Remember our Data Logging project a few weeks ago? Our Data is back and we managed to download all of the PDF files.
There, a lovely pile of data LOL! We sent out 8 Boxes to three different customers. Yes, this is a small sample but these things are expensive.
The breakdown:
The Testers are all roughly the same distance away from us
6 Boxes were sent the same day (I'll explain the other 2 here later)
We sent 2 Small boxes to Tester A, 2 Medium boxes to Tester B, and 2 Large boxes to Tester C
All three Testers received the same size box from USPS and UPS
Tester A Results:
Small Box via UPS:
Highest Temperature: 108.9 F
Average Temperature: 88.0 F
Lowest Temperature: 70.2 F
Trip Length: 01d03h01m
Small Box via USPS Priority Mail:
Highest Temperature: 112.8 F
Average Temperature: 83.7 F
Lowest Temperature: 71.6 F
Trip Length: 02d03h05m
Results: No Dead Roaches
Tester B Results:
Medium Box via UPS: (Unfortunately this Logger was faulty and didn't capture any data)
Highest Temperature: N/A
Average Temperature: N/A
Lowest Temperature: N/A
Trip Length: 00d00h02m
Medium Box via USPS Priority Mail:
Highest Temperature: 113.9 F
Average Temperature: 80.6 F
Lowest Temperature: 69.8 F
Trip Length: 02d03h00m
Results: While the logger was faulty ALL Roaches arrived dead. We've sent Tester B a new logger and a replacement box via UPS with some minor modifications to the packaging.
Replacement Box: Medium Box via UPS
Highest Temperature: 102.7 F
Average Temperature: 86.9 F
Lowest Temperature: 73.6 F
Trip Length: 01d03h13m
Results: No dead Roaches
Tester C Results:
Large Box via UPS:
Highest Temperature: 122.4 F
Average Temperature: 92.8 F
Lowest Temperature: 69.4 F
Trip Length: 01d06h25m
Large Box via USPS Priority Mail:
Highest Temperature: 96.1 F
Average Temperature: 80.8 F
Lowest Temperature: 74.8 F
Trip Length: 02d02h54m
Results: ALL Roaches that were shipped via UPS arrived dead. We've sent Tester C a new logger and a replacement box via UPS with some minor modifications to the packaging.
Replacement Box: Large Box via UPS
Highest Temperature: 102.4 F
Average Temperature: 86.9 F
Lowest Temperature: 75.9 F
Trip Length: 01d04h45m
Results: No dead Roaches
We also conducted a survey from the Testers to get an idea of how they were delivered, if they were left outside/handed over etc.
So what does this small Data set tell us?
We had NO dead on arrivals via Priority Mail from USPS in this test.
2 out of 3 shipments from UPS arrived perished.
None of the Trucks had any sort of Air Conditioning.
USPS definitely wins here.
The adjustments we made for the replacement boxes lowered the temperatures by about 20 F.
The Insects go through a temperature swing of about 20 to 40 F from the time they leave us to the time they arrive at their destination.
What did we do to adjust the temperatures for shipping?
We thought long and hard whether to divulge that information or not but in the end, decided not to. While we're very transparent about every aspect of our business we decided to keep this one to ourselves just because, well you know... competitive edge ;)
And in closing...
We work long hours to take the most holistic and organic approach to Discoid breeding and try to provide them with the best life they can live while they are here with us. We do a lot of things that would perhaps appear weird to most people such as playing classical music in our Barn via Alexa, having the Roomba in there to keep the dust away, we talk to our insects, and treat them with respect. We feed them organic food, handle them pretty gently, and handpick each and every Roach for you individually to assure that you get only quality animals shipped to you. We inspect our bins regularly, check some under a microscope to make sure they are as healthy close up as they appear to be at first glance, and we examine the Frazz with the microscope to make sure there are no pathogens or parasites. We not only care about the bugs here, but also how they travel and we spend many hours creating our vented boxes as well as setting feeding/watering schedules. We send them off comfortably and in style LOL (Hey who doesn't like getting a pretty Roach Package!?) and once they arrive our relationship with you is not over. We're always here if you need us or have questions about your Roaches!
None of what we do comes to us out of thin air and a lot of conversations happen in the creative process of ideas for improvement. It is an ever-fluid "Hey let's try this" process we're becoming All-stars in! Since the Insect community largely relies on some type of shipping for business, we hope our Data experiment can open the doors to a larger conversation that is desperately needed between all of us and the major shipping companies at some point. In either case, we hope you find what we did of some interest.
Cheers,
Mel & Chris
PS: We've attached all Data Logger Files here and they can be downloaded below. Please use a free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.