Biotech Company Assets Saved Amid Lab Freezer Failure

XiltriX’s SafetyNet team identified and prevented an impending catastrophic freezer failure at a publicly traded Boston biotech company.

“As you can see in the graphs I'm emailing you, the freezer has been getting hotter over time.”

SafetyNet Agent, XiltriX North America



Using Data to Predict Freezer Failure

The XiltriX SafetyNet team detected an active freezer alarm which indicated that the freezer’s temperature was intermittently above its high limits and was gradually increasing. When the automated alarms were missed, the SafetyNet team woke up the customer in the middle of the night to warn them of the imminent freezer failure. After reviewing the situation with the SafetyNet agent, the customer quickly made it to the lab and relocated the assets to maintain their integrity. Without SafetyNet’s data input, the customer would have dismissed the root cause of the issue as a temperature increase caused by door openings rather than a freezer failure. The clear temperature trends helped the SafetyNet agent identify the issue and prevented asset loss.

 

Timeline

8:27 pm – Initial alarm triggered by the XiltriX system, automated alert escalation initiated.

8:57 pm – SafetyNet receives the alarm notification from the XiltriX system.

9:04 pm – Voicemail to alert customer’s emergency contact about freezer failure.

9:06 pm – Follow-up phone call to alert customer and discuss the situation.

9:40 pm – 8-minute troubleshooting call with customer during their on-site inspection.

9:47 pm – SafetyNet emailed a temperature chart during the call to illustrate the device failure. The data clarified that the issue was not related to the temperature probe or an improperly secured door strap.


As illustrated in the graph below, the cooling cycle of this freezer was increasingly defective, leading to a “creeping”  temperature range and putting the unit’s content at risk. SafetyNet took immediate action and called the emergency contacts to ensure the safeguarding of the assets. The customer’s initial reaction was to associate the temperature increase with an improperly secured door strap or a faulty probe. However, the SafetyNet agent explained that the XiltriX system was getting consistently higher readings and confirmed the door was closed.

The data proved to be even more impactful when the customer made it to the facility. Simply looking at the freezer’s display led the customer to believe the unit was operating at an acceptable temperature of -13ºC. However, the SafetyNet agent remained on the phone with the customer to support their troubleshooting efforts and shared the graph below to prove that the unit’s displayed value was misleading. The unit’s temperature was gradually increasing, a sign of an impending failure.




XiltriX Benefits

Thanks to XiltriX, the data-based analysis allowed for an accurate assessment of the impending freezer failure. Without this crucial data, the customer would not have considered moving the assets. This case highlights the importance of working with a provider that uses real-time monitoring data to help you make data-driven decisions. Analyzing the raw temperature trend data provided the evidence needed to prompt necessary actions and maintain asset integrity. If the customer had relied on the display data on the unit alone, it would have left the customer unaware of the impending freezer failure. This truly emphasizes the need for Monitoring-as-a-Service. Without SafetyNet’s live agent support and monitoring, a catastrophic failure would not have been prevented.

What is SafetyNet?

SafetyNet is a team of monitoring experts who provide 24/7 live support. In addition to being on every alarm escalation protocol, the SafetyNet team will assist you with system configuration and administration, troubleshooting, unlimited training, live phone calls, and they’ll act as an extension of your team.

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