TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER TEMPTRAK - MGK

TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER 

TEMPTRAK 

DESIGN & FEATURES OVERVIEW 

Revision J 

January 2006 

© 2003-2006 Cooper-Atkins Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

This document is Copyright © 2003-2006 by Cooper-Atkins Corporation. It may not be 

distributed, sold for profit or used in commercial documents without the written 

permission of the copyright holder. 

THIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN IS PROVIDED "AS 

IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING 

BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS 

FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. 

Confidential Information Page 2 Revision J 

© 2003-2006 Cooper-Atkins Corporation TempTrak Technical White Paper January 2006

Functional Overview 

The TempTrak application is a combined back office server software application with 

wireless sensors that automates a number of the manual Temperature and Quality 

related data collection processes required for regulatory compliance (HACCP, JCAHO, 

AABB, FDA, etc.) or as part of a Quality Control program, including: 

• Continuous equipment temperature monitoring and reporting 

(-150°F thru 300°F, -100°C thru 148°C) 

• Cooling validations (when used in conjunction with Intelli-PDA 1 ) 

• Temperature verification in the event of equipment failure 

• Energy management adjustments (defrost cycles, minimum / maximum 

temperature settings, average temperatures, etc.) 

• Automatic alert notifications when temperature exceeds defined limits 

• Automatic multi-level escalation of notifications if action not taken on an alert 

within specified time periods 

• Historical data retention and reporting 

• Automated database backups 

• Implements parameters & controls to assist an organization with FDA 21 CFR 

Part 11 compliance 2 

The application includes management facilities for the registration of equipment 

sensors, creation of notifications/alerts based on time-of-day, day-of-week and 

min/max range settings, escalation of notifications, summary, historical and detailed 

analysis reports, security access controls, audit reports and automated database 

backup. The back office functionality is browser-based (Microsoft Internet Explorer) 

and allows access to the management functions and reporting features from any PC 

with network connectivity. All access to the system is controlled through the use of 

centrally managed User IDs, passwords, roles and access lists maintained in the back 

office database (in addition to standard operating system security controls). 

The equipment sensors’ data is transmitted immediately (wirelessly) to the back office 

server application through a “base receiver” (and optionally one or more signal 

repeaters) and logged into a Microsoft SQL database. The system can also operate in a 

fallback “batch” mode where the sensor data is temporarily saved in a “buffer” at the 

base receiver in the event the server PC or application is unavailable. There is no 

intervention by the user required to initiate this fallback mode or to recover from it. 

1 More information on the Intelli-PDA product can be found in the Intelli-PDA Technical White Paper from 

Cooper-Atkins. 

2 21 CFR Part 11 is an FDA regulation which defines the minimum processes and controls which must be 

implemented in order for the FDA to accept electronic documents and signatures as being equivalent to 

traditional handwritten signatures and paper documents. This regulation has been in effect since August 

1997. 



Technology Overview 

Equipment Sensors 

TYPES 

• Internal Temperature (0°F to 140°F, -17°C to 60°C) 

• External Temperature (-150°F to 300°F, -100°C to 148°C) 

• Humidity (0% - 99% Relative Humidity) 

• Contact (i.e. Door Open/Closed) 

DIMENSIONS / OPERATING ENVIRONMENT 

• 3.5” x 1.7” x 0.9” (8.9 cm x 4.3 cm x 2.29 cm) 

• Weighs approximately 3.0 oz (85 grams). 

• 0°F to 140°F (-17°C to 60°C), Up to 95% relative humidity (non-condensing) 

POWER 

• Standard “2/3 A” size LiMn02 battery (e.g., Duracell DL123A) 

• Battery life 2-3 years (typical) at 15 minute continuous transmission interval 

RF COMMUNICATIONS 

• 2500 feet (762 meters) open field range 

• 900 MHz, Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum 

• Bandwidth range: 902-928 MHz (U.S. ISM 900 MHz). Also switch selectable for 

European (868-870 MHz), Australian (915-928 MHz) & New Zealand (921-928 

MHz) frequencies. 

