the required harnesses to connect to different make/model of refrigeration units is GEOTAB Truck Solution - Harnesses Identification and Application. And to find out which harness is needed per make/model of refrigeration unit can be found in Cold Chain Harness Compatibility [PUB].

Installation guides per refrigeration unit make/model

Vans/LCVs/Straight-Box-Rigid trucks

Found the different tailored installation guide per make/model in the IOX-COLD and IOX-COLD RUGGED - Refrigeration Unit and Accessories Solutions Installation Guide (section Installation instructions)

Trailers

Extra: