Does your company rely on controlling temperature to maintain its stock? Of course, most businesses are affected by the performance of heating, ventilation or air conditioning (HVAC) systems – one just has to think about working in a hot office during the summer weeks, and the effects on staff production. But, when stock is directly affected by temperature, such systems take on a wholly different importance.

Monitoring becomes paramount; it can also be a mandatory requirement when it comes to handling chilled, frozen or hot foods. But, when there are a great number of different systems on the market (ranging from basic handheld models to complex set-ups), and there are monitoring services too, how do you choose a management package that fits your needs?

Here are a few things you could be thinking about.

Simple-to-use interfaces :
Technology has come far enough for monitoring systems to be user-friendly. There’s no excuse for over-complex interfaces, and so what you buy should be accessible with just a small amount of training. This means more people can run the system, and it means you’re not reliant on contractors. Try to use a company that can provide training – and training on a wide range of different equipment brands.

Maintenance package :
It’s better not to wait for failures to happen before you act – always think prevention rather than cure. Signing up to a good maintenance service will always be worthwhile. By keeping an eye on your systems, you can pick up on potential problems without them getting out of hand.

Performance reports :
Your system should be able to provide easy-to-follow performance reports. These can help you find out where operations can be improved, and you might make impressive savings on energy bills amongst other things.

Remote sensing :
GPRS technology allows you to monitor your equipment via the Internet. This means you don’t have to be on-site to follow performance – extremely useful if you really depend on minimising equipment failures, or indeed you have a multi-site operation. Technology improvements have made this service more affordable too. In some cases, there is no capital outlay on equipment and you just pay a daily rate.

Off-site management :
One step on from remote sensing is off-site management. This usually means a team will be available for round-the-clock maintenance advice, and that your systems are monitored for both performance and potential problems. In cases where alarm systems are triggered on equipment, these can be responded to as soon as they happen, so possible product loss is minimised.