Most people are familiar with the traditional min/max temperature logger. If a min/max thermometer is used then it should be checked twice a day and the results stored in a log book.
Manual recording, however, is open to a number of issues including staff forgetting to record the readings, or deliberately falsifying results if a problem occurs.
Temperature loggers provide automatic temperature monitoring and record the temperature periodically (every couple of minutes) and can display a graph of the results on a PC. They provide a detailed and reliable account.
If a problem does occur, they also provide invaluable information such as when the problem occurred, for how long, and how warm or cold the vaccines became. This is often the critical information for determining whether to keep or dispose of the vaccines.
In unusual circumstances where vaccines are stored in refrigerators in buildings which
are not accessed daily, data loggers must be installed and they need to be read weekly.
Vaccine Cold Chain Guidelines
Western Australian Public and Community Health Services