Animal Testing Facility Uses Elemental Machines for Regulatory Compliance
LA Biomed monitors and records environmental conditions in their vivarium using Internet of Things sensors
Problem
LA Biomed was using all paper records for room environmental tracking. This system required manually collecting temperature data on a daily basis. In addition to spending the time physically collecting data, LA Biomed had no way of knowing if the temperature readings were out of the expected range at any given time.
“Everything in a vivaria is regulated - everything. It has to be recorded, documented, tracked. I have very specific needs, and everything has to be monitored, at all times.” - Catalina Guerra, Director, Biological Resources Center, LA Biomed.
Their facilities are accredited by numerous organizations who performed regular compliance checks. This involved going room to room to check the light, humidity, and temperature levels. They also had to go through the paper charts of data manually to provide any historical information, which was tedious and time consuming. On one of their walkthroughs, one of the oversight organizations required LA Biomed to switch to a system that provides automated alerts for temperature, humidity, and light levels.
Solution
LA Biomed made the switch to Elemental Machines based on the research done by their facilities manager. Now they have numerous Element-A sensors installed throughout their facility. Catalina says that the greatest benefit from working with Elemental Machines has been the peace of mind. The temperature, humidity, and light levels are monitored and tracked 24/7, with alerts for any out of specification conditions, and automated data recording to simplify record keeping.
“One of the certification organizations came in a few weeks ago - as soon as I told them I had electronic monitoring they said, OK, great, I don’t even need to check it.”
Results
