What you need to know about DAN SENTRY

Data Acquisition Networks provides a range of data loggers and data logging solutions applicable to temperature monitoring, environmental monitoring, process monitoring and a vast array of other commercial applications.

1. General Information

DAN SENTRY is an online data storage system. It is available to customers who have purchased and installed DAN field hardware on site and where that hardware sends data to and receives data from the DAN SENTRY web site.

2. What does DAN SENTRY Allow You to DO

You can do the following using DAN SENTRY:

• Set up your data base
• Access data held in your data base
• Set up alarm functions and parameters for your field hardware
• Calibrate your system
• Place field hardware into ‘GROUPS’
• Add or remove users and change passwords

DAN SENTRY provides you with a high level of control over the entitlements of your staff to access data or change site operational factors.

3. Security

Every person accessing data, changing set-up conditions or carrying out an administrative role, must have been issued with a Security Identification by you or by an authorised administrator appointed by you. Access will only be granted to issued Security Identifications and to the extent of entitlements assigned to those Security Identifications.

4. Ability to control entitlements

You are in control of and can issue each user with a Security Identification and set the entitlements of each user to access. DAN SENTRY functions. This includes the ability to view data, change site operational factors and to manage administrator functions. All changes made to the system are tracked and logged and form part of the data stored.

5. What are the charges?

The current fees for DAN SENTRY will be agreed with DAN and set out in the DAN SENTRY Fee Schedule.

6. What are the risks?

All Web based products involve a certain amount of risk. For DAN SENTRY, we strongly recommend that you implement robust information systems management processes appropriate to your PC or network. We also strongly recommend that you implement and regularly review the risks associated with your own internal procedures and controls.

7. Data integrity.

You are responsible for ensuring that your site operational factors including alarm conditions and calibrations are complete and accurate. Incorrect or incomplete information will result in no or potentially worthless data and alarm alerts.

8. Unauthorised access

Adequate security precautions must be taken to prevent an unauthorised user accessing your data and/or changing your site operational factors. This should include the use of appropriate anti-’spamming’, anti-’key logging’ and anti-‘Virus’ software in addition to appropriate personal computer or network ‘firewall’ protection.

9. Operational risk

Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from failed internal processes, people and systems or actions because of external events. You rely on the ability of DAN to provide your data and process your changes to site operational factors in a timely and accurate manner. DAN in turn is   dependent on the reliability of its own operational processes that include public communication networks, computers and associated infrastructure. Whilst we take great care to

ensure that our systems and processes are robust, disruptions to DAN’s processes may lead to delays in the retrieval of your data or alarms or the processing of changes to site operational factors. DAN is not liable to you for any direct or consequential losses which arise from disruptions to our systems or processes.

The above is a general summary of DAN SENTRY. You should read the TERMS & CONDITIONS before deciding whether DAN SENTRY is the service for you.

Open a pdf copy of the  TERMS & CONDITIONS

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.

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! 

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!

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.

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.

CASE STUDY - Swimming Pool Monitoring

Data Acquisition Networks can inexpensively and effectively monitor public swimming pools remotely. For the very small investment involved, substantial amounts can be saved and reputations protected!

Organisations that provide swimming facilities to the public have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure the swimming environment is safe. Remote monitoring is evidence of due diligence.

In August 2006 a NSW local council approached DAN because it was receiving frivolous claims from public pool users ranging from soreness of eyes through to and including discoloration of clothing. The Council new it was being attentive to its duty of care but had little if any evidence to support that belief against determined claims.

DAN swimming pool monitoring systems not only send alarms when things start to go wrong but they also record data that is evidence of your due diligence.

To access a pdf of the ABC of ORP Monitoring CLICK HERE

CASE STUDY - POOD PROCESSING

Food manufacturers are required to monitor and record Critical Control Point (CCP) information as a part of a compliant HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system. Record-keeping is critical to a food safety auditor’s determination of compliance.

