Monitoring the temperature of medicines in operating theatres ensures the efficacy of medicines to protect patent safety, ensures regulatory compliance, and minimises the medicinal product waste.

Medication Efficacy

Many medications administered in operating theatres, such as anaesthetics and antibiotics, rely on precise chemical compositions for optimal effectiveness. Deviations from recommended temperatures can compromise their potency, leading to suboptimal results or, in extreme cases, treatment failure.

Patient Safety

The well-being of the patient is the foremost concern in any medical setting. Temperature-sensitive medications, when administered outside their specified temperature range, can pose risks to patient safety. Inaccurate dosages or compromised efficacy may result in adverse reactions or inadequate responses to treatment.

Surgical Procedures

Certain medications used during surgical procedures, like muscle relaxants and pain management drugs, require meticulous temperature control. Ensuring these medications are within their specified temperature ranges is crucial for the success of the surgery and the postoperative recovery of the patient.

Regulatory Compliance

Healthcare facilities must adhere to strict regulatory standards, including those related to medication storage and administration. Monitoring and documenting temperatures in operating theatres are essential components of compliance. Non-compliance can lead to regulatory consequences and impact the reputation of the healthcare institution.

Quality Assurance:

Temperature monitoring serves as a proactive quality assurance measure. By implementing robust monitoring systems, healthcare providers demonstrate a commitment to delivering medications at their highest quality. This not only ensures patient safety but also contributes to the overall success of medical interventions.

Prevention of Medication Wastage:

Temperature fluctuations can lead to the degradation of medications, rendering them ineffective. Regular monitoring helps identify issues promptly, preventing the wastage of expensive drugs and ensuring that resources are used efficiently.

The temperature monitoring of medicines in operating theatres is integral to maintaining medication efficacy, ensuring patient safety, complying with regulations, upholding quality standards, and optimising the overall success of surgical procedures. It is a crucial aspect of the broader commitment to providing high-quality healthcare.

Click here to learn how wireless temperature monitoring systems can help your healthcare environment.

Thinking of opening a food business? Make sure you’re HACCP compliant to protect your clients and your reputation right from the start.

What is HACCP?

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a systematic approach to identifying, evaluating, and controlling food safety hazards. As a food service owner it’s vital to understand HACCP principles and implement the required regulations across business operations constantly and consistently. This includes conducting a hazard analysis, establishing critical control points, setting critical limits, implementing monitoring procedures, and maintaining proper record-keeping. By adhering to HACCP guidelines, you can proactively prevent and address potential risks in your food business processes; protecting you, your reputation and your customers’ well-being.

Local compliance

Regardless of the scale of your business or your market location, you must ensure that you comply with all local food safety regulations. While there are universal standards and guidelines, contact the food safety regulator for your market for information and advice on the regulations regarding food handling, food storage, hygiene practices and labelling. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the agency responsible for the system that regulate food businesses in the UK. In Ireland the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) provides new businesses with a comprehensive range of information on how to achieve good hygiene standards and how to comply with the law.

Make food safety your number one priority

The best way to ensure consistent adherence to food safety regulations is to instil among staff from the start that food safety is their number one priority at every stage of the food supply and delivery process. Management and staff responsible for the business’s HACCP system must undertake adequate training in the application of HACCP principles. All food handlers must be instructed on food safety and hygiene and should be trained based on the level of activity they are involved in. Companies such as Kelsius can help in the delivery of food safety training for your staff.

Set the standard

Consistency is key when it comes to food safety management. Processes that can help you adhere to the regulations include standardising your products, developing comprehensive and easy-to-understand processes, applying consistent quality control measures, and always using reliable suppliers who you can trust to provide quality ingredients and products. This makes it easier for you to implement a robust traceability system should you need to quickly identify and recall any potentially contaminated products.

Protecting your brand

Successful food businesses are as much about the service provided as they are about the food, and good service leads to a trusted brand that customers will come back for again and again.

Use technology to help you save time and money on meeting food safety regulations – time and money that you can redirect to providing a high level of customer service and developing a product range that your customers will love. Get the balance right for your customers, your reputation and your business, and you’ll have the right ingredients for long-term success.

Want to learn more? Click here to find out about FoodCheck 2.0 from Kelsius – a digital HACCP system that provides wireless temperature monitoring, traceability, checklists and more for food businesses large and small.

