What are the benefits of digitising cold storage facilities?

Cold storage facilities are facing increasing scrutiny as pressures mount on businesses to meet the government’s 2050 net zero ambitions. By digitising and automating these facilities, however, food factories can accelerate their journey towards those targets.   

These facilities are key in keeping products fresh, reducing waste, and transitioning food from the farm to plate. However, their energy-intensive nature puts them under the microscope when it comes to gauging sustainability measures. Digitisation, then, can help optimise and streamline cold store performance by producing the same results with less energy. This can add real value to a business’s operational efficiency and sustainability strategies.   

Insight  

Smart technology is becoming an increasingly valuable asset for UK businesses and the cold storage sector is no different. Incorporating a range of ever-improving smart technologies can help businesses better monitor performance levels. This can then enrich businesses with valuable data for further enhancements. Collecting data in real time gives businesses a thorough knowledge of their facilities, allowing them to recognise where methodologies are working effectively. Smart technology helps facility managers keep their fingers on the pulse. Its implementation also makes it easier for these facilities to adapt and improve as new technologies, methodologies, and findings come to light.   

Digitised cold storage facilities can also highlight efficiency weak spots to facility managers, with targeted inspections making it easier to spot, and fix, problems. These are issues that can affect the performance levels of these cold stores, resulting in increased energy use. Improving efficiency levels can consequently save businesses money whilst lowering their energy consumption, benefiting sustainability targets and budgets alike.      

Automation’s role 

When it comes to automation, the first thing to understand is what duties it can undertake. Storage and retrieval systems are becoming commonplace and offer many benefits. Boasting greater efficiency and longer operating hours than manual workers, they can also work at regulated temperatures. With human workers, greater energy is needed to counteract the heat they naturally produce. With automation, this isn’t the case. Their consistency of delivery too can help minimise wastage caused by human errors. This can then be further bolstered by automated inventory tracking.  

It’s also worth noting that cold storage automation is designed to work at freezing temperatures. By investing in automation optimised for these environments, maintenance downtime can be reduced. This can also save time as other technologies can prove unresponsive in freezing environments.  

These smart technologies are designed to operate within varying climates meaning they are equipped with temperature-regulating components, including the ability to eliminate condensation and icing issues. It’s a key feature in helping ensure the machinery can always operate to its full potential. 

Key steps forward  

The digitisation of cold storage is going through constant change. With data-driven smart technology and tailored automation on hand, businesses can track, improve and future-proof operations more efficiently.  

Digitisation can also help food manufacturers make positive steps forward on the road to net zero. Implementing changes allows businesses to continually adapt processes and technologies as new innovations and ensure that their business models, unlike such facilities, aren’t left out in the cold.   

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