Food Importer and Wholesaler

The Challenge

An importer and wholesaler of specialist foods engaged with KEY regarding our smart sensor diagnostics.  They suspected there were problems with one of their large refrigeration units.

The unit was being used to store fine meats, where storage at a consistent temperature is essential for keeping them in premium condition.  This is also a UK legal requirement, with the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 stating that certain foods must be kept at temperatures either below 8 °C or above 63 °C to ensure they are safe to eat.

Previously, the owners had lost valuable stock, and capacity to fulfill orders through refrigerator malfunctioning.

The Solution

We installed a smart sensor system which enabled the real-time monitoring of temperature, humidity and human activity.

Through Big Data crunching techniques we constructed a rich representation of environmental conditions over time.  This flagged up business-critical problems which were resolved through simple adjustments to assets and procedure.

The sensors also serve as an early warning system, allowing for the identification and preemption of malfunction or sending instant notifications in the event of asset failure.

£ Cost of the Full Contents of the Unit

°C Highest Temperature

°C Lowest Temperature

Biggest °C Temperature Difference at one time

Added "True FM" Value:

Bringing Environmental Data to Life

The smart sensor diagnostics identified significant variations in temperature within and between areas of the unit, including below zero temperatures sufficient to spoil food.

Sense-checking Business Information Systems

The smart sensor system established that the unit’s thermostat was inaccurate, showing a temperature which was too cold by almost 2°C.

Human Impacts

The analysis revealed that when door was left open for too long, one A/C unit was overcompensating, causing the formation of ice in one area of the unit.
“KEY’s smart sensor diagnostics confirmed our suspicions regarding the performance of the refrigeration unit, and showed ways for us to resolve the potentially business-critical issues for very little cost” Business Owner

Food Importer and Wholesaler image of walk in refrigerator that uses smart technologies

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