Easy-to-Use Automated Food Monitoring and Alarming Solution
CAS DataLoggers provided the sterile storage temperature and humidity data logging solution for a decontamination and sterilization facility using Ethylene Oxide (EtO) preconditioning rooms as part of its painstaking safety process. The environment within these rooms needed to be continually monitored for both safety and quality assurance purposes and the huge range of products sterilized required a minimum temperature of 22° Celsius and 40% humidity. This 2-stage preconditioning process took approximately 12 hours.
The facility was looking for a monitoring solution that was easy to use, provided configurable alarms whenever conditions became out of tolerance or unsafe, and which supported simplified data retrieval.
Installation
CAS DataLoggers supplied the facility with a unique system comprised of a dataTaker DT80 Intelligent Universal Data Logger and a workstation running a web browser. The data logger was then connected to temperature and humidity sensors to continually monitor the entire sterilization process. In case the application ever needed to monitor additional rooms, the dataTaker data logger was expandable to 100 channels, 200 isolated, or 300 single-ended analog inputs. Users then configured multiple alarms within the datalogger to automatically alert staff whenever the preconditioning environmental conditions went outside acceptable levels.
Usage
Users could access the dataTaker web interface (dEX) directly through the web browser. The DT80’s dEX interface allowed users to configure the data logger, monitor the connected sensors, unload data, and remotely check the logged data and memory status–all from within any web browser. Users scheduled the data logger to sample and record the temperature and relative humidity at five-minute intervals, using 15 single-ended sensors placed in the EtO preconditioning rooms. The DT80’s built-in web server also allowed for remote access to logged data, configuration, and diagnostics over the LAN.
Users also made extensive use of mimics in dEX to visually monitor the progress of tests and to clearly identify to the facility staff when a test was currently in progress for a specific chamber. The data was later downloaded from the data logger and saved for quality assurance purposes in either CSV or DBD formats. Data could be unloaded via dEX or a USB stick for easy data and program transfer.
Benefits
The sterilization facility’s monitoring and alarming needs were all met using its intelligent dataTaker data logger. The single DT80 was able to connect to both temperature and humidity sensors while being easy to use and configure using its intuitive dEX interface. The alarming capabilities helped to ensure a safe environment through quicker response times, and it was easy to retrieve all the data through the dataTaker’s remote monitoring and USB capabilities.
For further information on dataTaker Intelligent Data Loggers, sterile storage temperature, and humidity or to find the ideal solution for your application-specific needs, contact a CAS Data Logger Applications Specialist at (800) 956-4437 or request more information.