Thermal validation testing is the only way to know whether your product is protected as needed in transit.
Thermal validation demonstrates that your shipping system maintains the required temperature range for your product over the time necessary to ship. It also takes into consideration the external temperature conditions your product will encounter.
If your product is a medication that must remain between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, thermal validation will test whether the shipping container, gel pack configuration and the arrangement of these items with the product will keep the product in that exact temperature range for 72 hours, for example, simulating both summer and winter fluctuations in weather.
What’s Included in Thermal Validation? Testing includes the comprehensive shipping system. This includes the insulated container, refrigerants, and product in the correct quantity and placement, and proper refrigerant conditioning. You also need to prepare your pack-out sequence instructions, external temperature range, shipment variables and temperature sensor materials.
What Does a Typical Thermal Validation Look Like? In a typical situation, the insulating container is packed out according to the proposed configuration. Multiple probes are positioned throughout the payload and the package is transferred to a chamber controlled for environmental conditions. The chamber is programmed to cycle through the temperatures expected to affect the shipper in transit, and the temperatures recorded by the probes are evaluated against the criteria.
While the term “thermal validation” refers to the entire testing process, it should be distinguished from the “validated pack-out,” which is the configuration that is specifically and repeatedly reproduced in operations for actual shipments. Other related terms include “thermal qualification,” “shipping lane qualification” or “transport validation.” These are not interchangeable, but company quality control systems may employ them to describe different documentation requirements for product integrity.
Thermal validation testing is an important part of any comprehensive cold chain shipping solution. At Integritemp, it’s just one step in our extensive customized design services. If you are interested in optimizing your shipping packaging, contact us to learn more.