Archive for October 2009
Silo Monitoring
Data Acquisition Networks provides cost-effective solutions to monitor silos. DAN systems send data routinely every hour or half hour and can also provide instantaneous data through to a mobile phone. DAN systems enable silo replenishment to occur seamlessly so that no-one ever runs short of material.
DAN systems can be easily installed and operate at lesser cost than competitive product. Changes to the system set-up can be achieved by the customer over the internet and through password protected access.
Silo monitoring is critical to the operation of many businesses and DAN has the perfect answer.
Temperature loggers for food storage
There are principally three ways in which companies ‘log’ or record storage temperatures for food. Two of the ways simply do not work!
The first is by asking or instructing a member of staff to routinely go to each storage area several times a day and write down the temperature of the storage area as shown on a dial above the door. There are many reasons why this does not work and is an absolutely unreliable process everywhere it is in use. Staff tend to do this when they have time which means that they record the temperature when things are not busy and these are also the times when people are not going in and out of the storage area and it is the ingress of warm are on these occasions that is one of the primary reasons for storage temperature corruption. Also some staff simply write down the temperature they believe their boss would like to see ot what history tells them will cause less disruption. General staff are not food safety experts and they do not know the impact of storage temperature on food product.
The second flawed method is to install a non-interactive data logger. A chart recorder or some other similar device which collects the information but sadly, as pressure builds for more productive output no one ever looks at it until there is a problem!
Data Acquisition Networks provides a range of interactive temperature data loggers for food storage take temperature readings all day every day whether the business is business or not and which send alarms when temperature goes astray. DAN temperature data loggers produce a log of alarms sent and through a website provide visibility to supervisory staff even if they are hundreds of kilometers away.
DAN provides temperature loggers for food storage that work!
Temperature monitoring reveals too many ‘door opens’ for ‘too long!
Equipment recently installed in a large food storage area to monitor food storage temperatures revealed some astonishing results. The catering company knew there was a problem with storage temperatures because many of the food products stored were not surviving until their expiry date and because when the caterer bench-marked themselves against similar companies their energy bills were 12% to 17% higher varying only by the time of the year. The caterer was determined to show the suppliers of their refrigeration equipment that all was not as it should be and to force remedial action. The refrigeration company had undertaken tests on the equipment and found it to be in good functioning order.
Data Acquisition Networks installed temperature monitoring equipment in both the cold room and freezer. In addition, a simulated product temperature probe was installed in each by using a probe encased in a solution that provided the same thermal barrier protection as food packaging. DAN also installed magnetic switches so the door ‘openings’ could be monitored and correlated to temperature.
Within days the picture was clear. Workers in the catering organisation were propping the door open whilst they went in and out to retrieve food for preparation. The caterer received an alarm whenever the door was opened for a protracted period and not surprisingly the losses of temperature correlated with these occasions. Particularly shift staff, who had not been adequately trained and who worked largely unsupervised were the cause of the problem.
The refrigeration equipment did not need to be repaired. There was simply a need to help staff to understand that warm air penetrating the freezer and cold room had a dramatic effect on the storage temperature and also made the refrigeration plant work harder and consume more energy.
The food storage temperature problem was quickly resolved and the savings in electricity paid for the DAN equipment within months!
Temperature measurement & recording
If you or your company is responsible for storing temperature sensitive material it is necessary to measure and record temperature data.
Data Acquisition Networks has a range of monitoring equipment that can collect data from remote sites and transmit that data to a website where it is available for access in much the same way as we all access our bank account details every day. Secure & Easy!
DAN temperature monitoring equipment is surprisingly inexpensive to install and can save you loss of materials and/or loss of reputation.
Data Loggers with flexibility
Too many data loggers have single-purpose design or are expensive to install due to the need to align the probed input with the recording device.
Data loggers from Data Acquisition Networks have been designed to ensure maximum flexibility and can connect to any existing industrial probe. Saves time, saves money and ensures immediate data capture.