The Cooling Log is a form component for recording cooling by hand. Staff type each probe temperature as they take it, and the log does the CCP work the paper sheet used to: it times every cooling stage, shows when the next check is due, marks each stage Met or Failed, reminds people when a check is missed, and asks for a corrective action when a stage fails. It is built on the same idea as the Sensor Recorder, so the targets, the reports and the PDF look the same. The only difference is that the readings are typed in rather than streamed from a probe.
There are two versions. Cooling Log records one item, such as a pot of beans. Cooling Log (multiple) records several items cooling at once, such as each cook of a batch, with its own clock for each one.
Where to find it
Open a form template, go to Versions, and choose Edit Version on a draft version. In the Form Builder, drag Cooling Log or Cooling Log (multiple) onto the form. Click the component to open its settings on the right.
Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reading | One probe temperature, with the time it was taken, who entered it, and optionally the probe used and a note. |
| Cooling clock | Starts when the food reaches the Start temperature. Each later stage is timed from the stage before it, and no stage can be met by a reading taken before its clock started. |
| Target | One stage of your HACCP plan, for example “CCP2 A: <= 21°C within 120 min”. Up to five per log. |
| Checkpoint | A target with a time limit of 0. It must be reached, but there is no deadline. The presets use one called Start to confirm the food was hot when cooling began. |
| Check interval | How often a reading is expected. The next check is due one interval after the last reading. |
| Corrective action | What staff did about a failed stage. The template can require one before the form is confirmed, and can raise a non-conformance and hold the batch. |
Quick start
- Edit a draft version of the form template.
- Drag Cooling Log onto the form and give it a label, for example “CCP2 Cooling”.
- The two-stage preset is filled in for you. To use a different plan, choose one from Start from a preset or edit the targets.
- Set Check every (min) to how often staff should probe.
- Under When a target fails, tick Require a corrective action before the form can be confirmed if a failed stage must be dealt with on the form.
- Save the form version, then use Preview Version to try it.
Cooling Log settings
These are under Cooling Log Settings in the component's settings panel.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Log stays open for (min) | 1440 | How long after the first reading the log keeps expecting readings and sending reminders. 1440 minutes is 24 hours. |
| Check every (min) | 30 | The next check is due this long after the last reading. |
| Overdue after (min grace) | 10 | A check becomes overdue this long after it was due. With an interval of 20 and a grace of 10, a check is due 20 minutes after the last reading and overdue 30 minutes after it. A reading taken once a check is overdue needs a note giving the reason. |
| Push notification when a check is due / … is overdue | On | Turns each reminder on or off. See Reminders. |
| Also tell these users when overdue / …and everyone with these roles | None | Who else hears about an overdue check or a missed stage, for example a QA manager. “People who entered readings on the log are always told.” |
| Typed readings must name the probe used | Off | Makes the Probe box required on every reading. |
| Allow a reading's time to be set back up to (min) | 15 | How far back staff can date a reading they took a little earlier. “A back-dated reading always needs a note.” |
| Item label | Cook | Cooling Log (multiple) only. What each item is called on the form: “Cook 1”, “Cook 2”, or “Tray 1” if you enter Tray. |
| Maximum items | 5 | Cooling Log (multiple) only. How many items one form can hold. |
Targets and presets
Each target row has a name, >= or <=, a temperature, At or Under or At or Over, a time in minutes, and two switches. The help under the list sums them up: “Min = 0 is a checkpoint (no time limit). Reset restarts the timer when reached (chains cooling stages). Arm ignores readings until the probe has been hotter than the value.”
- At or Under means the temperature must be reached within the time, for example 21°C within 120 minutes. This is the normal cooling rule.
- At or Over means the stage counts only after that time has passed. Until then it shows “Waiting”.