• Output Power: 50mW 

• FCC certified (Part 15) 

Optional Signal Repeaters 


• 6.5” x 3.5” x 1.0” (16.5 cm x 8.9 cm x 2.54 cm) 

[with NEMA enclosure: 7” x 7” x 3” (17.78 cm x 17.78 cm x 7.62 cm)] 

• Wall mounting (optional outdoor enclosure available) 

• 0°F to 140°F (-17°C to 60°C), up to 95% relative humidity (non-condensing) 

POWER 

• Standard 120v AC (external transformer supplied) 

• Approx 24 Hr Integrated Battery Backup 

RF COMMUNICATIONS 

• 4 mile (6.44 km) open field range 



• 900 MHz, Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum 

• Bandwidth: 902-928 MHz (U.S. ISM 900 MHz). Also available for European (868- 

870 MHz), Australian (915-928 MHz) & New Zealand (921-928 MHz) frequencies. 

• Output Power: ~250mW 

• FCC certified (Part 15) 

Base Station Receiver + Memory Buffer 


• 6.5” x 3.5” x 1.0” (16.5 cm x 8.9 cm x 2.54 cm), internal antennas 

• Wall mounting (interior) 

• 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C), Up to 95% relative humidity (non-condensing) 

POWER 

• Standard 120v AC (2) 

• 11-14 Volts DC, 80 mA 

MEMORY BUFFER 

• 2MB Flash Memory 

• Automatic 1 hour sensor snapshot data & recovery in the 

event of a PC or network failure 

COMMUNICATIONS 

• DB9 RS-232 Serial connection to PC serial port, or 

• 10/100 Base-T Ethernet 

Back Office PC Platform 

HARDWARE / OS (MINIMAL RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION) 3 

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional/Server, XP Pro or 2003 Server with the 

latest Microsoft Service Packs / Hot Fixes installed 

• 512MB Memory 

• 2.0GHz Processor or faster 

• CD-RW Drive (For unattended, automated database backups) 

• 1 Available RS-232 Serial Port for base station receiver connection (additional 

serial ports may be required for optional use of LED message boards or relay 

switch) 

SOFTWARE 

• Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 

3 For larger TempTrak configurations, additional hardware and software resources may be required. 

Please refer to the TempTrak Large Configurations White Paper from Cooper-Atkins for more information. 



• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (MSDE version) – (supplied with software) 

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 or later 

• Cooper-Atkins Automated database backup and compression facility 

• Cooper-Atkins Intelli-Ware IIS-based application administration (ASP) 

• Cooper-Atkins TempTrak Data Collector application 

Development Environment 

The TempTrak application has been developed using the Microsoft SQL Server database 

system as the underlying data store and makes use of stored procedures for 

encapsulating common data access functions. In addition, the applications are written 

using a combination of the following development tools: 

• Microsoft Visual C++ 

• Microsoft Visual Basic 

• ActiveX Component technologies 

• Microsoft Active Server Pages (VBScript) 

• HTML / JavaScript / Java via IIS/Internet Explorer 

Communications Overview 

All communications between the equipment sensors and the base receiver is via a 

wireless frequency hopping, spread spectrum 900MHz RF network (902-928 MHz U.S.). 

The TempTrak data collector application running on the back office server is responsible 

for interfacing with the database system and other application modules. The wireless 

communication consists of a small, uni-directional, non-routable data packet 

(approximately 13-20 bytes) that contains status and sensor reading data only. 

Communication flow is uni-directional – from the sensors to the base station only – the 

sensors do not contain a receiver component. Unlike a wireless LAN network (i.e. 

802.11 a/b/g) operating at 2.4GHz, the sensor wireless network cannot be 

compromised in order to gain access to other servers on the network. The diagram 

below depicts an overview of the components and communications paths: 



Ethernet Network 

Intelli-Ware 

Server 

… or … 

RS-232 

Connection 

TempTrak 

Base Station 

Receiver 

900 MHz 

Freq Hopping SS 

Signal 

Repeater 

(If Necessary) 

Stationary Equipment Monitors 

TempTrak 

Mini-Sentrys 

The sensors, repeaters and base station can co-exist with other wireless communication 

operating in the same, or nearby frequency bands. This is accomplished by utilizing: 

• Fast Burst – Low Duty Cycle Communication – A complete message from a Mini- 

Sentry transmitter is sent in less than 30 milliseconds (30/1000 of a second). 

Plus, during this “on-the-air” time of 30 milliseconds, the transmitter is on less 

than 4% of the time, making it unlikely that a standard message would be 

noticeable, even if it were within range and in the same band as a voice 

communication product. 

• Low Power Communication – The peak power of the standard Mini-Sentry 

transmitter is about 50 mW U.S. / 25 mW Europe, compared with up to 600 mW 

for a typical cellular phone. 

• Frequency Hopping protocols – Every Mini-Sentry transmission is repeated and 

occurs on a different frequency on the range of 902-928 MHz. This not only 

minimizes interference with other systems, but also increases the reliability of the 

TempTrak system. 



Based on a review of the communications protocol and these technical specifications, it 

has been determined that the TempTrak Sensors, Repeaters and Base Station Receiver 

meet the Technical Standards for Federal "Non-licensed" Devices specified in Annex K 

of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Manual of 

Regulations & Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management (Red Book). 4 

Reporting Features 

The underlying data store for all of the TempTrak information is Microsoft’s SQL Server. 

