Cold chain (beta)
See fridge and freezer temperatures beside your stock
Lift reads the files your temperature loggers already make, and the readings some sensor platforms send by themselves, and shows each fridge or freezer beside the OpenBoxes location it is in. It is in beta, on every plan, at no extra charge during the beta.
Lift shows a copy of your logger's record. Use your logger's own record for decisions about your vaccines and medicines, and for inspections. Lift is not a validated system.
In beta
It works today, and we may still change how it looks or works as we learn from customers. You find it in the portal under Devices & sensors, on the Sensors tab.
Included on every plan
Shared, Dedicated and Enterprise all have it, at no extra charge during the beta. There is nothing to buy and nothing to turn on.
Beside your locations
Each fridge or freezer shows beside the OpenBoxes location it is in. A teammate limited to some locations sees only the loggers placed at their locations.
Where the readings come from
Upload the files your loggers make, or add a sensor connection so a platform sends readings by itself. The four connection kinds are built to each vendor's published format.
Logger files
Upload
Berlinger Fridge-tag 2L files (now sold by Sensitech), the zip the free Varo app makes, LogTag CSV or TXT files from LogTag Analyzer, or any other CSV file of readings you map once. Up to 20 files and 16 MB at a time, and Lift shows you what it found before anything is stored.
Temperature logger guide →Monnit
Sensor connection, iMonnit webhook
Monnit Temperature and Thermocouple sensors only. Lift stores a reading only when the message shows its unit. Humidity sensors and other Monnit sensors are not supported.
Monnit setup →The Things Stack
Sensor connection, webhook
A webhook from your The Things Stack application. You tell Lift the name of the temperature field your payload formatter writes, and its unit. Each device is known by its DevEUI.
The Things Stack setup →ChirpStack
Sensor connection, HTTP integration
An HTTP integration from your ChirpStack (v4) application, with JSON as the payload encoding. You tell Lift the temperature field your device profile codec writes, and its unit. It is in beta.
ChirpStack setup →Your own system
Sensor connection, Lift JSON (signed)
Your own script or system signs each request with the connection's secret. The setup guides include recipes for Node-RED, an OpenFn job and a small Node.js script that you copy and adapt. Lift does not run Node-RED or OpenFn for you. Send a test reading first.
Lift JSON setup →How it works
- Bring in the readingsUpload files on the Upload files page, or have the account owner or an Admin add a connection on the Connections page. Each connection has its own web address and secret, and Lift stores readings only from the devices you accept.
- Place each logger at a locationEach logger is placed at one of your OpenBoxes locations. When a logger moves, record the move and Lift keeps its history at each location.
- Choose an alert ruleThe owner or an Admin picks the WHO PQS refrigerator, freezer or mobile rule, any reading out of range (the CDC style) for a refrigerator or a freezer, or a custom rule with your own limits. Without a rule, Lift does not check a logger's temperatures, and every page says so.
- See excursions and monthly summariesEach logger has a chart of its readings and its excursions: too warm, too cold, out of range and no readings, each with its start, end, peak and how long it lasted. The monthly summary shows the WHO functional status for loggers on the WHO refrigerator rule. You can download a logger's readings, or the monthly summary, as a CSV file.
Temperature alerts (beta)
Turn them on in the portal under Integrations, in the Temperature alerts section of the stock alert destinations panel: switch them on for each Slack, Microsoft Teams or PagerDuty destination, and tick the people who get emails. Nothing is sent until someone chooses there.
Readings from a sensor connection
Lift checks readings as they arrive and alerts once your chosen rule is met. Under the WHO refrigerator rule, that means 10 hours at or above +8 °C. Under the any reading out of range rule, one reading outside the range meets it, so the alert goes out after Lift receives and checks that reading, if the newest reading is still outside the range then. Slack and Teams get a message when the temperature returns, and a PagerDuty incident resolves then.
A sensor that stops sending
If a logger on a sensor connection sends nothing for an hour, or for three of its usual intervals if that is longer, Lift alerts the Slack, Teams or PagerDuty destinations switched on (not by email), with or without an alert rule, and tells them when readings resume. It holds this alert back while Lift itself had trouble receiving readings.
Uploaded files
When an upload finds new excursions, Lift posts one summary to each Slack or Teams destination switched on and emails the people ticked. Upload summaries never go to PagerDuty.
Alerts are a second channel, not a replacement for your device's own alarm. Keep relying on your logger's or sensor's alarm.
What it does not do yet
- The WHO EMS push, other sensor vendors and connections to a logger maker's cloud are coming soon, with no date yet.
- Humidity: Lift stores temperatures only.
- Lift does not put stock on hold, or mark stock as affected, after an excursion.
- Files a fridge's own monitoring system makes, PDF reports, Excel files and Berlinger Q-tag files are not read yet.
- OpenBoxes itself still does not record temperatures: its Cold Chain flag only marks the products that need refrigeration.
Questions about cold chain
Is Lift a validated temperature monitoring system?
No. Lift is not a validated system. Keep your validated monitoring system as your record; Lift shows a copy next to your OpenBoxes locations. Use your logger's own record for inspections.
How soon will Lift alert me about a high reading?
Once your chosen rule is met. For sensor connections Lift checks readings as they arrive: under the WHO refrigerator rule that is 10 hours at or above +8 °C, and under the any reading out of range rule one reading outside the range meets it, so the alert goes out after Lift receives and checks that reading, if the newest reading is still outside the range then. How soon that is depends on how often your sensor sends readings. For uploads it sends one summary when the upload finds new excursions. Your logger's own alarm stays your alarm.
Which sensors can send readings to Lift?
In beta: Monnit Temperature and Thermocouple sensors (through an iMonnit webhook), devices on The Things Stack, devices on ChirpStack (through its HTTP integration), and your own system through Lift JSON. Monnit humidity sensors, the WHO EMS push and other vendors are not supported yet. Sensor connections and loggers can't be deleted: you can turn a connection off, which cannot be undone, and it stays in the list below the active ones. A logger stays listed with its readings.
Is Lift WHO prequalified?
No. Lift can apply the WHO PQS rules to your readings, but Lift itself is not a WHO-prequalified product.
Where is the temperature data kept, and for how long?
In Lift's own platform database, not in your OpenBoxes database, so it is not part of your instance's backups. Readings and daily highs and lows are kept for three years. Everything is deleted when the account is closed, so download your readings before closing.
Is the capability you need in here?
Ask about any feature: lot tracking, integrations, mobile, reporting. If we don't do something you need, we want to hear that too.
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