The study of cold storage and temperature controlled transportation: A case study of a chain restaurant in Thailand

Abstract

The safety and quality of agricultural raw materials are important in the food service industry because raw materials are temperature sensitive and perishable. Hence, they should be stored in cold storage and temperature-controlled truck to maintain quality and safety. This study investigates the current cold chain management of a chain restaurant. The objective is to identify the problems and suggest how to establish the proper cold storages and temperature-controlled trucks. The scope of the study is a restaurant having nine branches, two refrigerated containers (20 feet) for storing raw material and three temperature-controlled trucks for sending raw material to each branch. We conduct in-depth interviews with the restaurant owner and operators and check the temperature in cold storage and during transportation of raw material by using an infrared thermal camera and data logger to identify the problem. Then, we analyze the causes of the problem and suggest solutions for the improvement such as the design of cold storage and delivery platform. In summary, this research will be beneficial to other cold storage and temperature-controlled truck users. It can enhance the cold chain efficiency and food safety as well as energy cost-saving.

Keywords

• cold chain management
• cold storage
• temperature-controlled truck
• restaurant
• energy saving
• soğuk zincir yönetimi
• soğuk hava depoları
• sıcaklık kontrollü kamyon
• restoran
• enerji tasarrufu