NHLS Member Provides ‘The Gift of Time’ by Predicting Refrigeration System Issues Before They Become Emergencies
Fewer than five years ago, Laurie and John Masiello were starting a new company from scratch with a handful of employees, working out of their home and even using the windows as whiteboards. It grew to a 3,000-square-foot space, then 7,000. Now, Predictive Monitor is moving into a new 15,000-square-foot headquarters in Nashua.
On Oct. 14, customers, life sciences colleagues, students and community members will have the opportunity to tour the expanding operation at an open house, meet the team and see demonstrations of Predictive Monitor’s OverShield® solution.
The idea for the technology grew out of the Masiellos’ nearly 40 years operating Masy BioServices.
“We were doing the storage for companies of a whole range of pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device goods in very controlled environmental conditions,” said John Masiello. “It could be from very, very cold liquid nitrogen, maybe -196 degrees Celsius, and it could warm up to about -70 degrees Celsius for biologics, way up to 80 degrees Celsius. So, the environmental conditions were critical.”
Traditional monitoring told them whether the chamber temperature was currently within specifications but didn’t provide any early warning of issues that could cause the temperature to fluctuate or indicate when systems might need maintenance.
To protect the products that they were storing for clients, they developed a precursor to OverShield. Clients were curious about this system and started asking for it, but at the time it wasn’t commercially scalable. When the Masiellos sold Masy, they retained the monitoring technology and started Predictive Monitor.
Instead of looking only at the “temperature” inside a chamber, OverShield uses sensors placed around key components such as compressors and other refrigeration-system elements and establishes a baseline for how the system normally operates. It then looks for changes in those patterns that can indicate developing problems.
Many companies have backup refrigeration systems, but even that doesn’t solve every problem.
“If one system breaks down, the backup system works, but nobody knows the primary system broke down,” said John Masiello.
The Masiellos recalled one instance when a client’s primary system failed and began adding rewarm air to the chamber. The backup came on, but had to work twice as hard to cool the system down, taxing the system and increasing energy use.
OverShield’s early-warning system lets companies handle issues before they become emergencies. Rather than simply detecting when something is wrong with a freezer, it can identify changes that signal a developing problem. Companies can then schedule maintenance instead of responding to unexpected failures, which often occur outside of normal business hours.
“We want the time,” Laurie Masiello said. “We’re giving you the gift of time.”
Safeguarding the items in the chambers isn’t just about avoiding costly emergency repairs and maintaining stock; it’s about ensuring critical pharmaceuticals are ready for the people who rely on them.
“If there were cancer drugs in a refrigerator, and it fails at 2 a.m., those patients may not get those cancer drugs,” Laurie Masiello said. “Our mission is to get those drugs to market, prolong the life of their chamber so that it can protect the drugs that are inside of it.”
When people’s health is at risk, the system has to work properly.
“What we’re doing is just too important,” said Laurie Masiello. “There are patients on the other end of this.”
Predictive Monitor’s new facility has space to house its growing operations. It plans to expand its software, engineering, application and technical sales teams. Visitors will be able to see live demonstrations, including equipment that makes normally hidden refrigeration processes visible and shows how OverShield detects changing conditions.
Predictive Monitor’s open house will be held Oct. 14 from 2 to 7 p.m. at its new Nashua headquarters, 1800 Southwood Drive. Guests can tour the facility, meet the team and see live OverShield demonstrations. Register for the open house.