Where to put temperature loggers in China shipments
Place loggers where qualification evidence shows the product is most exposed to heat or cold, with positions tied to the actual packing layout. Check that the evidence covers your route, season and delays, and hold affected stock pending an authorised excursion assessment. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate the placement records in China.
Define what the readings must establish
Start with the product's agreed transport limits and the evidence needed to assess exposure outside them. For medicines, MHRA guidance relates the acceptable temperature range to the labelled conditions for the specific product. Do not turn a carrier's standard temperature setting into a product acceptance limit. Use our temperature-controlled transport guide alongside this placement plan.
Agree whether each sensor measures surrounding air, conditions inside the shipping pack or a justified proxy for product temperature. These readings answer different questions. Ask the product technical owner to approve the measurement method, recording interval, alarm settings and calibration evidence before loading.
Use qualification evidence to choose positions
Request the temperature-mapping report and qualification protocol for the proposed equipment, packaging and load configuration. Mapping explores temperature differences; qualification checks whether the transport arrangement meets its agreed conditions. MHRA's storage-mapping guidance explains that mapping informs permanent thermometer positions. For your shipment, use representative transport evidence rather than copying a storage layout.
Investigate positions near doors, walls, exposed outer cartons, the load centre and cooling sources during qualification. Select routine logger positions from the resulting hot spots, cold spots and exposure patterns. Record the pallet, carton, height and position within the pack on a loading diagram. Avoid direct contact with refrigerant unless the approved method specifically calls for it.
Check route, season and delay coverage
Match the report to the actual factory collection, consolidation, terminal handling, main carriage, transfer storage and final delivery. Compare warm and cold seasonal conditions, load density, packaging, equipment and handling practices. A successful trial on a different route or with different packing is supporting information, not automatic approval. Use our route-check guide to identify changed handoffs.
Ask what delay scenarios were tested: missed connections, prolonged terminal waiting, power interruption and delayed receiving. Record the tested duration and conditions without extrapolating beyond them. Agree controlled storage, power support, escalation contacts and diversion options. If the proposed journey falls outside the evidence, obtain technical approval for further qualification or a revised transport plan before dispatch.
Make placement and recovery verifiable
Give the factory a placement sheet with logger identities, activation instructions, clock settings, batch links and photographs of the installed devices. Check recording has started before the relevant exposure begins. Plan retrieval without losing the carton-to-batch connection. Our batch-traceability guide supports linking the readings to affected stock.
Assign responsibility for checking live alerts where available, recording handoff events and downloading original data at receipt. Preserve raw files, configuration records and calibration documents alongside the loading diagram. Treat missing, stopped or misplaced logger data as an evidence gap requiring assessment. An equipment display or an apparently satisfactory trace cannot establish conditions in unrepresented parts of the load.
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Agree an authorised excursion and release process
Before dispatch, name the person authorised under your quality arrangements to assess excursions and approve stock disposition. On an excursion or evidence gap, identify and hold potentially affected batches under suitable conditions. Assemble the complete trace, exposure duration, peak and low readings, logger positions, handoff history and any earlier excursions. Obtain product-specific stability evidence relevant to the actual exposure.
Record the assessor's reasoning, affected scope and signed decision to release, continue holding, reject or seek further evidence. Avoid relying on shipment averages, a carrier's reassurance or commercial urgency. Give the warehouse a written stock-release instruction distinct from customs or freight release. Investigate the cause and revisit qualification and placement before repeating the shipment. Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China can document loading and gather supplier records for that assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Should a temperature logger go in the middle of the load?
Only where representative qualification evidence supports that position. Include positions that reveal relevant hot and cold exposure, and document which stock each reading represents.
How many temperature loggers do I need?
Choose the coverage from mapping, load layout and product risk. Ask the technical owner to justify the positions and any unmonitored areas rather than accepting a standard logger count.
Can we use summer qualification evidence in winter?
Check whether it covers cold exposure, changed packaging and handling. If those conditions fall outside the evidence, obtain further qualification or approval of a revised plan.
Can we release goods after a temperature excursion?
Hold affected stock until the authorised assessor reviews the actual exposure against relevant product evidence and records a disposition decision. A satisfactory average is insufficient.