Using Control Charts for Temperature Monitoring

Incubator, refrigerator and water bath temperatures are measured in Micro-biology labs and can be graphed using Bika's QC Control Charts. Tutorial. Pioneered by Francois le Roux at Test It water quality lab

Overview

The technique used makes clever use of Bika's QC engine by setting up say Refrigerator Air up as a Reference Sample, measure it at the prescribed intervals and then plotting the results as a Control Chart

A Worksheet Template can be set up to create a whole week's Analyses at a time

Use Case

The lab has to monitor the temperature in a fridge where Samples for Microbiological testing are stored. Optimum temperature for the Fridge is 4 ℃ with a minimum of 0 and maximum of 6 ℃ are allowed

The results need to be graphed for lab managers to go back to if doubtful results are measured

Analysis Service

Set up a Fridge Temperature Analysis Service, preferably in a Temperature Monitoring Category

Save

Manual, Analysis Services

Reference Definition

From the Setup, configure a Reference Definition for the Fridge Temperature Analysis Service

Configure the expected result to be 4 ℃, the minimum 0 ℃ and maximum of 6 ℃

Save

Manual, Reference Definitions

If you want to monitor more than one fridge, for the Worksheet template mechanism to work correctly, configure a Reference Definition per fridge, each with easily identifiable name

Reference Sample

Navigate to Suppliers and create a Supplier for the Lab itself, here we use Inhouse Supplies

Create a reference Sample for the supplier using the Refrigerator Air Reference Definition

NB. You need a reference Sample per fridge you'll be monitoring, using the fridges specific Reference Definition

Give it an Expiry date far in the future, it will only expire when the fridge dies

Save, the Reference Values tab will autocomplete using the Reference Definition's values

Manual, Reference Samples

Worksheet Template

Create a Worksheet Template to do a week's daily measurements with, here we call it Refrigerator Air Weekly

It has 7 positions, all filled reference Samples made with Refrigerator Air Reference Definition

It only has one Analysis Service assigned, Fridge temperature

Manual, Creating Worksheet Templates

Worksheet per Week

Navigate to Worksheets from the lefthand navigation column

Use the Refrigerator Air Weekly Worksheet template to create a new Worksheet

Manual, Worksheets from Templates

The subsequent new Worksheet - it derives its temperature monitoring title from the Category the Fridge Temperature AS belongs too - has seven positions, each filled with a Control Analysis for Fridge Temperature

The user returns to this Worksheet daily to capture the day's temperature

At any given time, labmanagers can look up the Refrigerator Air reference Sample to have a look at results from its Analyses tab

Note the green line, that is the 'expected value', in this case the optimum temperature

Out of Range results are iconised with ared exclamation mark as per Bika Convention