Depending upon the type of food being processed the critical control points will change. The safety of some products is temperature dependent whereas for others sanitizing is critical to ensure bacteria counts are at the required level prior to the product being frozen or chilled for transport and sale. In the poultry processing industry for example, both temperature and sanitization are critical to effective production.

Current practices of determining the operating quality of sanitized water in the poultry processing industry requires the periodic measurement of free chlorine and pH.  From an operational standpoint, automated measurement of pH is practical and already in place in many applications Much thought must be given to the sampling method as pH probes can notoriously become saturated with fats and greases and perform sub-optimally as a consequence. Automated measurement of free chlorine however requires expensive apparatus and fats or oils once again need to be considered for their impact on probe efficiency. This has traditionally made automated monitoring solutions problematic and expensive!

Current practical methods of data collection involve manual immersion of sensitive strips followed by colour matching to standards or involve the use of hand-held probes. These methods cannot provide alerts when water parameters are changing nor can a manufacturer be certain the readings are being consistently taken from the same point. The method is also limited by the ability to match colours by eye and relies upon people not forgetting to sample. The method often results in over-dosing of chlorine because of its inherent imprecision.

An alternative method of determining the sanitizing quality of the water is to utilise the measurement of ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) along with the measurement of pH.  ORP is a direct measure of the effectiveness of the free chlorine in the water and varies with changes in chlorine levels and also with changes in pH.  Harvard University has concluded and published the recommendation that ORP levels for poultry sanitization be above 625mV.  As measurement of both pH and ORP can be mechanized, a continual monitoring process has been developed by DAN that can be implemented with alarms generated by changes being sent in real time. The financial benefits are in reduction in chlorine usage (and cost) reduction in sampling labour cost and improved sanitizing leading to the option for shelf-life extension. The food safety benefits come from greater control over a critical process.

As can be seen from the sample data below, DAN presents an AVERAGE, a MAXIMUM and a MINIMUM for each reporting period, for each critical control point. DAN systems automatically generate the information necessary to fulfill the requirements of HACCP record-keeping.

The system provides data available for viewing on a web site accessible from any computer via the internet (Passwords and login ID’s protect the data).  In addition, alarms may be generated by email and SMS to preset conditions also input via the internet.

DAN has also developed an Operator’s Console view that can be used within a factory by Supervisors, Quality Controllers and Operators to constantly monitor the process at a glance.

The above graphic is representative of the DAN Console view.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

There is a significant body of scientific evidence constructed by large ‘learning’ organisations that support the use of ORP measurement and the correlation between ORP levels and the survival rates of micro organisms. The table below provides a useful summary.

 Before DAN developed the ORP monitoring system for poultry processing, automated monitoring was cumbersome, expensive and unreliable. Similarly, manual monitoring and record-keeping was a less than ideal solution.

DAN currently sells and installs food processing equipment at a fraction of the cost of alternatives and is proud of what it has achieved whilst working hand-in-hand with major manufacturers.

To access a pdf version of this case study CLICK HERE

 CASE STUDY - MANAGING EFFLUENT OUTFALL

In March 2008 DAN was approached by a large manufacturer of food products that had contravened its contract with the EPA in regard to effluent outfall from its manufacturing plant.

The EPA normally enters into ‘private treaties’ with manufacturers. These private treaties or contracts normally prescribe the ‘strength’ and ‘volume’ of effluent that can be discharged. The manufacturer needs to demonstrate it has a process that can ensure BOD levels are not exceeded and then also needs to measure the volume of outfall and demonstrate a system is in place to manage a situation where the contracted volume is likely to be exceeded. The manufacturer that approached DAN had on several occasions exceeded its volume allowance and had been fined a substantial penalty. Repeated violations of an EPA contract can lead to the cancellation of the agreement and often leave a manufacturer with a severe risk of being unable to carry on production at that site.

