A study and ongoing monitoring answer different questions.
Mapping examines temperature distribution during a bounded study under stated conditions. Monitoring follows conditions over time at selected locations, with defined surveillance and alarm-response arrangements. Neither is a blanket substitute for the other. Before buying either service, identify the decision you need to make and the responsibilities that will remain with your team.
Request a mapping quoteWrite two briefs, even when discussing one project
- The mapping assignment
- Which space and operating state should the report describe? Name the decision the reviewer must make from it. Ask what the proposed work excludes, rather than assuming that a sensor count defines a complete study.
- The monitoring assignment
- Who needs to see the readings, and who acts when attention is required? Describe working hours, after-hours responsibility and the records your team needs. Ask how missing data will be distinguished from conditions that remain within limits.
- The ownership boundary
- Which party operates the environmental controls, maintains the sensors and decides what happens to affected products? Put those roles beside the service descriptions. A notification recipient and a person authorized to make a quality decision may be different people.
Trace placement decisions to reviewed evidence
- Connect the drawing and the report
- Can a reviewer follow each proposed permanent monitoring position back to the relevant mapping findings? Request the location identifiers, drawing revision and rationale together. Ask the quality team to review that connection before installation is treated as complete.
- Record placement changes
- If the planned position is inaccessible, who evaluates the alternative? Keep the proposed location, installed location and approval linked. Avoid silently substituting the nearest convenient mounting point and leaving the report to describe a position that was never used.
- Keep gaps visible
- Which storage positions or operating states were outside the study? Label those limits in the handover discussion. Ask what additional assessment is needed before extending a placement recommendation to a new zone or a changed arrangement.
Agree on the operational handover separately
- Verify the notification path
- Who will demonstrate that an alert reaches the intended recipient, and who checks the backup route? Ask what evidence records the test and its follow-up. A mapping report is not evidence that the notification path has been exercised.
- Assign the record review
- Who investigates missing readings, reviews events and records the resulting decisions? Define how the site will locate the relevant history when staff change. Ask which responsibilities belong to your procedures and which are included in the service agreement.
- Keep commercial scopes distinct
- Request separate descriptions for study execution, report review, monitoring installation, configuration and ongoing support. Confirm what training or handover material is included. Buying one scope does not establish that the others have been completed or approved.
Methodology and further reading
WHO separates mapping from monitoring-system planning; reviewed mapping results inform permanent sensor placement.
- WHO: Temperature mapping of storage areas, Supplement 8 (May 2015)
- WHO: Temperature and humidity monitoring systems for fixed storage areas, Supplement 6 (May 2015; selection and commissioning)
- ATEK guide to USP <1079.4>
- ATEK guide to ISPE temperature mapping
These resources inform scoping; they do not determine which requirements apply to your facility. Your quality team confirms the applicable requirements and approves the protocol.
Continue planning your study
Start with the information you have.
Tell us what needs mapping, where the site is and when you need the work. Mark unknown details as unknown. ATEK confirms service availability, scope and scheduling during review.