What is temperature mapping?

Temperature mapping is a documented study that characterises how temperature is distributed across a storage or process space over time. Calibrated sensors are placed at defined locations, data is recorded for a defined period, and the results are analysed to find the warmest and coldest locations, to check that the whole space stays within its acceptance limits, and to decide where routine monitoring sensors should go.

Why it is done

A single monitoring probe only tells you the temperature at one point. Airflow, door openings, shelving, lighting and equipment all create gradients, so the product on a top shelf near a light fitting can experience a different environment from the product beside the evaporator. Mapping gives evidence that the space, as used, is capable of holding product within its label conditions — which is why guidance for the storage of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products asks for it.

What a study produces

• A protocol: purpose, acceptance limits, sensor locations, duration, loading condition, sampling interval.
• Sensor calibration evidence, so that readings are traceable.
• The raw data set and a data-quality assessment (gaps, duplicates, sensor faults).
• Statistics per sensor and overall: minimum, maximum, mean and spread.
• Identified hot and cold spots and any excursions, with duration and magnitude.
• A report with findings, limitations and recommended monitoring locations, reviewed and approved by a responsible person.

How the results are used

The hot and cold spots become the locations for permanent monitoring. Excursions drive corrective actions such as airflow changes, re-zoning of shelving, or exclusion of an area from storage. The study is typically repeated after significant changes and at a defined interval, and often under both empty and loaded conditions, and across seasons where ambient conditions matter.

ValiTrac's mapping engine implements the analysis part of this workflow — data quality, statistics, hot/cold spots, excursions and a draft report — behind an explicit human review gate. It does not replace the protocol, the calibration of the sensors or the reviewer's judgement.