Posts Tagged ‘Data Loggers’
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.
Data Monitoring
What is TRUE data monitoring?
True data monitoring is in place when there is a system that is automated (i.e. it is not dependent on human action) and which collects data routinely and stores that data so it cannot be tampered with and it cannot be lost. True data monitoring also does not allow humans to interpret what they believe the data should be!
Data Acquisition Networks provides true data monitoring. Inputs are polled each second and the data averaged and a maximum and a minimum for the ‘reporting period’ transferred automatically to a website where it is stored for access by those with password authorisation. The data is accessed in much the same way as you retrieve your banking details.
Data Acquisition Networks provides true data monitoring solutions for minimal cost.
Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email or if you prefer, Telephone 1300 973 180
Temperature data loggers
Food Standards Australia requires businesses to prepare and sell food that is safe to eat. Food causes illness because there are high levels of food-poisoning bacteria and these poisons are called toxins. “A way of preventing or limiting bacteria from multiplying or producing toxins in food is to control the temperature of the food by either keeping it cold or very hot”. Food Standards Australia requires potentially hazardous foods to be kept at 5degC or colder and prescribes that it is “safe for food to be between 5degC and 60degC for a limited time only”. Health regulators and inspectors commonly refer to the range between 5degC and 60degC as the DANGER ZONEfor perishable foods. Food Standards Australia defines potentially hazardous foods as foods that might contain food-poisoning bacteria and which will allow food-poisoning bacteria to multiply. Examples of potentially hazardous foods are listed as raw and cooked meat, smallgoods, dairy products, seafood, processed fruit and vegetables, cooked rice and pasta, foods containing eggs, beans and nuts and foods that contain these foods for example sandwiches and rolls. Many of these food types are also the foods that are inclusions in a balanced and nutritious diet.
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumers/keeping-food-safe/#How-can-I-make-sure-my-food-is-safe
Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email today and we will respond
quickly to your request.
If you prefer, Telephone 1300 973 180
Temperature data loggers
Temperature is critical to storage of a variety of items ranging from food to blood and a failure of storage temperature (temperature abuse) can result in problems ranging from simple spoilage (i.e. the product is no longer at its best) through to severe risk of safety to human health.
Temperature data loggers from Data Acquisition Networks can be fitted and operated for a fraction of the cost of the loss that will result from temperature abuse. DAN temperature data loggers also automate permanent record collection thereby enabling analysis of the likely severity of a temperature abuse incident.
Talk to Data Acquisition Networks (DAN) today about how automated data collection will ensure the safety of your product held in a temperature controlled environment.
Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email today and we will respond
quickly to your request.
If you prefer, Telephone 1300 973 180
What is the difference between a good temperature data logger and a poor effort?
The answer to this question lies in:
- The extent to which a temperature data logger automates the process of data collection
- Whether data monitoring is continuous
- Flexibility in system set-up
Temperature data loggers supplied by Data Acquisition Networks have an A+ rating on each of these criteria. Data collection is 24/7 and not just when someone has the time, data monitoring is continuous enabling food storage history to be tracked without gaps and the DAN website enables the user to logon much as you do to your bank account and change system parameters and set up alarms.
Data Acquisition Networks is committed to ‘excellence and affordable solution’ for temperature data logging!
Temperature data loggers
Organisations serious about food safety are thinking about more than just placing a temperature data logger on a storage room wall and asking someone in their organisation to write down the temperature twice a day! Experienced managers know that more is required.
Staff record temperatures for food storage normally when they have time to do it. When the area is busy (and there is no time to record temperatures) staff are going in and out of the chilled or frozen storage area, exposing it to outside temperatures and it is at these times that food temperature abuse occurs.
Data Acquisition Networks temperature data loggers not only ‘poll’ every input 19x each second they also report a maximum, a minimum and an average for every reporting period and DAN temperature data loggers keep monitoring 24/7. DAN temperature data loggers send alarms that provide a warning of climbing temperature and can also monitor how often and for how long storage room doors are left open which is a common cause of temperature abuse.
Data Service Agreement
DAN recognises that when some people buy a DAN data logger what they are really buying is the data they need, available to them when they want it. They choose DAN data logging equipment because it never lets them down but it’s the data they actually want NOT the equipment!
As an alternative to offering ‘capital purchase’ of DAN equipment, Data Acquisition Networks is now offering ‘Provision of Service Agreements’. All this simply means is that you pay a monthly fee for a 36-month period for your required data to be collected and made available for you on the website. For you there are no set-up costs, no capital requisitions, just the data you want, delivered to your desk within days of you making the inquiry.
DAN is always seeking ways to make life easier for customers. If you have interest in a ‘Provision of Service Agreement’ please ask your DAN representative for more information.