Falcarragh, Co. Donegal, 9 May 2023 – Irish technology company Kelsius, based in Falcarragh, Co Donegal has signed a contract with Tesco Ireland to help the retailer ensure efficiencies across some of its cold storage.

Kelsius’ wireless temperature monitoring systems monitor the temperature of standalone fridges, freezers 24 hours a day. This allows Tesco to ensure that it only provides the finest quality foods to its customers by ensuring that fridges and freezers are maintained at the correct temperature.

The Kelsius system alerts the retailer to any temperature excursions, thus eliminating food waste that can occur due to fridge or freezer failure.

The agreement between Kelsius and Tesco will see the technology introduced across 112 Tesco stores.

Tesco has led the way amongst retailers in Ireland, in eliminating food waste and driving sustainable retailing. Kelsius’ technology ensures that no food is wasted and eliminates CO2 emissions from that waste.

Kelsius employs 82 people and manufactures specialist temperature monitoring equipment and software and provides global customer support from Falcarragh.

Kelsius CEO Karl Simmons said, “Our collaboration with Tesco is an excellent fit for the Kelsius system. An operation of Tesco’s size requires a robust, scalable, user-friendly system that suits the needs of the business, and Kelsius provides this. Kelsius’ environmental values are also aligned with those of Tesco. We are delighted that we can help Tesco achieve its food waste reduction target. We congratulate Tesco on their achievements in this regard to date, and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”

Commenting on the partnership, Tesco Central Compliance Manager John Byrne said, “The Kelsius system provides Tesco not only with the peace of mind to have constant and reliable temperature monitoring, but also with the ability to ensure food quality and further reduce food waste. We are delighted to partner with them in using their technology and in a way which helps us to play our part in the community and for the benefit of our customers and the environment.”

About Kelsius     

Kelsius is the leading supplier of automation technology for product safety and compliance to the food services and healthcare industries. Using its world-class wireless sensor technology and cloud-based data hosting and processing, Kelsius systems improve product safety, ensure regulatory compliance and optimise costs associated with these activities. Founded in 2003, Kelsius has offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom with a network of partners in Europe, Middle East, Australia and the USA that serve its global customer base. Visit www.kelsius.com

 

Interested in how CoolCheck can benefit your hospital or pharmacy? Read our case study conducted in collaboration with Letterkenny General Hospital.

Please click here to download the case study.

Food safety has become increasingly important and over the last decade has become a sub-industry of the food service industry.

The importance of food safety does not just affect your immediate income. If a food safety outbreak occurred on your premises if would have a negative impact on the long term public perception of your brand. It can be very difficult to recover from an association of food poisoning. Each Food Service outlet has a responsibility, not only to their customers, but to their brand and employees to ensure the highest standards are maintained, as the consequences can impact a great number of people. People’s health, first and foremost is at risk, and needs to be protected. But employment and income can also be affected by the fallout from a food poisoning outbreak.

Today we outline the essential dos and don’ts for complete compliance.

Don’t

• Keep it in your head – This is a recipe for disaster. It is impossible to properly communicate your plan to your staff without a documented plan.
• Leave anything to chance – Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail. Ensuring the safety of the product you provide helps ensure the safety of your business.
• Allow standards to drop – Avoid stepping on the slippery slope. Slacking on standards in one area will always lead slacking in other areas.
• Make Excuses – The buck stops with you. Playing innocent will not work in this day and age. It’s your business, protect it.
• Cut corners – The risk of closure and/or negative publicity far outweighs the short term gains to be made. Best practice must be followed by all staff.

Do

• Have a Documented Plan – Ensure your HACCP plan is recorded and staff are fully trained according to the plan. Copies should be available to staff.
• Keep Records – It is imperative that all daily, weekly and monthly actions and tasks are catalogued. This allows for transparent compliance.
• Monitor Temperature – Temperatures should be checked regularly whether it be fridges, freezers, food being cooked or cooked food in hot holding.
• Constant Vigilance – Staff need to be trained and fully aware of all food safety hazards and know how to prevent all types of cross contamination.
• Wash Hands – It’s a simple activity but is vital in the fight to prevent the spread of food borne illnesses. The more the better!

Food Safety experts Kelsius, can help your business protect against some of the dangers and implement the essential actions as outlined above. FoodCheck, by Kelsius, is an automated HACCP Management system using tablet based technology, the first of its kind on the market anywhere in the world.

