The encyclopedia · Software & IT · Technical decision · 2015–2016
Maersk wired 260,000 reefers so failures could be fixed at sea
Maersk put GPS and cellular sensors on nearly its whole reefer fleet, so failures could be seen in near-real time and fixed before cargo spoiled.
Maersk Line
The solution
A refrigerated container can fail for days before anyone checks it, and by then a hold of fruit or medicine may be ruined. Maersk Line operated around 260,000 reefers, and monitoring them meant supply-chain staff walking the yard and manually checking each box.
In 2015 Maersk connected its reefer fleet to AT&T's network through Remote Container Management: each unit carries a 3G SIM, GPS, a ZigBee radio and interfaces to the container's controller, with two-way connectivity almost anywhere. Devices were installed on 99 percent of the fleet.
Maersk's shipping supervisors could now see temperature and equipment condition in near-real time during the voyage. When a reefer had a problem at sea, the electrician aboard could repair it on the spot — avoiding damage to the cargo instead of discovering it at discharge.
Why it worked
- Near-real-time data replaced manual yard checks
- Two-way connectivity allowed at-sea intervention
- 99 percent fleet coverage made it a network, not a pilot
- It was one of the largest industrial IoT deployments
What can be applied
Visibility converts a cold chain from claims after the fact to control during the voyage: if you can see the failure, you can fix it before the cargo is lost.
Aftermath
Maersk finished the RCM rollout across its reefer fleet by late 2015 and extended it with predictive analytics on reefer shipments, making remote monitoring the standard for temperature-controlled ocean freight.
Sources
- Maersk uses AT&T network to monitor reefers
- Leading Carriers Investing in Real-Time Tracking Solutions
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.