Cool Room and Temperature Monitoring Procedure

Purpose. Sets out how cool room temperatures are checked, recorded and responded to, and what to do when a cool room fails.

1.Daily checks

The opening worker at each site must read the cool room thermometer at opening and the closing worker must read it at close. Both readings must be recorded in the Stock Intake Register as a temperature log entry. Readings outside the range must be reported to the Buying and Stock Coordinator at once.

2.Acceptable ranges

The main cool room must read between two and five degrees Celsius. The tropical zone must read between twelve and fifteen degrees. A reading up to two degrees outside the range for less than two hours is acceptable during heavy loading and must be noted. Any reading more than two degrees outside range, or any range excursion lasting more than two hours, is a failure.

3.Housekeeping

Cool room floors must be kept clear and dry, buckets must be stored on the racks not the floor, doors must be closed within thirty seconds of entry, and door seals and drains must be checked weekly. Nothing other than flowers, foliage and plants may be stored in a cool room.

4.Failure response

When a cool room fails, the worker must move ethylene sensitive and premium stock to another cool room or the coolest available space, contact the refrigeration contractor from the supplier list, record the failure in the Stock Intake Register and in the Incident and Hazard Register, and tell the Buying and Stock Coordinator and the General Manager. Stock must be assessed for freshness before it is used and wastage recorded.

• Move premium stock first
• Call the refrigeration contractor
• Record the event in both registers
• Assess and grade stock before use

5.Maintenance

Cool rooms must be serviced by the refrigeration contractor every six months and after every failure. Thermometers must be calibrated at each service. Service records must be filed in the Equipment and Chemicals Register.