8 Steps to Mapping a Stability or Environmental
Chamber
Periodic mapping of temperature or humidity inside environmental chambers is important
to ensure uniform storage or test conditions. This mapping is an important part of the
validation process to ensure the equipment meets required performance criteria.
This application note provides eight basic steps to follow when using Veriteq VL-Series
Validatable data loggers to map an environmental chamber.
• Step 1 -- Write a Plan
• Step 2 -- Ensure proper equipment & documentation
• Step 3 -- Confirm data logger operation
• Step 4 -- Set up the data loggers
• Step 5 -- Place the data loggers
• Step 6 -- Periodically check the progress
• Step 7 -- Retrieve and store the data
• Step 8 -- Report the findings
Step 1 -- Write a Validation Plan
As with any important task, it helps to think through the chamber mapping process
completely before diving in. Write out what you want to obtain, an outline of your
methods, and any barriers you may anticipate.
Some key questions to consider are:
• How many data points do you need to monitor/map?
Typical numbers of units that many of our customers use to map small chambers
are:
o Nine (9): Two layers of four loggers each (one near each corner) plus one
logger in the center, or
o Fifteen (15): three layers of four loggers (one near each corner) plus one
logger in the center at each level, or
o Four or five loggers on each shelf.
• Where will each data logger be placed? Spacing the loggers in an evenly
distributed grid is essential.
• Will the mapping take place with the chamber empty, as for an Operation
Qualification (OQ), or full of product , as for a Performance Qualification (PQ)? For
many companies, both tests are important. Consider how OQ and PQ might affect
your process and make a note of that.
• Are you mapping air temperature inside the chamber, or will probes be needed to
track interior product temperatures? Tracking interior product temperatures, such
as the temperature i