When Quality Needs Clean Temperature Data (part 3)

Can a Thermometer and a Software Development Kit Enable Integrated Quality Measurement and Real-Time Alerts?

(Part 1 and Part 2)

How NOT-To-Do-It: Recording temperature readings on paper and maintaining those records in physical files potentially results in a wide variety of unnecessary costs and errors. The most expensive is the cost of a neglected out-of-range reading that may either be delayed or overlooked and leads to a recall (for example in the food processing industry). Apart from the lost cost-of-goods of the recalled merchandise, the company’s brand and market position will almost certainly suffer. Including legal costs, the liability can potentially run into the millions. For food processors, the clipboard and pencil method also introduces a potential source of food contamination. Further, there’s no absolute chain-of-custody of the data. Lesser, but more tangible costs include the simple cost of storage space and filing cabinets.

How NOT-To-Do-It: In an upgrade to the paper and pencil method, the quality technician or an admin records the data (still recorded with a pencil/paper) and then manually enters the data into either a local or enterprise database file. A variety of studies have documented data entry error rates, which range between 6.5% and 10.7%. Data entry errors from paper to computer actually compound the shortcomings of the straight pencil and paper method in Fig. 1.

How NOT-To-Do-It: Again, the integrity of the data suffers from the potential for human error, such as forgetting one or more process steps. Out-of-range readings may also be missed until data is uploaded to the enterprise database. This method also makes it is impossible to document a clear chain-of-custody of the data.