Alerts and notifications
Alerts let you know when something is wrong before stock or food safety is at risk. The goal is timely, useful alerts — not noisy ones.
How alerts work
Open the Configure sensor wizard (from Sensors or the Overview setup banner) or the Alert Settings page, and for each sensor you can set:
- A high temperature threshold — when readings stay above this, you will be alerted.
- A low temperature threshold — when readings stay below this, you will be alerted.
- Optional immediate alert limits — an "immediate alert below" or "immediate alert above" value raises a serious incident straight away, skipping the normal short delay. Use these for temperatures that mean stock is already at risk.
- An Alerting & reporting toggle — turns alerts on or off for that sensor. This same toggle also controls whether the sensor appears in your monthly HACCP reports, so leave it on for any sensor you want monitored and reported on. See HACCP reports.
ChillSense waits a short period after a breach is detected before sending an alert. This avoids spurious alerts when a fridge is briefly opened during normal operation.
After an alert is sent, ChillSense will not resend the same alert immediately, even if the breach continues. This stops you receiving the same message every minute. You will be notified again if the breach persists or recurs after a sensible window.
Setting thresholds
Choose thresholds that match the asset, not the brand of fridge.
| Asset type | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Fresh produce or dairy fridges | around 1 to 5°C |
| Display cabinets | Tighter ranges may apply depending on product |
| Freezers | typically below −18°C |
| Cool rooms | depends on what you store; check your food safety plan |
If you are unsure, talk to your food safety officer or use the manufacturer's guidance.
Who gets notified
Alerts go to the people on your team who can act on them — specifically, your administrators and operations users who have access to the affected site. You manage these people, and their mobile numbers for SMS, on the Account page rather than as a separate contacts list.
To make sure the right people are notified:
- Invite the managers, owners, and food safety officers who need alerts, and give them access to the relevant sites.
- Add a mobile number to each person who should receive SMS as well as email.
- Keep your team list up to date when staff change.
Tips
- Make sure at least two people can receive alerts for each site, so a message is never missed when someone is unavailable.
- Removing or suspending a person's account also stops their alerts — review this when staff leave.
Acting on alerts
When you receive an alert:
- Check the affected asset on the dashboard.
- Inspect the asset physically as soon as practical.
- Take corrective action (for example, move stock, defrost, or escalate to a technician).
- Record what happened, especially if it could affect food safety records.
Acting quickly and recording your response keeps your customers safe and supports your HACCP compliance.
Avoiding alert fatigue
Tune your alerts so the team trusts every message that arrives.
Getting too many alerts?
- Check that thresholds are appropriate for each asset.
- Review where sensors are placed — they may be too close to a fan, vent, or door.
- Look for assets that may be failing and need maintenance.
Getting too few alerts?
- Confirm thresholds are not set too wide.
- Confirm contact details are correct.
- Check that notifications are not being filtered as spam.
Pair alerts with HACCP-ready evidence.
Once your alerts are tuned, lock in the audit trail with on-demand or scheduled HACCP reports.
HACCP reports Troubleshooting