Ikhaya Automation Systems’ temperature monitoring solutions have been praised for helping South African businesses face their unique reality known as load shedding. The controlled disconnection and reconnection of entire districts, to the national power grid, is regularly implemented to avoid a full-on national blackout. This, while the national power provider, Eskom, battles internal politics, lack of parastatal accountability and long overdue mismanaged maintenance plans.
What impact does load shedding have on businesses?
In the context of businesses running temperature-sensitive processes, or working with temperature-sensitive products, the impact is compounded with every instance of load shedding. One of such critical processes is the transport and storage of thermolabile pharmaceutical products: whether it’s a simple cough syrup or it’s a lifesaving vaccine, these products must be manufactured, stored and transported within critical temperature ranges. All of these products, once exposed to temperatures outside of the manufacturer’s specifications, lose their effectiveness, and have to be destroyed.
How do temperature monitors help during load shedding?
Facing load shedding without temperature monitors:
Businesses with temperature-sensitive products and processes are undoubtedly hardest hit by load shedding. Their entire existence can depend on specific temperature ranges during transport and storage, not to mention the delicacy of dedicated refrigeration plants that are meant to maintain this temperature range. Depending on the ambient temperature of the environment, temperatures inside storage facilities will quickly change and reach an equilibrium with external temperatures.
This renders pharmaceutical products useless, and begins the expensive and time-consuming process of having to destroy everything in a controlled and environmentally safe manner.
Facing load shedding with temperature monitors in place:
Avoid the loss of valuable products by opting for electronic real-time temperature monitoring technology. It constantly measures the temperature, sending out alerts the moment that a temperature fluctuation occurs. Alerts can be sent to multiple destinations via email or SMS, for you to assign maintenance personnel anywhere and anytime.
Maintenance staff can thus intervene before a critical temperature threshold is reached, thus protecting sensitive stock from expensive losses.
Why is it risky to manage load shedding without monitors?
In previous times, storage facilities would have relied on site-based maintenance staff around the clock, tasked to read conventional thermometers on a regular basis and manually record temperature levels. Not only is this method labour-intensive, it’s also risky since manual thermometers can’t be universally calibrated or entirely provide valid data, if placed even one degree out of its appropriate measurement setting. The risk originates with human error and inconsistency, which can never be completely eliminated.
Every temperature-sensitive product and process becomes exposed to the risk of human error and inaccurate data logging.
How do temperature monitoring systems mitigate risk?
With IkAS’ intelligent temperature monitoring system in place, your maintenance teams can be shared amongst many facilities and no longer need to be on site at all times. This in itself reduces overheads and saves costs for companies that produce and work with temperature-sensitive products. Further to this, the margin of human error and inconsistencies presented by manual data logging are completely removed.
How much longer will load shedding affect businesses?
Energy experts predict that load shedding will continue to haunt South Africa for many years to come. Electronic real-time temperature monitoring technology, however, runs on main power and has internal back-up power. Our equipment is designed for uninterrupted operation with a 99.999% reliability rating and approval from the World Health Organization.
In today’s competitive economy optimal efficiency and cost reduction is key. There’s no longer any excuses for delaying your migration to an intelligent temperature monitoring solution that can help you navigate the unique challenge of load shedding or regular power outages.