By utilizing an industry standard database structure, nearly any available 

reporting tool on the market is able to interface with the TempTrak data for 

reporting and analysis (including tools such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft 

Access and Crystal Reports). 

All sensor information recorded to the database is time-stamped and cannot be altered 

through the TempTrak user interface. Temperature data can be displayed in either °F 

or °C. 

The TempTrak browser interface also includes a number of standard reports of the 

sensor data that has been captured. Types of reports available include: 

• Current sensor readings (most recently recorded sensor values) 

• Sensor RF communication status 

• Sensor alarms (current and recently acknowledged) 

• Sensor configuration changes 

• Low battery condition alarms 

• Historical sensor alarms by selected date 

• 1 Hr or 12 Hr daily sensor data summary 

• Contact sensor open/close 

• Monthly equipment performance analysis 

• Sensor data graphical history 

• Comparative graphical history for multiple sensors 

• Database backup history 

All reports are available or printing directly from Internet Explorer or can be saved, then 

archived and/or emailed. 

4 Phil Nash, Telecom Operations Management Service Manager, Wireless Operations, Tuscaloosa VA 

Medical Center (phillip.nash@mail.va.gov) 



The samples below represent some of the report formats available as part of the 

standard application: 

Current sensor readings 

numerical & graphical 

reports. 



Sensor historical data 

report. 

Daily 12 hour summary 

report. 



Monthly equipment 

analysis report. 

Cooling validation report 

(used with Intelli-PDA) 

Alarming & Notifications 

Since the TempTrak system is collecting sensor data from the various pieces of 

equipment 24x7, it also has the ability to alert designated personnel based on 

notification parameters when the equipment is not operating per specification. 



Sensors are factory configured to transmit readings at preset intervals. By default, 

most sensors are set to report a reading every 5 minutes. For some applications (i.e. 

dish machines, laboratory applications, etc) a 5-minute reporting interval may be too 

long when temperatures are changing rapidly. For these types of applications, the 

sensor also has a feature to sample the temperature more frequently (every 60 

seconds) and transmit immediately if it detects more than a 5 percent change in the 

electrical resistance value. This allows TempTrak to collect and report sensor data at a 

regular interval (i.e. 5 minutes), but record and alarm if the temperature changes 

rapidly before the next reporting interval. 

The sensor attribute & notification parameters consist of: 

• Sensor name 

• Minimum / maximum sensor reading values allowed 

• Time of day [optional] 

• Day of week [optional] 

• Food safety warnings 

• Logging summarization interval 

• Alert threshold value 

• Notification type (one or more of:) 

o Digital pager message 

o Email message (also alpha pager message if supported) 

o Remote pop-up window 

o LED message board 

o External relay switch (lights, sirens, etc) 

As the TempTrak data collector service monitors incoming data packets from the 

equipment sensors, readings are compared in real-time to the configured minimum / 

maximum and threshold values for the sensor. The use of a threshold value allows the 

alarming engine to delay the generation of an alert until the sensor readings are out of 

the minimum / maximum range for a specified number of consecutive minutes. For 



example, once an alarm condition exists for a sensor (out of min/max range for 

consecutive minutes) a new alarm will be generated (unless there is 

already an unacknowledged alarm recorded for this sensor). At this point the alarm 

condition is recorded in the database and any notification actions are performed (i.e. 

page, email, etc.). 

Before another notification is sent or alarm is recorded, an operator must 

“acknowledge” the existing alarm and can optionally record any corrective actions taken 

to resolve the issue(s). The time and person acknowledging the alarm is record and 

stored with the alarm event in the database. 

The screen shot below shows an example of the alarm reporting screen and the 

acknowledgment dialog window: 

12-10-2002 

The administrator can also optionally configure escalation parameters for sensors so 

that once a notification has been sent, if no action is taken against the alert within a 

specified timeframe (i.e. a notation mode, alarm cleared), a different notification can be 

delivered (i.e. notify a supervisor). This escalation can be repeated multiple times. 

Sensor / System Auditing 

For some applications or for regulatory compliance, it may be necessary to maintain 

documented records of periodic “audits” of the system and sensors. The TempTrak 

application allows operators (with the appropriate permissions) to perform regular 



audits of sensors, recording: timestamp, audit comments / actions and the auditing 

operator. This information is maintained indefinitely, and is available for reporting by 

date range, operator or sensor. Information about the most recent audit can be 

displayed by groups of sensors (i.e. pharmacy equipment, lab equipment, etc). 

“Views” and “Groups” 

Very often the data being collected by the sentrys will be related to different groups or 

departments (i.e. Nutrition Services, Pharmacy, Engineering/Facilities, etc) and each 

department will only want to monitor the areas for which they have responsibility. 

