Rugged mobile computers support traceability in cold environments

Meat distributor Fridosa, based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is Bolivia’s largest meat-product exporter. Employing more than 400 people, the company sources cattle from 300 suppliers and holds accounts with large companies such as McDonald’s and Burger King. Using new mobile computers, the company was able to improve monitoring and minimize climatic impact on its products.

Fridosa employees used to track inventory and quality control data by hand. Then, they introduced a computer-based inventory management system. This system saved time by eliminating paperwork and manual calculations, but it also introduced some significant problems of its own. Although cuts of meat withstand extremely cold, humid environments, most computers do not.

New rugged, pocket-sized field computers and imagers (Handheld Group, handheldgroup.com) enable inventory staff to track and record the weight of meat products along the supply chain. This is an effective way to identify a compromised storage environment, because meat shrinks when it is exposed to fluctuating temperatures and humidity conditions.

The company maintains its storage conditions at 90% to 95% humidity, with temperatures between 32°F and 37°F for refrigerated products and as low as -4°F for frozen products. Entering and exiting can cause harmful electrical shorts inside computer equipment, and extreme cold dramatically shortens the life of conventional computer batteries.

“We tried to implement automated controls with conventional computer equipment, but it did not resist the extreme environmental conditions at the facility, and it deteriorated very quickly,” says Oscar Aguilera, Fridosa’s systems manager, who adds that the technology works seamlessly within the existing IT environment. “We have now created a better inventory control system, and we have experienced significant savings with better shrinkage control for our products.”