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When to adjust alarm thresholds

This article provides quick guidance for field teams on when to adjust alarm thresholds when alerts are too frequent, not triggered when expected, or do not reflect normal operating conditions—while understanding the trade-offs between early detection and alarm noise.

Overview

CooleralarmsupermarketAdjust alarm thresholds when alerts are not useful or not accurate, such as:
  • Too many nuisance alarms
  • Missing important events
  • Alerts triggered during normal operation
 
 

Common scenarios

Issue Possible cause
  • Too many alarms 
  • Frequent notifications with no action required
 Thresholds may be too tight
  • Important events not flagged
  • Temperature issues occur without alarms
 Thresholds may be too wide
  • Alarms during normal operation
  • Alerts triggered during defrosts or door openings
 Threshold timing or limits may need adjustment
  • Inconsistent alert behavior
  • Similar sites behave differently
 Thresholds may not match site conditions

When NOT to adjust

Do not adjust thresholds if the issue is temporary or one-off. The root cause may be:
  • Incorrect setpoints
  • Door usage patterns
  • Environmental conditions
  • Hardware faults
 

What you can adjust

  • High/low temperature thresholds – when alarms trigger
  • Time delay – how long before an alarm is raised
  • Recovery/reset behavior – when alarms clear
  • Start with the default alarm thresholds
  • Adjust carefully to improve signal without hiding real issues
  • Review alarm history.
 

What happens when you adjust it

Adjustment What improves Trade-offs to consider

Tighten thresholds (closer to setpoint)
  • Earlier detection of issues
  • More sensitive alerts
  • More nuisance alarms
  • Alert fatigue

Widen thresholds (further from setpoint)
  • Fewer unnecessary alerts
  • Cleaner signal
  • Risk of missing early issues
  • Delayed response

Shorten time delay
  • Faster alerts
  • More transient / false alarms

Increase time delay
  • Fewer short-term alarms
  • Slower response to real problems
 

Specific guidance by Role type

Role Suggested actions

Service Technician
Adjust thresholds when:
  • Alerts are frequent but not actionable, or
  • Important issues are not being flagged
Good practice:
  • Review recent alarm history
  • Adjust one parameter at a time
  • Confirm behaviour after changes

    Hardware Installer
    Use default thresholds unless site conditions require otherwise. Do not adjust thresholds to hide:
     
    • Installation issues
    • Incorrect setpoints
    • Hardware faults

      Site Manager / Fleet Manager

      Alarm setting changes are normally made by a service technician. Ask your service team to review a cooler's alarm settings if: 

      • Alarm volume is too high to manage

      • Important events are being missed

      • Alerts do not match site expectations