With your company’s reputation and more significantly your income at stake, can you really afford to take a risk?

The Guaranteed Irish symbol is awarded to companies that support local communities, provide quality jobs and are committed to Irish provenance. It is a national symbol of trust in Irish businesses and encourages the support of local businesses and communities.

About us

Kelsius was founded in 2003 and the concept was to digitally capture and store temperature records to allow customers to comply with new legislation that was being introduced. The network and sensors were designed to capture all this information, eliminating the need for paper records.

Since then, Kelsius have become experts in cold chain monitoring and the driving operational efficiencies in the food industry.

We are now an ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 Certified company.

The company has gone on to develop a fully automated, digital HACCP systems for food businesses and continue to reinvest in developing new technology. Employing over 60 people, Kelsius has been able to grow organically in Ireland and the UK but also internationally through its partner network.

The CoolCheck and FoodCheck 2.0 systems are operating live in Food and Life Sciences Industries in 45+ countries globally and we are proud to have our products and services originate here in Ireland.

During the pandemic, temperature sensors were particularly important for monitoring vaccines and the company has been proud to play its part in the effort to safely distribute these medicines. The CoolCheck system was installed in the HSE Covid Vaccination centres nationwide to support and assist with the management of the vaccine rollout.

Being Ireland’s only manufacturer and developer of Digital, Automated HACCP and Temperature monitoring systems, Kelsius are also the only company to offer full Traceability and Production Traceability to our customers with FoodCheck 2.0.
FoodCheck 2.0 removes all paper keeping and simplifies the audit process. Kelsius systems ensure compliance with legislation and provides the good corporate governance and risk mitigation that businesses need today.

Kelsius are digital food safety partners with some of Ireland’s leading and most recognisable brands including:

• Musgrave- Supervalu, Centra, Daybreak
• BWG- Spar, Londis, Eurospar, XL , Mace
• Applegreen
• Gala
• Costcutter
• Dalata Hotels- Maldron, Clayton
• Apache Pizza

We are also proud to partner with some of Irelands most reputable and recognised hotels:

• The Shelbourne Hotel
• Ashford Castle
• Cliff House Hotel
• The Marker Hotel
• The Merrion Hotel
• and many, many more.

Kelsius are also proud to have supported the Ronald McDonald House, Safety Net and local GAA clubs and festivals. Kelsius will continue to work in the community and explore opportunities to offer further support and we once again are thrilled to be Guaranteed Irish approved.

Kelsius wins Best Foodservice Technology – Back of House Award at the 2021 IFSA’s

The theme of this year’s IFSA Awards was based around sustainability. After being shortlisted to the final 4 out of the total 18 nominees.

Kelsius went on to win the award after presenting a Dragons Den styled presentation.

The environmental benefits of using an automated system for temperature monitoring was presented to the panel of judges Maurice Bergin, Brian Walsh, Keith Waren, Tony McGuigan, Guillaume Oates and Seán Graham.
Some of the key facts mentioned included how the average food business must have 1 tree worth of paper, 10,000 sheets in storage to be legally HACCP compliant. As well at this each sheet taking 6-9 years to fully decompose.
This is where FoodCheck 2.0 helps businesses in the food industry cut down on their paper waste and take a sustainable approach to business.

The Solution:

Kelsius removes paper from your temperature monitoring routines therefore greatly reduces waste levels from your entire business.

All sectors across Food and Life Sciences Industries depend on temperature monitoring to accurately monitor stock and products and with FoodCheck 2.0, this is done sustainably without the use of pen and paper.

We are delighted to have won such a great award, and we would like to congratulate everybody who took part and the winners of all other categories. We’d like to thank the IFSA for hosting the awards and giving businesses like Kelsius a platform to showcase their products and services, and we would like to extend this thanks to the judging panel too.

Finally and most importantly, Kelsius would like to thank each and every employee for their hard work and dedication. This award is the accumulation of the effort of each and every staff member across all our departments. Thank you all and we hope you will join us in celebrating this award.

Why move to an Automated Food Safety system?

Many businesses have made the switch from traditional, manual temperature checks to an automated system that removes pen and paper from their food safety management system, but why? Not only does manually checking and logging temperatures take up valuable hours, it also doesn’t guarantee reliable and consistent results. Manual temperature checks often only happen once a day due to time constraints and therefore, the true temperature of storage areas are not always being monitored correctly.

