International cold chain transportation regarding temperature and humidity management of medical device warehouses
Temperature and humidity management is an important link in the management of medical device warehouses, which is related to the quality and safety of goods. Doing a good job in temperature and humidity management is an important part of medical device warehouse management. So, how to do a good job in temperature and humidity management of medical device warehouses? Below, we have collected and summarized some knowledge in this area, let's learn together.
Basic concepts
Air temperature: Air temperature refers to the degree of cooling and heating of the air. Generally speaking, the closer to the ground, the higher the temperature, and the farther away from the ground, the lower the temperature. In the daily temperature management of medical device warehouses, Celsius is commonly used. For degrees below 0 degrees, a "-" is added before the degree to indicate the degree below zero.
Air humidity: Air humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the air or the degree of dryness and wetness of the air.
Saturated humidity: Saturated humidity refers to the limit of the amount of water vapor that can be contained in a unit volume of air at a certain temperature. If this limit is exceeded, excess water vapor will condense and become water droplets. The air humidity at this time is called saturation humidity.
The saturation humidity of air is not fixed and constant, it changes with temperature. The higher the temperature, the more water vapor can be held per unit volume of air, and the higher the saturation humidity.
Relative humidity: Relative temperature refers to the percentage of the actual amount of water vapor in the air relative to the degree of saturation.
Changes in temperature and humidity inside and outside medical device warehouses: Based on the analysis of temperature changes, the appropriate time to reduce the temperature inside medical device warehouses in summer is generally from 10 o'clock at night to 6 o'clock in the morning of the next day. Of course, cooling also takes into account factors such as product characteristics, warehouse conditions, and climate.
Humidity control in international cold chain transportation
Dry watering: When the humidity is relatively low, we can use watering to increase the humidity, after all, some things do not need to be dry.
Usage of humidifiers: Humidity is relatively low, and we can also use humidifiers to increase humidity. This is also a good way to increase humidity. Generally, when we see a certain level of humidity in the humidifier, we need to close it in a timely manner when the humidity meets the requirements.
Wet desiccant placement: If the humidity is severe, we can purchase a lot of desiccants and store them in the medical device warehouse. This way, the humidity can quickly decrease, making the medical device warehouse less humid. After the desiccant becomes damp, it can be sun dried and continue to be used, which we need to know.
Air conditioning dehumidification use: Some air conditioners can also be installed, which need to have dehumidification function. When the humidity in the medical equipment warehouse is relatively high, we can turn on the dehumidification function to dehumidify, so as to avoid excessive humidity. We need to know this, so controlling humidity is relatively fast.
Regular point inspection: We need to regularly check the humidity situation of the medical device warehouse, usually three times a day, in the morning, noon, and evening. This can better control humidity and avoid high or low humidity, which we need to achieve.
Moisture absorption for medical device warehouses: During the rainy season or cloudy days, when the humidity inside the warehouse is too high for commodity storage, and the humidity outside the warehouse is too high for ventilation and moisture dissipation, moisture absorption can be used to reduce the humidity inside the sealed warehouse.
With the continuous development of the market economy, modern warehouses commonly use mechanical moisture absorption methods for international cold chain transportation. Use a dehumidifier to draw the moist air in the warehouse through an exhaust fan and suck it into the dehumidifier cooler, causing it to condense into water and be discharged.
Hygroscopic machines are generally suitable for storing cotton cloth, knitted cotton fabrics, expensive department stores, pharmaceuticals, instruments, electrical equipment, and tobacco and sugar in warehouses for moisture absorption and dissipation.
If the moisture content of the goods exceeds the safe range or the packaging materials are too damp, it is not advisable to seal them. The sealing time should be determined based on the performance of the goods and the climatic conditions. Goods that are afraid of moisture, melting, or mold should be sealed during periods of low relative humidity.
Commonly used sealing materials include plastic film, moisture-proof paper, linoleum, reed mat, etc. These sealing materials must be dry, clean, and odorless. The commonly used methods for sealing include whole warehouse sealing, small room sealing, stack sealing, shelf sealing, and piece sealing.
Temperature control
Measurement of temperature and humidity in medical device warehouses: The measurement of air temperature and humidity usually uses a dry and wet bulb thermometer. Set up a psychrometer outside the medical device warehouse. To avoid the invasion of sunlight, rain, and dust, the psychrometer should be placed in a louver box.
The bulb of the thermometer in the louver box is 2 meters above the ground, and the door of the hundred leaf box should be placed facing north to prevent direct sunlight during observation.
The inside of the box should be kept clean and free from debris to avoid air circulation.
In the medical equipment warehouse, the psychrometer should be placed in a well ventilated and non sunlight area, not on the wall. The height of the hanging should be at the level of the human eye, about 1.5 meters. It is necessary to regularly observe and record the temperature and humidity inside the medical device warehouse every day, usually from 8am to 10am and from 2pm to 4pm. Record materials should be properly stored, analyzed regularly, and patterns should be found to grasp the initiative of product storage.
Control and adjust the temperature and humidity of the medical device warehouse: In order to maintain the quality and integrity of the stored goods, and create an environment suitable for the storage of goods, when the temperature and humidity inside the medical device warehouse are suitable for the storage of goods, efforts should be made to prevent the adverse effects of the climate outside the medical device warehouse on the warehouse; When the temperature and humidity inside the medical device warehouse are not suitable for storing goods, effective measures should be taken in a timely manner to regulate the temperature and humidity inside the warehouse. Practice has proven that using a combination of sealing, ventilation, and moisture absorption is an effective way to control and regulate the temperature and humidity inside medical device warehouses.
Sealing: Sealing is to seal the goods as tightly as possible, reducing the impact of adverse weather conditions from the outside, in order to achieve the purpose of safe storage. The use of sealing methods should be combined with ventilation and moisture absorption. If used properly, it can achieve various effects such as moisture resistance, mold resistance, heat resistance, melting resistance, dry cracking resistance, freezing resistance, rust prevention, and insect prevention. Precautions for sealed storage include checking the quality, temperature, and moisture content of the goods before sealing. If mold, insects, heat, and water rime are found, sealing cannot be carried out.
Ventilation: Ventilation is the use of air pressure differences formed by different temperatures inside and outside the medical device warehouse to create convection in the air inside and outside the warehouse, in order to achieve the goal of regulating the temperature and humidity inside the medical device warehouse. The greater the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the medical device warehouse, the faster the air flow; If there is wind outside the warehouse, the pressure of the borrowed air can accelerate the convection of air inside and outside the warehouse.
But the wind force cannot be too strong (the wind force exceeds level 5 and there is a lot of dust). Proper ventilation can not only regulate and improve the temperature and humidity inside the medical device warehouse, but also timely release excess moisture from goods and packaging. According to the different purposes of ventilation, it can be divided into two types: using ventilation to cool down (or increase temperature) and using ventilation to dissipate moisture.