DAN responded by installing a DAN Effluent Outfall Data Logging System that now provides the manufacturer with ‘comfort’ on a number of levels.

Firstly, as can be seen from the data table below, the DAN data logger routinely and reliably monitors effluent outfall 24/7 without the need for manual record-keeping.

Secondly, the data can be instantly accessed either via the internet (from any internet enabled PC) of by an authorised mobile phone. Thirdly, access to the data is password protected in much the same way as your bank account details. Fourthly, the manufacturer is able (through use of the ‘password privileges’ all DAN customers can allocate) to allow the EPA to log on and have visibility of the kilolitres discharged column and fifthly and most importantly, the DAN system takes local action when the allowable discharge in a any 24-hour period reaches 95% and automatically turns on a pump that diverts effluent into a holding tank awaiting discharge through the next 24-hour cycle.

The result has been outstanding with the manufacturer not having been fined since installation of the DAN Effluent Outfall Data Logging System was installed and with the EPA now having absolute confidence a responsible monitoring system is in place. Compared to alternatives, the DAN solution was absolutely effective and available to the manufacturer at a fraction of the price.

Click HERE to access a pdf version of this case study

CASE STUDY - ESTUARINE MONITORING

PREAMBLE

Monitoring of estuaries is critical to ensuring the food safety of many aquaculture products. Oysters for example are ‘filter feeders’. In other words they feed on the water that passes by and as such their ‘condition’ and ‘safety’ is very susceptible to water quality. As oysters are generally consumed un-cooked it is imperative they are only harvested at times when the water is clean and free from contaminants.

Responsible oyster growers work very hard to avoid foodborne incidents from consumption of oysters by the public not only because they are responsible people but also because of the damage it can cause to their product category.

ESTUARY CLOSURES

Traditionally estuaries are deemed to be open or closed for harvesting by ‘rainfall’. Rainfall is important because contamination of the estuary most often comes from land-based run-off. Sewerage tanks, run-off from pastures where animals graze and industrial run-off are just some of the general causes of contaminants.

The problem with rainfall as a determinant of ‘closure for harvesting’ is that it is an imprecise measure. Rainfall and run-off do not always correlate and as rainfall is only measured at certain points along an estuary it does not truly represent the harvest conditions where oyster growers farm nor is it always a true indicator of the incidence of run-off. It also can never take account of the effect of tidal flows on water quality.

The problem for oyster farmers is that in their efforts to avoid harvesting contaminated product there is a high probability there will be times when the water is clean but the estuary is closed. This means that farmers will unnecessarily lose precious revenue and also let down their wholesale partners that depend upon them for certainty of supply.

SALINITY MONITORING

Salinity monitoring is a far more certain means of determining water quality and when used properly enables the effect of tidal flows to be considered.

Data Acquisition Networks has worked collaboratively with oyster farmers and food safety authorities to develop a robust method of salinity monitoring. Probes located at selected points along an estuary can measure temperature and conductivity of water and wirelessly transmit that data to a central collection point from where the data is transmitted to the DAN website. As DAN offers a ‘Derived Data’ function, the transmitted data can be instantly calculated into a salinity measurement that can be used for determining harvest area closures. The DAN system also sends instant alarms to designated people who can include estuary committees and/or food safety authorities. The whole system works seamlessly and reliably and can be put in place for a very small cost compared to the risk of ‘reputation loss’ or ‘erroneous harvest area closure’.

By correlating meat testing with salinity the ‘ppm’ reading for closure can be refined to ensure closures never occur needlessly. The following graph shows how one harvest area was able to achieve 43% more harvesting time with the use of DAN salinity data.

TECHNOLOGY HELPS FARMING

Farmers around the world across numerous agricultural industries are accepting that technology can be an enormous assistance to their business. In this case the use of DAN automated monitoring technology has helped one aquaculture community through its estuary committee to better ensure its future.

Click here to access a pdf version of this case study