Using the App

Equipment and Cold Storage Simulator

Premium tool. Open directly at /equipment-cold-storage-simulator. The simulator has its own page and is also listed on the Training Dashboard, which records your attempts.

This is a support-staff trainer aimed at Band 2 to 4 roles. It works through 16 short modules, one per piece of bench equipment or storage class, each with practice questions.

What it does

• Covers everyday equipment: centrifuges, pipettes, balances, water baths, incubators, microscopes and the like
• Covers each storage class: fridges, freezers, cryogenic storage, ambient stores and platelet incubators
• Explains temperature alarm response and the time-out-of-controlled-environment rules
• Tests you with short knowledge checks per module

Equipment classes covered

• Blood-bank fridges (2-6°C) — strictest control, validated, alarmed, audited
• Plasma freezers (-25°C / -30°C / -80°C depending on use) — for FFP, cryoprecipitate, research samples
• Cryogenic storage (-150°C and below) — liquid nitrogen, semen/embryo cryopreservation
• Reagent fridges (2-8°C) — analyser reagents, kits
• Sample storage fridges/freezers — short and long-term archive
• Ambient stores (15-25°C controlled) — paraffin blocks, dry reagents
• Room-temperature platelet incubators (20-24°C with agitation) — Transfusion-specific

Alarm response priorities

When an alarm fires:

1. Acknowledge within the SOP-specified window
2. Triage — is this a temperature excursion or a sensor fault?
3. Quarantine affected stock
4. Document start time, end time, peak excursion
5. Decision — are samples still usable? (Time-out-of-controlled-environment rule applies)
6. Move stock if equipment cannot be recovered quickly
7. Datix incident report if patient-impacting

Time-out-of-controlled-environment rules

Same as covered in SHOT Cold Chain Simulator (article 39) for blood components. Other stock has different tolerances:

• Plasma frozen — partial thaw above -25°C — discard if cryoprecipitate, use within 24h if FFP that fully thawed
• Reagents — manufacturer IFU determines tolerance; usually 24-72h above storage limit triggers review
• Cryogenic samples — depends on sample type and what is stored

Equipment qualification (background only)

Qualification of new equipment (installation, operational and performance qualification, with temperature mapping for fridges and freezers) is a Band 5 and above responsibility and is not part of this trainer. The Method Validation Simulator and your laboratory's equipment SOPs cover it.

Standards alignment

• ISO 15189:2022 clause 6.6 (Equipment) and 6.7 (Maintenance)
• JPAC Red Book — blood-bank specific
• MHRA Good Distribution Practice (GDP) — for blood products
• MHRA Good Practice for Equipment Qualification
• HTM 07-04 — water-based equipment legionella control
• UKAS — explicit accreditation expectations on equipment management

Bands and competency mapping

• Band 4 / 5 — execute daily temperature checks; respond to alarms in scope
• Band 6 — equipment lead in own section; coordinate qualification for new installs
• Band 7 — service-wide equipment governance; lifecycle planning; vendor management