- Reset chains stages. With Reset ticked on CCP2 A, the clock for CCP2 B starts when CCP2 A is reached. The target table shows this as “Within 240 min of CCP2 A”. The presets tick Reset on Start too, so cooling is timed from the food reaching 60°C, and a cool reading taken before then cannot pass a stage. Without Reset, a stage is timed from the first reading.
- Arm stops a cold first reading from passing a cooling stage straight away. The stage only counts once the food has been hotter than its value.
Start from a preset fills the targets in one step. It “Replaces the targets below. Every value stays editable.” A new Cooling Log starts with the first preset in the list.
| Preset (Celsius accounts) | Targets |
|---|---|
| Two-stage: 60→21°C in 2 h, 21→5°C in 4 h | Start >= 60°C (Reset); CCP2 A <= 21°C within 120 min (Reset); CCP2 B <= 5°C within 240 min |
| Meat: 12°C in 6 h, 5°C in 18 h | Start >= 60°C (Reset); A <= 12°C within 360 min (Reset); B <= 5°C within 1080 min |
| Single stage: 5°C in 6 h | Start >= 60°C (Reset); Cooled <= 5°C within 360 min |
A Fahrenheit account sees its own presets, in whole °F, with the FDA Food Code first:
| Preset (Fahrenheit accounts) | Targets |
|---|---|
| FDA Food Code: 135→70°F in 2 h, 70→41°F in 4 h | Start >= 135°F (Reset); CCP2 A <= 70°F within 120 min (Reset); CCP2 B <= 41°F within 240 min |
| Meat: 54°F in 6 h, 41°F in 18 h | Start >= 140°F (Reset); A <= 54°F within 360 min (Reset); B <= 41°F within 1080 min |
| Single stage: 41°F in 6 h | Start >= 140°F (Reset); Cooled <= 41°F within 360 min |
The presets are starting points. Always check the targets match your own HACCP plan before you publish the template.
Recording temperatures
A line above the entry bar always says what to do next, from the first stage not yet met:
| Prompt (two-stage preset) | When |
|---|---|
| Enter a temperature of 60°C or above to start cooling (Start). | Until a reading of 60°C or more is entered. |
| Next: cool to 21°C or below by 13:05 (CCP2 A). Enter a temperature at least every 30 min. | While a stage is running, with its deadline. |
| Check due now (since 13:35). Cool to 21°C or below by 15:05 (CCP2 A). | The check interval has passed since the last reading (shown in amber). |
| Check overdue since 13:45. Enter a temperature now and add a note giving the reason. Cool to 21°C or below by 15:05 (CCP2 A). | The grace period has passed as well (shown in red). The next reading needs a note. |
| All stages met. Cooling is complete. | Every stage is met (shown in green). |
| CCP2 A failed. Record the corrective action. | A stage missed its deadline (shown in red). The second sentence appears when the template requires a corrective action. |
Under it is the entry bar:
- Temperature: the probe reading.
- Date and Time Taken: shows the current date and time. Leave it alone and the reading is stamped with the moment you click Record. Change it only for a reading taken a few minutes ago.
- Probe: which probe was used. It shows “Required” or “Optional” depending on the template.
- Note: anything worth recording. A note is “Needed if you change the time”, and also when the check is overdue.
Click Record reading. The reading is saved straight away. There is no separate Save step, and a recorded reading is never only on the screen. A temperature typed but not yet recorded is not saved.
A reading is refused, with the reason shown under the entry bar, when:
| Message | Why |
|---|---|
| Enter a temperature | The temperature box is empty. |
| Reading time cannot be in the future | The time taken is later than now. |
| Readings can only be back-dated 15 minutes | The time was set back further than the template allows. The number is the template's setting. |
| Add a note to explain a back-dated reading | The time was changed with no note. |
| The check was overdue. Add a note giving the reason. | The reading was taken after the check went overdue, with no note. The placeholder in the Note box changes to “Reason the check is late (required)” while a check is overdue. |
| Select the probe used | The template requires a probe and none was entered. |
Above the entry bar the log shows what the Sensor Recorder shows: a chart of the readings with a dashed line for each target, the start time and start temperature, the last reading, the time elapsed, and Next Check, which turns to “Overdue” when a check is missed. The target table lists each stage with its Condition, Time Constraint, a Countdown to its deadline, its Status (Met, Pending, Failed, Waiting or Not started), and the reading that met it.