What are the main reasons for replacing manual checks with a system like Kelsius?

In a poll we posted on our LinkedIn account, 60% of voters said the reason they moved to an automated food safety system was due to the Time and Cost Saving benefits it creates compared to manual pen & paper checks. 20% voted for Readily Available Data Records while the final 20% voted for Covid-19.

The pandemic had heightened awareness about hygiene and cleanliness, and it has been a factor in why some businesses made the decision to move from manual to automated systems. The removal of pen and paper is a more sustainable and hygienic solution to temperature monitoring, and is a lot easier to manage too.

What Kelsius can do for you:

Choosing an automated system is the modern and simple solution to temperature monitoring and when you choose CoolCheck or FoodCheck2.0, you also have the Kelsius support team at reach at all times to assist should any problems occur.

Your temperature checks are logged onto our online portal which is accessible by logging in through the Kelsius website on any device and this information is available to you 24/7.

Depending on your requirements, routine hygiene tasks are also logged which reassures staff is taking corrective measures and protocols on personal hygiene and sanitary stations.

Our system is active in thousands of sites globally across food industries and life sciences such as hotels, restaurants, QSR, food retail, vaccine centres, hospitals, pharmaceuticals and many more.

We work closely with businesses some of which are listed below, in providing reliable automated solutions making our customers lives easier by saving them time and money normally spent on manual checks, and we offer full support throughout the entire customer relationship journey.

Scott Harrington, Manager, Apache Pizza Ballyvolane

The Kelsius FoodCheck system has been a revelation since we implemented them in our 5 stores in Cork City. It has made our HACCP records much easier, faster and more consistent across all our stores.

Conor Campbell, Fresh Food Development Manager, Centra The Phoenix

The great advantage of the system is that is it easy to use but still provides us with the assurance that the key paperwork required for best in class food safety management is being completed. Records can be checked at any time of the day from your phone and the sign off process is simple and effective.

Conor Watson, Store Owner, Centra Cloughey

It has provided cost saving solutions by saving 1 hour per day that was normally spent on manual temperature checking and regulating. The FoodCheck system installed here has made HACCP compliance and audit preparation much easier. Our staff find this paperless system more reliable and accessible than before.

Tom Murray, Managing Director, Murray Pharmacies

Professional standards are raised using this system and it offers great peace of mind knowing my fridges and stock are being continuously monitored. This helps protect my business as I know all stock is maintained within correct temperature thresholds or else I will be alerted.

Kelsius are helping local companies with automation, saving time and money.

As leading suppliers in Temperature Monitoring systems, Kelsius are proud to work with many great customers that are also based here in Donegal.

In Letterkenny we have customers using both our CoolCheck and FoodCheck systems in both the food service and healthcare industries. From vaccine storage units to deli counter monitoring, we work with a wide range of industries that use Kelsius in many different parts of their business.

Travelling to and visiting customers has been difficult during the Covid-19 pandemic, but we got to speak to a number of our customers that are based in Letterkenny recently to see how the Kelsius systems have been working for them.

Dean from Macs Deli

Macs Deli chef Dean says the Kelsius system has especially helped them through the pandemic as it reduces the time spent manually checking temperatures with pen and paper. Having the tablet and probe saves them an hour each day and the time that is needed for other important tasks throughout the day is then prioritised efficiently.

He discussed how easily accessible the system is by having everything on hand in one place, and all at the touch of a button.

Burrito Loco

Jason, head chef at Burrito Loco, spoke with us about the benefits him and his staff at the Letterkenny based Mexican Grill have experienced from using the FoodCheck2.0 system. A number of the benefits discussed include:

• Keeping reheating records in check
• Pop up reminders to record chill times
• Tracking back through batch codes and dates
• Keeping track of all deliveries
• Quick and easy temperature tracking

 

 

Eddie Tobin

“We started our deli offering in 2004 and have used Kelsius systems since that day. As our business have evolved so too has the Kelsius system has developed extensively to help us meet all our legal obligations.

FoodCheck is an integral part of our food safety compliance. It enables us to eliminate paperwork and manual tasks and as a result there are significant labour savings.

Having achieved EIQA level 3 Emerald for 8 years running, we were also awarded the National Q Mark Award for Hygiene and Food Safety in Forecourts for 6 years in a row 2011-2015. We have also been awarded the overall National Award for Hygiene & Food Safety in 2015.

