How UK Biocentre and T-Scan transformed environmental monitoring.

When we needed to upgrade our environmental monitoring infrastructure within a tight timeframe, we were looking for more than just a supplier. Through our partnership with T-Scan, we found a team that shared our values and approach, helping us deliver an outcome that went well beyond technical requirements.

At UK Biocentre we store samples for major research programmes including Our Future Health and work with academic and commercial partners across the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. In this environment, reliability and assurance of temperature and environmental monitoring are essential because sample integrity depends on constant, accurate tracking.

However, three weeks before the 3G network infrastructure supporting our existing monitoring system faced shutdown, we saw an opportunity to make a strategic decision. Instead of simply migrating to 4G as planned, our science team wanted to use the change as a catalyst for a significant upgrade. This would require a partner who matched our commitment to sample integrity and would bring genuine personal investment to making it happen.

Supplier selection goes beyond just the product

When reviewing environmental monitoring systems, we evaluated not only technical performance but also alignment of values and working practices. Of the five companies assessed, T-Scan emerged as our preferred choice. The initial phone call between our Director of Science, Dr Jennifer Man, and Shelley Bainborough, who leads T-Scan’s commercial operations, set the tone for what would follow.

Jennifer said: “You know when you get a feeling of being in safe hands. It was a breath of fresh air. Shelley wasn’t pushing the product. She knew her science and really understood the importance of temperature data.”

T-Scan’s approach reflects principles that resonated with our own values. After a career in financial services, Stephen Wander and a like-minded leadership team spent more than a decade shaping T-Scan around client relationships, fair dealing and genuine collaboration.

Stephen said: “We wanted to create an environment where we were creative and could really be client-centric. We’ve never compromised on those principles from day one.”

Stephen described how our ethos aligned: “When I met Jennifer and the UK Biocentre team, I saw integrity in each and every one of them. Whether we win this business or not, these are lovely people who are super smart.”

After approval from our senior leadership team, T-Scan had a three-week window to install and commission over 300 sensors across all temperature-controlled areas at our two sites.

T-Scan is a growing family-oriented business where Shelley has worked alongside Stephen and other long-standing team members for 14 years, leading commercial operations. To deliver within the time available, T-Scan assembled a team selected for its ability to install and commission a fully featured system under pressure, with minimal disruption to our operations.

To help meet the deadline and provide added assurance for this critical installation, Stephen and Shelley worked on site alongside our team through weekends and evenings to guide and support delivery. The installation proceeded in carefully planned phases, with both teams coordinating to minimise disruption.

Jennifer recalled: “They were on the phone to me at eight o’clock in the evening, just checking in. ‘Are you okay, Jennifer? Everything’s going to be okay. Let’s meet on site tomorrow.’ That level of personal commitment made an enormous difference.”

Despite the urgency and extended working, our staff ensured that T-Scan colleagues took proper breaks and brought food for the installation team. Stephen said: “That’s such a lovely thing to do. They didn’t have to do that.”

Enhanced data capture and reliability

The new system provides us with a data point every five minutes from each monitored freezer and area, with sensors positioned for optimal accuracy so readings reflect actual storage conditions rather than localised ambient temperature near the sensor.

With more accurate data, we can now set tighter temperature thresholds. Jennifer said: “It gives us peace of mind that when an escalation comes through, it’s really an escalation and we need to act.”

These capabilities are delivered through the T-Scan Platform, which underpins secure data capture, alarm notification, audit-ready reporting and operational insight across our estate.

Jennifer said: “For us, storage is everything. Trust is very important. They’re a people-focused company on a mission to help their business grow. You could feel that we’re not just a customer to them.”

More granular reporting provides additional reassurance

We continue to meet with T-Scan to discuss system optimisations aligned to both organisations’ aspirations, and to explore collaborative projects, such as research into sample integrity when storing at temperatures higher than the typically mandated -80°C, with potential savings in energy consumption.

T-Scan’s in-house team of software developers and IT professionals has developed a sample tracking and asset management system (ASSERT) that will integrate with the T-Scan Platform to provide end-to-end visibility throughout the sample lifecycle. We are able to share operational experience to help inform best practice.

There are also plans to investigate machine learning applications for predictive analysis of equipment performance, drawing on large-scale historical environmental datasets to inform pattern recognition and early warning systems.

T-Scan’s products and services are supported by account managers, quality management, operations and field engineers who collaborate to provide peace of mind to clients located in the UK, Ireland, continental Europe and the Middle East.

Thanks to this swift strategic decision, we now have 300 T-Scan sensors monitoring every aspect of our storage, laboratories and critical areas, from minus 80-degree freezers to ambient temperatures within the warehouse, as well as dual humidity/temperature sensors strategically placed.

The enhanced data capture provided by the new installation also improves our client communications. Jennifer said: “The level of granular detail we now have access to supports continuous improvement and strengthens our confidence in the system. We can demonstrate even more precise environmental conditions across the entire sample storage lifecycle.”