Warehouse Monitoring and Mapping For many businesses, it is important to be able to store certain perishable goods and materials in a way that prevents these products from deteriorating or spoiling. In some cases, even slight variations in temperature can spell disaster. Luckily, these businesses have access to many aids to help them maintain their inventory in a proper fashion. There are a number of procedures and regulations, when utilized in conjunction with reliable monitoring devices, provide companies the tools for assurance that their inventory is safe. What Is Warehouse Mapping? Warehouse mapping is essentially the process of calculating the temperature of various areas of a particular facility. This procedure is much more elaborate than merely setting up a thermometer on the wall that provides generally feedback about the immediate area. Temperatures can vary wildly from one section of a warehouse to another—and a manager who doesn’t take this into consideration can accidentally ruin perishable materials. If warehouse mapping is to be carried out correctly, it is vital to take many relevant circumstances into consideration, such as: Warm air rises, so temperatures will differ depending on the height of the shelving where the inventory is stored. Inventory stored next to the ceiling or an outward-facing wall will be affected by the temperature outside. Poor air circulation can cause some areas to become warmer or colder than the rest of the area. The opening and closing of doors can also affect temperatures. Tracking all these temperature gradations in a facility is fundamental. Warehouse Validation As one might expect, the standards for storing perishable items hasn’t been left to the discretion of individual businesses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has laid down a variety of “warehouse validation” rules that must be complied with when storing food. These regulations compel businesses to ensure that perishable items are stored within a certain range of humidity and temperature. In order to do this, the company must utilize monitoring equipment that is capable of notifying supervisors or staff when the temperature falls outside acceptable parameters. These monitoring devices and can collect and store temperature data on a continuous basis. Data Loggers: An Essential Part of the System To ensure proper monitoring of warehouse conditions, it’s necessary to assemble a system that can accurately measure temperatures, record this data, and transmit the information promptly. There are a variety of data loggers available from MadgeTech that can carry out this function
according to FDA specifications. These data loggers vary in features and function, but typically they include the following: 1. Storage of Temperature Readings FDA regulations require data loggers used in warehouse monitoring to record and log temperature readings, not merely calculate them. MadgeTech data loggers feature enormous data storage capacity; the RHTemp101A humidity and temperature logger, for example, can retain up to 500,000 readings per channel. 2. Long Battery Life It’s important to ensure that data loggers can function continuously, as even a momentary dip in temperature may be catastrophic. Many MadgeTech loggers, such as the RHTemp101A, provide a ten-year battery life. 3. Real-Time Notification Data loggers should be able to notify supervisors immediately when any irregular climate event occurs in the facility. MadgeTech offers a whole series of wireless data loggers including the Therm-A-Lert or the RFRHTemp2000A Data Loggers. These data loggers can stream real-time data to a central PC and be configured to send notifications through email, SMS, or audible alarm.