Tutorial on Temperature Monitoring Solutions for Food Storage

One of the most disastrous things that could happen to your storage of food is a temperature related crisis. The food we eat needs to be properly stored, and the most important issue of food storage is being stored at the right temperature. Because you're a professional, with years of experience, you realize just how important it is to make sure that you have the right solutions for temperature monitoring.

Consider the following two scenarios:

1. Your climate control system fails, and this failure goes unnoticed because you don't have the proper monitoring equipment. As you continue your work, the unmonitored temperature begins to rise, until it becomes an emergency and you the food in your storage spoils. When you go to ship to your customers, you've now discovered it's spoiled and must notify your customers that there will be a delay, because your supply of food has perished.
2. Your climate control system fails, and your remote monitoring equipment sends you an alert notifying you in seconds. You closely monitor the temperature as it rises, and prioritize the repair of your climate control system. The problem is promptly fixed, and your customers never suffer from the potential loss of service.

Comparing these two scenarios, the importance of temperature monitoring becomes crystal clear. You simply can't afford the risk of not protecting your food storage. The simple monitoring device will pay for itself several times by preventing just one incident.

What does it take to monitor my food storage?
It doesn't take much at all. At its most basic level, all you need in a temperature monitoring system would be a thermostat-style sensor that sends you an alert when it "crosses the line" and becomes a problem. While this is an effective solution, it is not the solution that gives you the most control over your food storage, the most versatile notification system, and the most reliable results.

Instead of using this thermostat-style sensor (which is considered "discrete" because it simply tells you if the temperature is a problem or not), you should be using an analog sensor, which gives you greater detail and accuracy when checking the temperature. You want a monitoring system that let's you check the actual temperature (just not if it's OK or not), specifically one that gives you a reading that's within a single degree of being accurate ("+/- 1 degree").

Additionally, you need a monitoring system for your food storage that gives you versatility in your notifications. You need a system that can be incorporated to the structure of your organization in addition to providing you with notifications for the times when you're not in the office. You want notifications in the form of:

• Email alerts.
• SMS text message alerts.
• Voice alerts to your phone.
• Mobile web interface for your smartphone.

Look for devices that provide you with at least two of these notification methods; however, you preferably want the device that can provide all of them. Having a variety of alert methods gives you greater flexibility and control when configuring your food storage system.

Easy-to-Configure Analog Sensors - When you plug in a sensor, the TempDefender will automatically determine the sensor's type and necessary settings. You don't have to worry about any complicated settings. Just plugin the sensor, set your thresholds, and you're ready to go.

The last important piece to an effective temperature monitoring system for your food storage facility is having an escalation list. Escalation lists allow you to protect yourself if the first person alerted is too busy, too distracted, or too deeply asleep to handle the temperature-related threat. If the first person doesn't respond within a specified time (say 10 minutes), the second person is then notified, and so on up to 8 people (you want a monitoring system with at least 8, that way you are best protected from temperature threats).

How can I protect my food storage facility?
Now that you know what it takes to effectively monitor your food storage, you can pick the right monitoring solution to tackle the job and not exposure yourself to the giant headache of having a temperature failure in your facility.

You know the device needs an advanced analog sensor systems (the simple discrete sensors just won't cut it), a versatile system to send you important notifications about your facility temperatures, and an escalation list to protect from a busy worker not being able to address the threat.

Imagine the peace of mind guaranteed by using a monitoring system. You no longer have to worry about the state of your food storage, and you no longer have to experience the unnecessary risk of your food perishing because you were unaware of a temperature crisis.

Now that you're ready to use your own temperature monitoring system (so you can avoid the huge frustration that can result from a lack of effective monitoring), you should take a look at the TempDefender IT for your monitoring solution. This compact device can support up to hundreds of feet of cable, allowing you the flexibility you need in setting up the analog sensors in your facility. This device allows you to pinpoint any temperature problems and will alert you with great detail the nature of the problem (note: if you wish to receive voice alerts for your phone, you should look into the NetGuardian Voice 16 or the NetGuardian LT). Call the sales team at DPS Telecom at 1-800-693-0351, or email them at sales@dpstele.com to get started on implementing your own temperature monitoring solution.