Common temperature logger mistakes 2 and 3 dealt with misunderstanding. This one is returning to the “oh, yes, I should have done this sooner” category.

Common temperature logger mistakes: Not put in place.

Like I said in my last post, this one is obvious, but more often than not, it is really obvious in hindsight.

The way it comes about it quite simple and this is fairly common…

1. Someone buys a vaccine fridge and are all happy and excited about their new purchase. They turn it on, let it cool down, load it with stock, and show it off for the first couple of days. Eventually it just becomes “the vaccine fridge”

2. At the same time there was that box in it with a temperature logger in it. It was left on the table and eventually placed in a drawer and forgotten

3. A year (or two) later, there is a power failure over the weekend, and the fridge reported reaching a temperature of 24°.

4. The first question they are asked is “do you have temperature logger?” and they contact us to find out how to get the results

The consequences

And here is an almost straight copy from common temperature logger mistakes 1 – not turned on:

The problem is quite simple – the unit is off not in place and has no idea what was happening. Sorry.

This problem tends to lead to some awkward follow-on questions like

• “How to I retrieve the readings then?” (You can’t)
• “So how can I get the results?” (You can’t)
• “Is there anything I can do to get the results?” (No)

The solution

Set it up and put it in the fridge!!! Now.

The grand finale

The next common mistake is the grand finale and is still in the bleeding obvious category. But hind sight is a beautiful thing.