Sensors that tell you before it is a problem
Small wireless sensors watch the things that cost money when they go wrong: fridges, plant rooms, server rooms and water. You may have heard it called the Internet of Things, or IoT. To you, it is a text message at the right moment.
A fridge door, left open
Press the button to watch one hour in a hotel kitchen, speeded up. The line is the temperature inside the walk-in fridge.
Walk-in fridge, example readings
3.5 °C18:11
Normal
What happens, and when
Door left open18:12
A delivery is wheeled in and the door is wedged.
Over the 5 °C limit18:17
Nothing is sent yet. A door opening for a minute should not wake anyone.
Ten minutes over the limit18:27
A text goes to the duty manager.
Door closed18:30
The duty manager taps to say it is dealt with.
Back under 5 °C18:39
An all-clear is sent and the evening is logged.
How a reading reaches your phone
The sensor
Takes a reading every few minutes, then sleeps. That is why its battery lasts for years.
The gateway
Picks the reading up by long-range radio, through walls and floors that stop Wi-Fi.
Your dashboard
Every reading lands on a secure web page that you can open from anywhere.
Your phone
If a reading leaves the range you set, the right person gets a text, an email or a call.
What we can measure
Most sensors are smaller than a phone, run on their own battery for years and need no new wiring. Leak cables and power meters take a little more fitting, which our engineers do with a qualified electrician.
Temperature
Fridges, freezers, cold rooms, server rooms and hot water, logged every few minutes.
Doors
Fridge doors, fire exits, dock doors and plant rooms, with how long each one stays open.
Leaks
Under raised floors, beside boilers, below tanks and behind kitchens.
Air quality
Carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity in offices, classrooms and meeting rooms.
Power
What a circuit or a machine is drawing, and what is still running overnight.
Comms rooms and server rooms
One sensor on the wall watches the room day and night, so an air conditioning unit that fails on a Saturday is caught on Saturday, not found on Monday.
In a larger server room, a sensor at the front of each cabinet shows which one is running hot.
- Room temperature
- Humidity
- Leaks
- Door contacts
- Power
Records without the clipboard
Every reading is kept with its time and date. When an inspector, an auditor or an insurer asks what the temperature was, the answer is a download, not a folder of paper sheets.
We set the checks up with you, so they fit the food safety or water safety routine you already follow.
Example log, one day
Spreadsheet or PDF| Time | Fridge | Freezer | Hot water |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 3.3 °C | -19.4 °C | 61.0 °C |
| 09:00 | 3.6 °C | -19.1 °C | 60.8 °C |
| 12:00 | 3.9 °C | -18.7 °C | 60.4 °C |
| 15:00 | 3.5 °C | -19.0 °C | 61.3 °C |
| 18:00 | 3.4 °C | -19.3 °C | 61.1 °C |
Straight answers
Do the sensors need our Wi-Fi?
Not for the readings themselves. Each sensor talks by its own long-range, low-power radio to a gateway, a small box that collects the readings, so they keep working in basements, cold rooms and plant rooms where Wi-Fi struggles. Only the gateway needs a network connection, which is why it pays to have one team look after both.
How long do the batteries last?
Usually several years, because each sensor sleeps between readings. The dashboard warns you well before one runs low.
Who gets the alert?
Whoever you choose: one person or a rota. If nobody responds, the alert passes to the next person on the list.
Can it replace our paper temperature checks?
For many checks, yes. We set it up with you so that it matches your own food safety or water safety procedures, and you can still print a copy where an inspector asks for one.
Are the temperature probes calibrated?
Probes can be supplied with a calibration certificate where your auditor asks for one, and we can arrange a re-check as often as you need.