Long-term partnership and full lifecycle solution ensure sustainable, reliable environment monitoring for H.Essers

Sensitive goods like pharmaceuticals demand strict monitoring of parameters like humidity and temperature throughout the supply chain. H.Essers has worked with Vaisala to develop a cost-effective, sustainable solution that ensures accurate long-term monitoring while saving time and effort for their staff.

H.Essers, a family-owned business founded in 1928 in Belgium, has grown to become one of Europe’s leading transport and logistics services providers for industries such as chemistry, healthcare, and infrastructure. The company’s comprehensive offering includes dangerous goods storage, temperature-controlled storage, and parts storage. H.Essers operates at 89 locations in 18 countries. 

As a family-owned company, H.Essers aims to build long-term partnerships with its clients, while also caring for its people and the world around us. This philosophy dovetails perfectly with the partnership the company has formed with Vaisala.

“From the start our relationship with H.Essers has been focused on building something for the long term,” explains Vaisala’s Patrick Hoevenaars, Sales Manager, Benelux.

“The main aim with our consultative approach has been to help H. Essers choose the right continuous monitoring solutions (CMS) to run their business, supported by lifecycle services that ensure longevity and sustainability. We want to be a complete solution provider, including training and calibration services, rather than simply an equipment supplier.”

Continuous monitoring to meet the strictest requirements 

H.Essers’ multiclient warehouses provide a one-stop-shop service that meets the strict requirements of their customers. To provide safe, compliant, high-quality storage at these locations they employ the Vaisala viewLinc Continuous Monitoring System with the Vaisala HMP115 Humidity and Temperature Probe and the VaiNet Wireless Access Point AP10. 

“Particularly with clients in the pharma and chemicals industry, H.Essers has to follow extremely strict requirements in terms of goods storage,” Hoevenaars says.

“The company has to continuously monitor conditions in the warehouse zones and demonstrate to customers that their products have been kept in exactly the right conditions throughout the supply chain. This demands precise, reliable measurement of humidity and temperature.” 
 

A partnership built on deep understanding and a shared commitment to quality

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Vaisala’s proven technologies are only part of the story. The real value lies in a long-term partnership that saves time and effort for the customer and helps them to deliver the best possible service for their clients year after year. Naturally, maintenance and calibration of the hundreds of measuring devices used across H.Essers’ warehouses is a critical part of the solution.

“Calibrating and maintaining measuring equipment on this scale is a complex task, so we worked with H.Essers to develop a solution that would make the process as easy and worry-free as possible,” Hoevenaars says.

With this goal in mind, Vaisala provided a Calibration Care agreement that includes a tailored calibration solution developed based on H.Essers’ specific needs.

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An efficient and sustainable calibration solution

With tens of warehouses and thousands of square meters of carefully controlled storage space to be monitored, H.Essers needed a way to maintain high-quality continuous monitoring with minimal downtime for probe calibration. For warehouse zones storing pharma products, each sensor supplied by Vaisala is calibrated after 12 months to ensure it is providing accurate measurements.

Vaisala developed a unique solution for H.Essers based on swapping out and replacing probes. When a probe is due for calibration, the customer simply orders a replacement and returns the used probe to Vaisala for recalibration.

“The teams at H.Essers have a dedicated order code and clear order process to ensure they get the right product and service every time, and all the instructions for how to return the probe to us are available online. This saves them a lot of time and effort.”

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The intention is that potentially in future the probes that are swapped out will be recalibrated ready for reuse at a later date.

“The swappable probes are easy to exchange, so there is minimal downtime on site. When a probe needs recalibrating the customer gets a reminder and can order a calibrated replacement through a dedicated section on the Vaisala Online Store,” Hoevenaars explains. The returned probes are calibrated as-found and then stored at Vaisala for future calibration cycles.

The possibility to reuse probes instead of disposing of them after 12 months will save scarce resources and reduce waste. “Every probe or sensor we supply is designed to provide accurate long-term, drift-free measurement, so it makes perfect sense to reuse the probes instead of replacing them,” Hoevenaars points out. It is estimated that as many as 500 probes per year could be reused as a result of this solution.

A unique approach to CMS lifecycle management 

After successfully piloting the Vaisala solution at two of its sites in spring 2023, H.Essers has now rolled it out across its sites in Italy, Romania, Denmark, and Germany. “This is the first time we have delivered a solution where probes can potentially be reused,” says Hoevenaars. “The open, transparent dialog with the customer combined with our high-quality, reliable products has allowed us to develop a solution that not only meets their strict requirements, but also provides the flexibility they need to scale up monitoring as their business grows. It’s a true partnership where both parties are committed to sustainable, long-term improvement.”