The Readings list shows every reading, newest first. You can Edit or Delete your own readings. Editing changes the temperature and note, not the time; to correct a time, delete the reading and enter it again. Delete asks you to click Confirm delete. An edited reading is marked “(edited)”.
Once a stage has failed or a corrective action has been recorded, the readings are locked: “locked: a stage failed or a corrective action is recorded; new readings can still be added”. This keeps the evidence for a failure from being changed afterwards.
Cooling Log (multiple)
Cooling Log (multiple) puts several items on one board, one row each, with the same targets for all of them. Each row shows when that item started, its last reading, the status of each stage (for example “Met 14:50” or “1:20 left”), and its next check.
- Click + Start cooling another cook (the word follows the Item label) to add an item. Items are numbered automatically: Cook 1, Cook 2 and so on.
- Under the board is one entry bar, the same as on a single Cooling Log, with a Cook picker added. It starts on the item whose check is due soonest. Click Record on a row to pick that item and jump to the temperature box, then click Record reading (or press Enter).
- The line above the entry bar gives the next step for the picked item, for example “Cook 2 — Next: cool to 21°C or below by 13:20 (CCP2 A). Enter a temperature at least every 30 min.” Each row also shows its own next step under the item name.
- Click the arrow at the end of a row to open that item's full log, with its chart and readings, where you can edit or delete readings. Readings are entered from the entry bar under the board.
- A banner at the top lists any item whose check is overdue, with its last reading and time.
- An item with a failed stage shows “Corrective action needed”.
Reminders
Reminders are push notifications sent to the QTRACA app. Each one names the log, or the item on a board, and opens the form when tapped.
| Reminder | Sent when | Sent to |
|---|---|---|
| “… check due” | One check interval after the last reading. | Everyone who entered a reading on the log. |
| “… check overdue — last reading 19.6°C at 14:05” | After the grace period, if no new reading was entered. | The people above, plus the users and roles chosen under Also tell these users when overdue. |
| “… CCP2 A deadline passed” | When a stage's time limit runs out before it is reached. | The same people as an overdue check. |
Each reminder is sent once. Reminders stop when every stage is resolved, when a stage fails (the stages after it never start, so there is nothing left to check; the Next Check box and the header timer pill stop as well), when the log's open time runs out, or 6 hours after the reminder was due. They are checked every couple of minutes, so one can arrive up to about two minutes late.
Every check and deadline also shows in the timer pill in the page header, for the same people its reminder goes to, so it is seen on a computer without the app and on every page, not just on the form. The pill shows the most urgent one across every form at the site: “Cooling check · Cook 2” with a countdown, then “Due now” (yellow) once the interval has passed, then “Overdue” (red, pulsing) after the grace period, counting up. A passed stage time limit shows as “CCP2 A deadline · Cook 2”. Click the pill to list them all and open the batch or form. A reminder turned off in the log’s settings is left out of the pill too. See Timer.
On the form you have open, the pill follows the readings as you type them, before the form is saved. A check leaves the pill when the next reading is recorded, or 6 hours after it went overdue. The pill replaces the countdown tile that used to be pinned to the top of the form, and the notification bell.
When a target fails
A stage fails when its time limit runs out before the temperature reaches it. What happens next is set by the template author under When a target fails. “Staff cannot change these on the floor; the form tells them what will happen.”
