Industry terms can have different meanings to the different people inhabiting the industry. When we hear the term "Concrete Curing" we immediately think of temperature and evaporation. The construction worker on site doing the curing however, he may think of the strength and durability of the structure he is building.
Due to the different connotations of words and phrases in the different industries that we serve, we've decided to create our own Dickson Dictionaries. These dictionaries are meant to explain jargon that’s thrown around your work sight or office, the way temperature and humidity experts might see it.
First up: Warehouse Mapping! We love warehouse mapping. We even published an entire catalog on the topic (it's coming soon, and we will be sure to let you know when it is officially published and distributed), and have recently started up a Temperature and Humidity Mapping Service.
Warehouse Mapping is a confusing topic, however. With every single monitoring company offering different recommendations, and very little published material from regulatory bodies on the topic, if you are undertaking a Warehouse Mapping Study, you may not know where to begin. We'd like to help, with a simple dictionary. Below are terms associated that are thrown around the Warehouse Mapping Industry, defined and explained.
Controller (n.)
DEFINITION: The device used to control the HVAC system within a facility; a thermostat.
EXAMPLE: After checking the controller to make sure the cooling system was on, Abbey checked each of the HVAC outputs in her facility as well.
Data Logger (n.)
DEFINITION: Device used to measure and record temperature and humidity data; small plastic things placed throughout your mapping area; a sensor. Dickson's TK550 .
EXAMPLE: After placing their rented data loggers on three planes throughout their facility, the team realized they had forgotten to label the logger locations.
Deviation (n.)
DEFINITION: A difference between the expected results of a test and the actual test performance; a piece of data which points to a problem spot.
EXAMPLE: While analyzing his facility’s data, Andrew noticed deviations from four sensor locations all located near the same bay door.
Dimension (n.)
DEFINITION: A plane; an essential tenet of temperature mapping, mapping along multiple planes ensures complete mapping in a 3-D space.
EXAMPLE: The internal auditors yelled at Ali for not mapping in multiple dimensions and at all associated problem spots.
Installation Qualification (n.)
DEFINITION: Testing and documenting evidence that your sensors have been installed according to manufacturer recommendations or accepted standards; proving the mapping test was set up according to operating instructions.
EXAMPLE: After performing an installation qualification on his data loggers, Tim was ready to begin the mapping process.
Mapping (n., v.)
DEFINITION: Testing and subsequent documentation to find temperature, humidity, or other environmental values within a predetermined space; the process of proving your facility is cold. (v.) The act of placing sensors in an established grid.
EXAMPLE: The layouts of the facility told the Dickson team member that this mapping project would require 100-120 sensor locations.
Mezzanine (n.)
DEFINITION: An area or platform between two areas of a warehouse or facility; temperature stratification creator.
EXAMPLE: Before deciding where data loggers should be place in his facility, Fredo made sure to mark the location of all mezzanines, especially those housing products.
NIST (n.)
DEFINITION: National Institute of Standards and Technology; US agency that promotes measurement science; the people that tell us what an inch is; what certificate your data logger need to have on it.
EXAMPLE: All data loggers used in the mapping of Raekwon's Pharmaceutical facility were calibrated to a NIST standard.
Operational Qualification (n.)
DEFINITION: Testing and documenting evidence that your sensors operate within acceptable and anticipated operating ranges; what a mapping sets forth to prove about your HVAC cooling system.
EXAMPLE: Performing an Operation Qualification on his HVAC system meant testing and documenting each of the fans that were to be installed in his facility.
Problem Spot (n.)
DEFINITION: An area of your facility susceptible to frequent temperature or humidity swings; ceilings; independent energy sources; pallet storage areas; exit to uncontrolled environments; more.
EXAMPLE: After her mapping study was complete, Ariel noticed 4 loggers located in the same area measures temperature at 2F higher than the majority of her other loggers. Ariel alerted her employees to the problem spot, and had them remove product from the location.
Product (n.)
DEFINITION: A commodity, good, or piece of merchandise for human consumption that must be kept cold, and is regulated by a governmental organization; the goods that pass through the cold chain.
EXAMPLE: The hospital had just lost $30,000 worth of pharmaceutical product because of improper storage conditions.
Seasonal Mapping (n.)
DEFINITION: Validation procedure performed during a particular time of year; mapping study done twice, once in winter, once in summer.
EXAMPLE: Kareem was worried that his HVAC system wasn't keeping up with the humid Florida summers, so he decided to do a Seasonal Mapping in July, even though he had previously done a mapping study in January.
Sensor (n.)
DEFINITION: Also called a data logger; a digital or analog device that measures environmental values.
EXAMPLE: Adam was looking forward to gathering all of his sensor data after the week long mapping project was complete.
Temperature Stratification (n.)
DEFINITION: Thermal stratification; feature of gasses and liquids in which high energy molecules move to the top of a contained space, and cooler molecules move to the bottom; layering of differing temperatures from floor of facility to the ceiling.
EXAMPLE: Temperatures had stratified so much in Jane's facility, that the top rack of her facility held products being spoiled due to melting, and the floor of her facility had products freezing.
