Star Refrigeration Enhances Alarm & Alert Handling

Star Refrigeration is refining its alarm handling protocols for its Telstar control systems. The enhancements aim to provide operational reliability for refrigeration plants.

This builds upon Star Refrigeration's existing remote monitoring capabilities, allowing for real-time monitoring and response to potential issues. The upgraded system uses Star's Telstar control systems to monitor refrigeration plants and log every fault and alert. A specialist team at Star’s head office Monitoring Hub then processes these alerts using a Sentinel server, ensuring a swift response to any arising problems. Star Refrigeration offers its customers assurance that their systems are being constantly monitored and that issues can be addressed immediately should the unexpected happen.

Effective alarm management in refrigeration systems is crucial. Modern industrial refrigeration systems represent significant capital investments. Early detection of potential problems can prevent costly equipment failures and downtime, ultimately safeguarding product integrity and minimising financial losses. The Sentinel server forms the backbone of Star Refrigeration's enhanced alarm system.

Several key features have been implemented, streamlining the notification process. These updates include:

• Logging the receipt of each email alert.
• Automated voice message dispatch to the local Star Service branch or on-call engineer, detailing the location and nature of the fault.
• Acknowledgement requirement for the voice message, confirming receipt by the designated engineer.

The system incorporates an escalation protocol to ensure that all alerts receive prompt attention. Unanswered alerts are escalated to multiple personnel. If the issue remains unresolved, a Sentinel 'watchdog' alert is sent to designated employees, who are then responsible for notifying the highest level of personnel on a 24/7 basis.

Communication between the Sentinel server and each monitored site is automatically tested every two hours. This continuous monitoring ensures that the system remains operational and that alerts are promptly transmitted. If site communications fail, the branch office or standby engineer is immediately notified.

Live data logging occurs at a relatively high frequency of a few seconds, capturing granular data. This data, presented in graphical form, aids engineers in investigating complex faults and alerts more quickly than fault finding on site after the fact. Data is stored for two years, facilitating trend analysis to show how efficiently each plant is working and proactively identify potential future faults.

Star Refrigeration highlights the tangible benefits of its integrated service. The company states its Ethos service and StarCare maintenance team helped Tesco achieve an average 10% energy saving across eight distribution centres between January 2022 and September 2023, with a return on investment achieved in under 3 months. The case study notes that the Ethos service and StarCare maintenance team helped Tesco save 4GWh of energy and 835 tonnes of CO2.

The inclusion of a "watchdog" escalation feature ensures that critical issues do not go unaddressed. This adds a layer of redundancy, helping to prevent minor problems from escalating.