1. Power consumption

The biggest business-as-usual cost from commercial refrigeration always comes from power, and these costs are becoming more unpredictable.

Fridge power economy is not set in stone by a fridge’s design and quality, it’s also greatly influenced by where it’s placed and how it is used. A display fridge that struggles to circulate air to cool its beverages will consume more power. And it can be put in this position by a number of factors, including placement near sources of hot air and detritus that can block vents and fans (like a frequently opening automated door), a lack of clearance around the fridge (for example, a wall snugly blocking vents), and a lack of maintenance.

If you look at the power consumption history of your fleet you’ll be able to see a trend of power consumption that aligns with the fridges that are in the most difficult locations and are in the worst condition. Rectify these issues and you could see your display fridge fleet’s contribution to your power costs minimised.

2. Fridge temperature history 

Consistency in fridge temperature is probably the key indicator of a fridge’s health. This is especially important in food storage fridges because food safety laws require the contents remain under a safe temperature to be suitable for sale. 

Wavering fridge temperatures can indicate problems with door seals and gaskets, temperature controllers, or even the compressor itself – typically when the fridges haven’t been cleaned or maintained. They can also point to issues around how the fridge is being used, for example if it is being overloaded with product or the doors are being left open.

Fortunately, with the foresight provided by this data you can save your business significant cost by getting the problem looked at now before the fridge fails and you lose stock or suffer the financial consequences of downtime. SKOPE-connect, our fridge management app, alerts owners to fridge temperature fluctuations and receives automated diagnoses of potential problems from the fridge’s controllers.

3. Door openings

Door openings impact both power consumption and fridge temperature, but in fact the greatest value in looking at how many times your fridges are opened is to measure product popularity and placement.

Sales figures will give you an overall view of a beverage’s popularity, but it won’t give you a more complete picture of whether you’re placing it in front of the right people at the right time. By testing door openings in fridges in different areas you’ll be able to see really quickly from the data which is the best option to maximise sales.

4. Food safety compliance

HACCP compliance requires the reporting of fridge temperature data through the day at regular intervals. This is usually done manually and, unfortunately, sometimes very sporadically.

You could improve your food safety risk position and save time on your compliance duties – meaning you’ll have more time to contribute to your business rather than just protect it – by leveraging data and automation.

For example, our fridge management app lets you significantly simplify the recording process because it can store up to five months of temperature records exported from the fridge’s controller. This allows you to have the information on-hand in your phone whenever you need to use it.

Find out more at www.skope.com