Case Study: Global Restaurant Chain Immediately Saved £1.25M with Sensor Technology

Food stays fresh during the lockdown with remote cold storage monitoring.

Due to the COVID-19 lock-down, a global restaurant chain in the UK (ca. 100 locations) was facing a cold monitoring problem: How to monitor daily freezers as per UK regulations when employees are not on location?

The risk was to compromise more than £1.25 million in food stock, generating a financial and environmental disaster. Without a possibility to remotely monitor the temperature in each freezer and to act accordingly if necessary, the global chain would not have been able to ensure that the food stayed at a correct and safe temperature after reopening, leaving them no choice but to throw away their entire inventory.

A Sensor-Based Remote Monitoring Solution = A Quick Response to Extraordinary Circumstances

In a few days, our customer needed a solution that:

• Allowed them to remotely monitor the temperature in each of their 100 freezers all across the UK, in real-time, 24/7.
• Offered the possibility to send alerts directly to the regional manager if any malfunctions were detected
• They can install very easily and quickly, with no technical skills required

Within three days, the Infogrid cold storage solution powered by Disruptive Technologies was implemented in all locations. Then, when needed, alerts allowed their staff to move food to a functioning freezer or to fix malfunctioning ones. As a result, ensuring the correct storage, more than £1.25 million in food inventory was saved. That amounts to cost savings of 4,462.04%.

In addition, thanks to the 24/7 monitoring system (compared to the daily physical monitoring), eight freezers have been identified as not operating within the expected parameters and temperature incidents have been detected on five others.

Remote Cold Storage Monitoring Examples

#1 - Optimal Freezer Operation Example

1. Regular moves within the defrost cycle. The freezer moves consistently from 0.5-1.0°C, then has a regular (typically every 3 hours) defrost cycle where it warms and cools more than 5°C in more than 1 hour.
2. The temperature stays within the threshold. The freezer stays within the alert parameters. During the defrosting cycle, temperatures may pop above the threshold for less than 1.5hrs, presenting no risk to food safety.

#2 - Outside Temperature Range Alert Example

1. Freezer breaches alert parameters. The freezer goes above -14°C for more than 1.5 hrs. An alert triggers, informing the company’s Regional Director that food may be at risk and to follow predetermined emergency freezer monitoring procedures. The freezer spends less than 4 hours outside the recommended parameters and then returns to its normal operation following the incident.

#3 - Poor Defrosting Cycle Example

1. Poor defrost cycle identified. The freezer’s normal running temperature was identified as acceptable at -18°C, but it’s defrosting cycle moved almost 45°C to +25°C in less than an hour, posing a significant risk to food safety. The food stock was moved from the freezer.
2. Engineer called. An engineer visited the premises and repaired the freezer, which is now operating within normal limits.

#4 - Freezer Malfunction Example

1. Broken freezer. On installation, the freezer’s temperature ranged from 0°C to +14°C, confirming that it was likely broken. The food stock was removed from the freezer and disposed of.
2. Engineer called. An engineer visited the premises and repaired the freezer, which is now operating within normal limits.

Why Disruptive Technologies Sensors

Sensors used to be bulky, complex, and often inaccurate. We've completely rethought sensor design to enable data collection anywhere and everywhere.

There's no need to "rip and replace" legacy systems to turn them into "smart" equipment.

• Mini-sensors are the size of a postage stamp
• Low power consumption means long battery life
• Robust construction
• Cost-efficient
• Direct connections provide maximum accuracy
• Proactive insights to resolve temperature issues
• Industrial-grade connectivity and built-in redundancy
• Supports next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) networks
• Reduction of manual temperature measurements
• End-to-end security built into the design
• Extensible platform to integrate into your systems
• Energy savings due to due to temperature optimization.