Internet of Things enabled real time cold chain monitoring in a container port

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Seaports are regarded as significant actors in global logistics and supply chains since a large part of the cargoes carried over the globe are being processed there. When the cold chain broken down during transport and storage in the ports, the humidity, nutrition, temperature and time conditions to be required for the growth of the bacteria occur, and rapid reproduction occurs and the properties of the products are rapidly deteriorating. It is imperative that especially medicines, some chemical substances and foodstuffs need to be transported without breaking the cold chain in the logistics. The monitoring and control of the temperature and humidity level is important in the time period between the loading of these containers in special areas in ports, the loading of freight in open areas, or the loading of freight on roads and railway carriages. For this reason, precise monitoring and control of the system is vital in the port logistics management. Method In this study, an IoT-enabled system is designed for Container Ports by developing software, interface and equipment that will enable remote monitoring of temperature, humidity and other necessary key status parameters. Findings The developed IoT-based system provides audible and visual warning, e-mail and SMS communication, similar to a monitoring screen such as a heart graph monitor, when the instant values of the refrigerated container are transmitted to the database, when the defined upper and lower values are approached. All these data and major change information are archived in the database and retrospective situation analysis and data analysis can be performed. Conclusion Using technologies such as Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and RFID, an IoT-enabled Cold Chain Logistics system has been proposed that provides real-time monitoring of products in containers at ports, providing DS services to logistics providers and customers. In this context, it was explained how the ambient parameter values were collected in real time using WSN and IEEE 802.15.4, how the collected data was sent to the server via the GSM gateway. In the port scenario, activation devices such as IEEE 802.15.4 and RFID were modeled using the OPNET simulator. The developed model was carried out in accordance with the principles of EPCglobal Gen 2. With the proposed approach, smart solutions provide a smarter flow of information. The results show that IoT- enabled cold chain systems have a great potential for managing, monitoring, receiving and determining abnormal events related to temperature-sensitive products in real time.