This can be accomplished by using the “Groups & Views” capability within the Temp 

Trak user interface. With Groups & Views, an administrator can create any number of 

named groups of sentrys (i.e. 1 st Floor Kitchen, 5 th Floor Nursing Station, etc) and then 

organize these groups into one or more named views (i.e. Nutrition Services, Pharmacy, 

etc). Finally a view is associated with each user’s login ID. When that user logs in to 

Intelli-Ware, only those sentrys that are part of their “view” are displayed or are able to 

be re-configured. 

Pharmacy 

(View) 

Users 

Jim 

Margaret 

Nutrition Services 

(View) 

Users 

Mary 

Frank 

Tina 

Main Pharmacy 

(Group) 

3rd Floor Nursing 

(Group) 

Freezers 

(Group) 

Refrigeration 

(Group) 

Hot Holding 

(Group) 

Meal Carts 

(Group) 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Sentry 

Figure 3. Sample Group / View Setup 

As shown in figure 2, sentrys are associated with one or more groups, and groups are 

associated with one or more views, and a view is associated with a user. Therefore, 

even though the system is collecting data for all departments, to the user it appears as 

though it is “their” system and only the sensors for which they have responsibility or 

interest are displayed. 



Graphical Representation 

For a more “intuitive” view of sensor data, TempTrak also supports the ability to display 

sensor / group status information against a backdrop image such as a floor plan or 

other picture. This layout supports full drill-down capabilities (as do the other real-time 

sensor data views) to individual sensor data and historical graphing. 

Group and sensor icons are color-coded for easy diagnosis and drill-down to a more 

detailed floor plan or layout is supported. 

Floor plan / layout images can easily be scanned and/or uploaded into the TempTrak 

system directly from the browser interface. Once imported, individual sensors or sensor 

groups can be placed directly on the image corresponding to their actual physical 

location. At any time, images can be replaced or sensor icons re-located to track any 

equipment movements. 



NAFEM Data Protocol 5 

Beginning with TempTrak version 4.0, TempTrak added support for the SNMP-based 

NAFEM data protocol (NAFEM protocol). TempTrak makes use of the NAFEM protocol 

in 2 ways: (1) as a NAFEM device “agent” and/or (2) as a NAFEM device “manager”. 

An overview of the complete TempTrak communications architecture is shown below: 

Web 

Browser 

IP Network 

LAN / WAN 

Headquarters 

Operations 

Support 

Stationary Equipment Monitors 

TempTrak 

Mini-Sentrys 

900 MHz 

Freq Hopping SS 

TempTrak 

Base Station 

Receiver 

XML / HTTP 

Communication Services 

RF Comm 

Services 

NAFEM Data Protocol 

Manager Services 

NAFEM Protocol 

NAFEM Data 

Protocol Agent 

NAFEM Protocol 

Other NAFEM 

Data Protocol 

Manager 

Native NAFEM Data 

Protocol Support 

In Equipment 

NAFEM Protocol Agent Capability 

By providing TempTrak with support for functioning as a NAFEM data protocol agent, 

TempTrak sensor data can be made available to any other NAFEM protocol manager (or 

other SNMP-based management tool). This allows sensor data from TempTrak (from 

non-NAFEM enabled equipment) along with information from newer equipment that 

may support the NAFEM protocol natively, to be made available to the same 

management toolset for analysis. 

TempTrak data that is exposed through the NAFEM protocol agent functionality 

includes: 

5 For more information on NAFEM and the NAFEM Data Protocol refer to http://www.nafem.org 



o Intelli-Ware PC current clock / time zone information (ClockCal MIB) 

o Sensor information (Monitor MIB / Config) 

o Sensor data (Monitor MIB / Data) 

o Alarm information (Monitor MIB / Notify) 

o Alarm configuration parameters (Monitor MIB / Alarms) 

o Sensor asset information (AssetMgmt MIB) 

NAFEM Protocol Manager Capability 

For interfacing with newer equipment that supports the NAFEM data protocol (either 

natively or through a proxy/gateway), TempTrak can also function as a NAFEM protocol 

manager. TempTrak will periodically collect measurement data from these devices and 

log / alarm against this data in the same manner as the standard TempTrak sensor data 

– providing a single repository for NAFEM protocol supplied data and sensor data. 

Summary 

The architecture of the TempTrak system is to provide a cost-effective, timesaving and 

reliable solution for continuous equipment monitoring of key performance metrics and 

form the foundation for a comprehensive HACCP strategy. The system is designed to 

allow easy addition of sensors as equipment is added or moved and can easily grow to 

support even the largest monitoring requirements, while still providing an intuitive 

interface to the user and robust alerting and notification capability. The system is also 

designed to take advantage of the “next generation” NAFEM data protocol enabled 

devices as they come to market.

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