Active Packaging System – Active thermal systems do not use any phase change materials (PCM) such as water/ice or dry ice. These systems use mechanical or electric systems powered by an energy source, combined by thermostatic control to maintain proper product temperatures.
Air Waybill (AWB) – Air waybills are the freight documents associated with air shipments. An air waybill (AWB) is a non-negotiable document issued by a carrier when goods are transported by air. An air waybill acts as delivery instructions, a contract of carriage, and a cargo receipt for air freight.
Ambient Temperature – The temperature of an outside environment.
API – Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) is the part of any drug that produces the intended effects. Some drugs, such as combination therapies, have multiple active ingredients to treat different symptoms or act in different ways.
Bill of Lading (BOL or B/L) – A bill of lading is a shipping document that outlines the voyage of a shipment.
Box rental – A service which allows users access to shippers on a rental basis so eliminating the need for upfront purchase.
Bulk – large volume, usually pallet loads of product.
Cold Chain – The flow of goods through an end to end supply chain involving several parties which require specific temperature control to retain product integrity.
Common Carrier – A company which provides a service to transport materials/cargo (rental packaging) in one or more modes of transport.
Conditioning – see pre-conditioning.
CRT – Controlled Room Temperature, sometime called Controlled Ambient
Cryo – Temperatures of below -150°C.
Customs clearance – Customs clearance is the governmental authorization necessary for a good to enter or exit the borders of a specific country.
Datalogger/TempTale – A small device which can be inserted into the payload space of a shipper which records internal temperature.
Deep Frozen – Temperature of below -18°C.
Diagnostic Packaging – Packaging for the safe transport of diagnostic substances.
Dry Ice – The solid form of carbon dioxide which is used in TAP applications to keep products frozen.
Duration – A length of time, i.e., a 24-hour minimum post stabilization or until stabilization occurs at the specified temperature.
EASA – European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
EPP – Expanded polypropylene, an insulation material used in temperature assurance packaging.
EPS – Expanded polystyrene – a lightweight, cost effective, cushioning insulating material used in packaging for temperature-sensitive goods.
Fleet Management – Managing a fleet of rental packaging used in transportation services. Includes removing and minimizing risks, improving efficiency, and reducing costs.
Hibernation – The ability of a PCM to pause energy release and so preserve performance if kept in a particular environment, most usually a refrigerator.
Infectious Packaging – Packaging for the safe transport of infectious substances.
ISC Labs – ThermoSafe’s in-house laboratory and engineering facility.
ISTA – International Safe Transport Association.
Latent Energy – Stored energy as a result of the conditioning of coolants which is released to maintain the desired temperature inside shippers.
LD7 – A specific size of ULD (unit load device).
Leasing a Container – To use ThermoSafe leasing offers, customers need to have a Master Lease Agreement (MLA) with us. If they wish to sign a MLA contract with us, please contact our Global Partner Management. You can also contact one of our already accredited MLA holders and have them book our containers for you.
Network Station – The ThermoSafe site which performs all of the activities related to the preparation, refurbishment, and reuse of rental packaging. This site can also be known operationally as a Reclamation Center.
Pack-out – The steps and procedures necessary to assemble a shipping container with its refrigerants, buffering materials, and product payload.
Pallet – A horizontal platform that is used to provide a stable foundation on which to stack goods so that they can be moved around using a forklift or pallet truck.
Parcel – A smaller sized box used for transporting temperature sensitive product.
Passive Packaging System – Passive thermal systems commonly use phase change materials (PCM) such as water/ice or dry ice. These shipping systems are the most basic and cost effective.
Payload – The contents of an inner container (e.g., pharmaceutical products).
PCM – Phase Change Material – A material that changes phases from solid to liquid (or liquid to gas) at a single temperature. Phase Change Materials are either salt or organic based and are capable of changing phases from below -50°C to over 100°C.
Precondition(ed)(ing) – A process of conditioning the phase change materials so they are in a qualified and ready to use state.
Pre-qualified Solution – Pre-Qualified means that a shipping solution has gone through extensive design, modeling, and testing so we can assure it’s qualified to perform to its listed specifications and temperature profile.
PPU – Pay-Per-Use is another commonly used name for Box Rental Service. Also a transactional relationship.
Profile- A representation of a shipment’s journey from point A to point B, simulating external temperature exposure at various points in the journey. ThermoSafe’s team at ISC Labs have developed various profiles, including:
- ISC Silver®
- ISC Gold®
- ISC Regional®
- ISC Global®
PUR – Polyurethane is an insulation material used in some of our temperature assurance packaging solutions.
Qualification – A documented testing that demonstrates with a high degree of assurance that a specific process will meet its pre-determined acceptance criteria.
Ready Engineered Solution – A product which is already manufactured and qualified to perform to a specific profile or profiles.
Reclamation – The process of claiming rental packaging back to the original rental point.
Recovery – The successful collection of rental packaging at a customer or partner site.
Refurbishment – The repair or replacement of rental packaging components or consumables. Turn Rate: The amount of time required for the rental packaging to complete one complete use (release, customer use, return, and refurbishment).
Seasonal – A Temperature Assured Packaging Solution which requires some modification depending on the external ambient, usually a change from a summer to a winter packout and vice versa.
Staging – another word for pre-conditioning.
TAP – Temperature Assurance Packaging (TAP).
TCO – Total Cost of Ownership – a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or system. In our context, examples include: storage and warehouse costs; outbound transportation costs.
TCP – Temperature controlled packaging.
Universal – A Temperature Assured Packaging Solution which can be packed out and assembled in the same way all year round, regardless of the season.
Utilization Rate – The number of times which rental packaging can be used over a period of time or life time of the product.
VIP – Vacuum insulated panels are a type of insulation used in our temperature assurance packaging solutions.
3PLs – Third-party logistics providers are commonly referred to as 3PLs.