Courier™ Case Studies

USRobotics Modems used to alert equipment failure via remote management

Location:

Georgia

Type of User:

Refrigeration Control System Management Center

Product Used:

Embedded Dial-up Modems

The Challenge

Grocery stores need to provide perishable food in a safe and reliable environment, particularly in the cooler and freezer areas of the store. If a major cooler goes down immediate action is required. Broken equipment can cost the store thousands of dollars in loss of product if reaction time is too slow.

Management Centers are in charge of monitoring freezers and coolers for a variety of grocery stores, but they are not on-site and need to be able to retreive information in real time - quickly and efficiently from the coolers to alert the store and possibly maintenance crews if something goes wrong.

The Solution

Refrigeration control systems can be put in place to continually monitor temperature and humidity, among other details. These systems typically include a LAN/WAN network for onsite data communication as well as a standard phone line for communication through a modem. The dialup modem can be the standard communication line, allowing inexpensive and reliable access. But, the dialup modem is also a backup for more complex systems that use the WAN Ethernet connections that can go down from time to time. Access to the system has to be available 24/7, which the dialup modem guarantees.

If a situation occurs, the refrigeration control system sends an alert to the management call center through the modem. A technician then dials back into the equipment to verify the issue. A call can be made to store management or service contractors directly to start fixing the issue.

The Benefits

Refrigeration systems embed communication lines into the systems, and USRobotics modems are used due to the high quality of the modem as well as the reliable dialup connections.