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Require a corrective action before the form can be confirmed | A corrective action panel appears when a stage fails, and the form cannot be confirmed until it is filled in. |
| Suggested actions (one per line) | The choices offered to staff, for example “Product held for QA assessment”. “Staff pick one of these or type their own.” |
| Raise a non-conformance | Recording the action also raises a non-conformance against the form, with the action logged on it as a closed corrective action. |
| Put the form's batch on hold | For a form opened from a batch, recording the action also puts the batch on hold. |
Staff see the panel headed “CCP2 A failed — record a corrective action” with “This form cannot be confirmed until it is recorded.” They choose the Action taken (or Something else… to type their own), describe What happened, and save. The panel tells them in advance “A non-conformance will be raised.” or “The batch will be put on hold.” when the template says so. Once saved, the panel reads “Corrective action recorded” with the failed stages, the action, who recorded it and when, and the non-conformance number.
If someone tries to confirm the form first, it is refused with the message “CCP2 Cooling: corrective action” must be entered before confirmation.
The Sensor Recorder and Dynamic Sensor Recorder have the same When a target fails settings. They are off unless you tick them, so existing sensor templates behave exactly as before.
Reports and the form PDF
- Reports: a Cooling Log's columns appear in the report builder as “Cooling Log: <label>”, with each target's rule, temperature, time and status, the same as a Sensor Recorder. Cooling Log (multiple) gives one row per item.
- Alerts and QA checks: rules such as “all targets passed” work on a Cooling Log the same way as on a Sensor Recorder.
- Form PDF: shows the chart, the target table, a table of every reading (time, temperature, probe, who entered it and any note) and the corrective action.
Celsius and Fahrenheit
The unit is set once for the whole account: Account Settings → Temperature unit, Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F). Every account starts on Celsius. The setting is “Used by Cooling Logs and when setting recorder targets. Sensors show their own device's unit.”
- In a Fahrenheit account, staff type readings in °F, recorder targets are entered in °F in the Form Builder, and the screens, PDF, reports, report filters, reminders and non-conformance text all read °F.
- Temperatures are always stored the same way underneath, so changing the setting never changes a recorded value. A log recorded in °C reads correctly in °F after the switch, and the other way round.
- A Sensor Recorder's form screen always shows its device's unit. Set the device to Fahrenheit in its IoT settings if that is what you work in.
- After an admin changes the unit, their own screens follow straight away. Other devices pick it up the next time the app is loaded.
Availability and permissions
- Both Cooling Log components are available to every account that has forms. Unlike the Sensor Recorder, they do not need the IoT module or any probes.
- Anyone who can edit a form template can add and set up a Cooling Log.
- Anyone who can fill in the form can record readings and record a corrective action. Each user can only edit or delete their own readings.
- Only an admin can change the account's temperature unit.
Things to know
- A late stage stops the stages after it. If a stage with Reset fails, the next stage never starts and shows “Not started”. The failure is what needs dealing with, not the later stage.
- Templates built before the presets ticked Reset on Start time every stage from the first reading. Pick the preset again, or tick Reset on Start, to time cooling from the food reaching Start.
- The form must be saved before a corrective action can be recorded. On a brand-new form the panel asks you to “Save the form, then record the corrective action”.
- One corrective action per log. On Cooling Log (multiple), each item has its own. If a second stage fails after the action was recorded, the recorded action stands.
- No Bluetooth probe reading yet. Temperatures are typed in.
- Items cannot be renamed. They are numbered in the order they were started.
- On Cooling Log (multiple), the PDF includes a chart only for items whose full log was opened while the form was being filled in. The target and reading tables are always included.
- Reports cannot filter on the targets of Cooling Log (multiple) or the Dynamic Sensor Recorder. The single Cooling Log and Sensor Recorder can be filtered.
- A log that never started properly keeps reminding. If the first reading was already cold, or a stage failed, check reminders continue until the log's open time runs out or the stages are resolved.
- The log re-checks the clock every 30 seconds, so its Next Check box or Overdue flag can be up to half a minute behind the header timer pill, which moves every second. Nothing is saved or reloaded by this.