We believe that Kelsius FoodCheck is critical to the maintenance of our standards and has been highly beneficial in our achievement of the Q Mark standards. I would highly recommend it to any retailer.”

Eddie Tobin, Spar Express Port Road, Letterkenny, Donegal

Centra Mountain Top

Some of our other FoodCheck2.0 customers in Letterkenny include Stateside American Restaurant, Spar Glencar. Our CoolCheck system is also live in Pramerica, Letterkenny vaccine centre, as well as the blood bank and pathology department in Letterkenny University Hospital.

As a Donegal based company, we are proud to work with so many great customers in the Letterkenny and surrounding areas.

If you are interested in finding out how we could help you and your business save time and money contact us on the link below and we would be happy to help.

Kelsius playing a Vital Role in Supporting the Management of the Vaccine Roll-out.

Kelsius offer 24/7 monitoring of Vaccine storage units in Ireland and Further Afield.

Kelsius are delighted to be working with the HSE by supplying vaccination centres across Ireland with our temperature monitoring system CoolCheck to assist in the safe storage of the Covid-19 vaccines.

CoolCheck is an automated temperature monitoring system produced by Kelsius that helps those working in the healthcare sector with Quality Control, Reliability, Productivity, Traceability and Cost Reduction.

Sensors are installed in the designated storage sites and real-time temperature monitoring is provided to ensure these locations are always at optimal temperatures for medicines, bloods, lab samples, and especially for the Covid-19 vaccines. This data is instantly available on the Kelsius Web Portal that is accessible to all of our customers.

There are 16 vaccination sites across Ireland that we are currently working with in relation to the monitoring and storage of the Covid-19 vaccines.

The Locations

• Punchestown Vaccine Centre
• City West Vaccine Centre
• Aviva Stadium Vaccine Centre
• Arklow Vaccination Centre
• Greystones Vaccination Centre
• Ennis Vaccination Site
• Nenagh Vaccination Site
• Limerick Vaccination Site
• Roscommon Vaccination Site
• Merlin Park Vaccination Unit
• Castlebar Vaccination Site
• Galway Racecourse Vaccination Centre
• Sligo Vaccination Centre
• Letterkenny Vaccination Centre
• Louth Vaccination Centre
• Meath Vaccination Centre

CoolCheck is also monitoring vaccines in hospitals nationwide including Beaumont Hospital.

How We Help

CoolCheck currently monitors temperatures for the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultralow ambient temperature levels during storage, levels our cryogenic sensors have been designed to detect. These sensors can record temperatures as low as -200C.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is stored at fridge temperature of 2-8C, and adrenaline that must also be carried at each site is stored from 16-24C.

In some cases, the Pfizer vaccine is stored elsewhere at the required ultralow temperatures and is then shipped to various locations, defrosted, with a 120 hour expiry timeframe. Our sensors are then used in storage units to monitor and ensure these vaccines are being brought to the correct temperatures of 2-8C.

Due to the limited vaccine supply at the moment, we are aware of the precision and accuracy that is needed to make sure every vaccine that arrives is fit for purpose. To prevent loss or damage to any vaccines, the CoolCheck system has a built-in feature where an alarm is triggered if there’s a sudden change in temperature. These alerts are sent to appointed members of staff via SMS or email which allows for immediate response to solve the issue. Audio Visual Alarm Systems are also installed.

Why choose CoolCheck?

This article by The Journal highlights how important appropriate storage is for the Covid-19 vaccines. “22 vials of the coronavirus vaccine could not be used because they had been incorrectly stored” with “at least five doses” in each vial. Our fully automated, paperless monitoring system can prevent issues like this from happening by reducing opportunities for human error to occur.

Read full article: https://www.thejournal.ie/vaccine-vials-incorrectly-stored-5336267-Jan2021/

With 18+ years’ experience, Kelsius have developed a reliable and reputable temperature monitoring system that has been used in 26 countries across multiple industries and sectors. These vaccination centres and their staff play a vital role in the suppression of this virus, and our system will relieve some of their pressures by providing reassurance that the vaccines are being monitored correctly and continuously.

“When faced with cold chain failure, the system on an annual basis more than pays for itself contributing significantly to product quality assurance and overall patient safety”.

Colm Devine, Chief Pharmacist, Letterkenny University Hospital