
One of the world’s largest big-box retailers has installed a network of Phase IV Leap Sensors® in its climate-controlled warehouse for the wireless monitoring of humidity, temperature, differential pressure, and other critical conditions.
A global retailer had a problem. It wanted to monitor the conditions within one of its cold storage warehouses in the U.S., but the facility was already up and running nonstop. In other words, it wasn’t feasible – practically or financially – to power off the facility, even for a few sectors or a few hours at a time, in order to install a traditional wired monitoring system.
The Challenge: A Comprehensive Yet Easily Retrofitted Warehouse Monitoring System
The retail company contracted with an engineering and technology design firm to come up with an automated monitoring solution that could collect data on a variety of measurands but would not necessitate shutting down the climate-controlled warehouse. The firm, which counts supermarkets and refrigerated systems as one of its specialties, found Phase IV Engineering on the web and initiated a conversation about the project scope. (Phase IV is a wholly owned subsidiary of the WIKA Group.)
Specifically, the IT design firm required more than 150 nodes to wirelessly monitor the following conditions:
- Dew point / humidity
- Temperature – in refrigerator and freezer ranges
- Pressure – up to 400 psi (28 bar)
- Differential pressure – low DP in the <4″ WC (0.4 mbar) range
- Electrical current
- Flow meter pulsation
The nodes, which needed the capacity to take and transmit readings frequently, would be paired with gateways. Of course, the retrofitting would have to be done while the entire warehouse was operating as usual. And ideally, the entire system would be assembled and delivered quickly, and be integrated in a matter of hours rather than days.
The Solution: Wireless Leap Sensors®
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Phase IV Engineering was more than up to the challenge. After learning more about the requirements, we customized and shipped around 170 transceiver nodes to the engineering design firm. About 75% of the nodes measured dew point / humidity, and most nodes housed multiple sensors. In addition to the custom-configured Leap Sensors®, we also supplied 10 industrial-grade gateways for the network.
Our system transmits readings at a time interval that each customer specifies. The default setting is every 10 minutes, but the rate can be much shorter or longer. For this freezer warehouse, the transmitted data went into a SQL database and then was read by a user interface that the engineering design firm built for the retailer. (Users can also opt to have the LeapSensorManager® software read the data.)
After receiving all the components, the firm quickly integrated and commissioned the warehouse monitoring system with online after-sales support from Phase IV.
WIKA USA and Phase IV, Your Partners in IIoT
More and more businesses are turning to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for predictive maintenance of costly equipment and as a reliable way to protect their valuable inventory. As they do so, they seek reliable partners who specialize in wireless sensors and remote monitoring. Leap Sensors® and software from Phase IV are customized to help monitor the conditions – temperature, humidity, fluid level, pressure, vibration, strain, incline, etc. – that matter most for your warehouse or manufacturing facility. What’s more, a network of nodes, sensors, and gateways is significantly cheaper and easier to install than a cabled system. Contact us for more information about our customized monitoring solutions for industrial facilities.