Readers Respond

Automated temperature monitoring

Regarding the May 2012 article “Automated temperature monitoring systems; factors to consider” [page 52]: Our laboratory recently was renovated, and lab management (who do not work on the bench) thought an automated system would be great. Unfortunately they only looked at one system and not very carefully. We have had constant problems with the system since May 2011. As of today, the system is still not up and running. Some of our issues include:

1. Lost sensor data.
2. Not a user-friendly system.
3. More work-intensive to use for all staff members, and an added responsibility for section supervisors who are on the bench every day—not an efficient use of supervisory time.
4. The system is affected by changes in our computer system, so that no alarms are going off to alert us to critical temperature changes. Information magically disappears.
5. Training was not provided for supervisors. The only person trained was a maintenance manager, who has since changed jobs and doesn't have time to help with the system.
6. The company providing the system is not customer service-focused. The online manual doesn't provide enough information to adequately operate the system.
7. We cannot rely on Wi-Fi service. Have sensors hard-wired. We have two refrigerators side-by-side; one will lose the Wi-Fi signal but the other will not. Why?
8. Batteries on sensors have to be on a replacement schedule. If the batteries die, so does the monitoring.
9. When the company installed the sensor probes, it placed them at the front of temperature-dependent equipment, not centrally located.
10. When the company was installing sensor probes, it had to drill though equipment. In one case, the drill hit the electrical system of the refrigerator, and the refrigerator had to be replaced.

I have to agree with the author that it is very important to do your homework. If anyone is thinking about purchasing an automated temperature system, do not just look at one system. Get the primary users involved in the purchasing and evaluation process. Be prepared for more work with an automated system, not less. Make sure training is provided to all users. Make sure that the company chosen has great customer service 24/7/365. Make sure your hospital can either hard-wire all the sensors or has a great Wi-Fi connection. And be aware that just because the system is automated, it is not necessarily better.

Respectfully,
—Name withheld by request
Microbiology Section Leader at a regional medical center in New England

Editor's note: We are sorry to hear that the laboratorians at a New England medical center have had such a rough time with their temperature management system—and grateful to them for sharing with the readers of MLO the lessons they have learned from their experience. Certainly, the author of the May 2012 article would agree that comparing possible systems before choosing one, making sure necessary training is provided, and ascertaining that customer service will be available when needed are necessary components of a good experience with automated temperature management.

Poetry and lab science can mix

Editor's note: Patricia Gail Box Ingram, BS, MT(ASCP), is an Alabama-based laboratory professional who shows that a skilled medical technologist can be a creative writer too—in this case, a talented poet. She writes MLO, “I have been writing poems since the 7th grade, but not until the early 90s did I start writing poems about my work.” We are pleased to share with readers three of her excellent poems.

OCD or What?

The mats are straightened.

All's well with the world!

How I wish it were easy as that—

You see I'm a stickler

for very few things,

but one is non-crooked mats!

It puts my day in disarray

when mats appear

to have entered the fray:

askew here and there

or curled and threadbare….

SO—

Here to, Mats!

Let's get you straight—

In line with the lines

(Crooked's not fine):

Let's get you replaced

if battered you are,

So our feet are happy—

and our days unmarred!

The Blood Bank Lives

Churning of plasma

thawing,

Squeaking of platelets

mixing,

Breathing of printer

printing,

Humming of centrifuges

turning,

Squooshes of saline

rinsing,

Jiggling of washer

washing,

Fans in fridges

whining,

Bleeping of alarms

informing,

Clicking of keyboards

writing,

Beeps of scanners

scanning,

Droning of compressors

cooling.

The Blood Bank is alive.

Seeing

Life's too beautiful sometimes,

Woven, intricate design.

Although many see it not,

Keep before you the beauty.

As med techs

We see beauty under the microscope

And we sometimes see death.

MLO welcomes letters to the editor. We ask that you include a phone number for verification. While we prefer to publish the writer's name, we will publish a letter with “name withheld by request,” but our editorial staff must have the writer's name confirmed for our files. MLO reserves the right to edit any letter for style and length.