There are many applications for thermography, spanning many different industries. Alongside wide use within the security and veterinarian professions, thermal cameras for home inspections offer a non-invasive solution to on-site building inspections and surveys.
Today, we're going to delve a little deeper into the advantages of thermography and how it can help you with your predictive maintenance program.
What is Thermography?
Thermography is the process of creating an image or video of an object using a thermal camera capable of capturing the infrared radiation emitted from the object. Known as a thermogram, the image is made possible because thermographic cameras detect radiation in the long-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Thermal imaging cameras can detect infrared radiation from minus 20 degrees – making it possible to produce an image of your environment without any visible illumination. As infrared radiation increases with temperature, thermograms are also able to visually map temperature variations.
Thermography in Surveys
Thermal imaging is a maintenance strategy that can be applied across many industries. It uses the heat spread of the thermographic images to identify hidden structural issues and defects – highlighting imminent and future problems.
By conducting a thermographic survey, engineers will be able to pick up on areas such as:
Building Structural and Heat Loss Issues
This includes construction faults, moisture problems, damp and mildew, unnecessary heat loss and whether areas of the building require renovation.
Electrical Issues
Thermal imaging can check for poor connections, cabinet overload, electrical leakage, insulator defects, fuse damage and oxidation of high voltage switches.
Mechanical Fault Detection
Hot spots within machinery can be identified, which in turn can prevent equipment from overheating – reducing the risk of a fire or major breakdown.
Leak Detection in Plumbing
Thermal imaging can give you a quick, accurate overview of your plumbing installation without the need to check each pipe individually. It can identify leaks in pipes, pumps, and valves, highlight blockages and measure your heating and air condition efficiency.
Fire Detection
Predominantly used for temperature monitoring in biofuel storage, waste storage and bunkers, thermal cameras can be combined with water cannons and monitoring software to detect elevated temperatures and deploy the water cannons to prevent a fire.
This isn't a comprehensive list but gives you a good idea of just how versatile thermography can be. Thermal imaging also sees extended use within marine equipment surveys, HV power surveys, petrochemical plant surveys and installations that include refractory material.
Advantages of Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance forms part of an overall maintenance plan. The performance and condition of the area or objects that need to be maintained are monitored regularly and under normal working conditions. The approach seeks to reduce the likelihood that the equipment or structure will fail by predicting when it is likely to fail in the future – allowing preventative action to be taken by carrying out the correct maintenance in a timely manner.
Billions are lost every year due to unscheduled maintenance and equipment breakdowns that bring operations to a grinding halt. Unlike traditional maintenance programs, which rely on fast response to unexpected faults and failures, predictive maintenance uses regular inspections and diagnostics to predict key parts' service life and schedule maintenance tasks around those predictions.
Traditional and predictive maintenance are not mutually exclusive – and should work together to form a robust, comprehensive maintenance program.
Although thermography can be carried out as part of a one-off survey or on a case-by-case basis, it is an excellent companion to a predictive maintenance program – offering a non-invasive and often non-contact solution to inspection surveys. It’s becoming increasingly common for insurers to insist on thermal imaging surveys – usually annually.
However, they may call for a frequent monthly inspection in some instances. Even if it is not an outright requirement of your insurer, you may find that integrating thermographic surveys into your maintenance program will assist in lowering your insurance premium.
The Importance of Hiring a Professional
When considering a thermographic survey, it is recommended that you seek out a professional thermal imaging company like Thermascan rather than attempting to carry out the work yourself. A certified Level I or II Thermographer will have a thorough knowledge of which cameras and equipment are suitable for the application, and you can rest assured that the cameras will be calibrated and used correctly.
A professional thermography survey, coupled with honest, impartial advice from your field engineer, will give you peace of mind that the inspection has been carried out accurately and to a high standard.
Here at Thermascan, we are a proud partner of Teledyne FLIR Thermal Imaging UK – a recognised leader in the thermal imaging industry, specialising in designing and producing thermal imaging cameras and sensors. We're very proud to be associated with Teledyne FLIR Thermal Imaging and trust them to provide the best, most innovative thermal imaging equipment available.
As one of the UK's largest thermal imaging specialists, and with over 30 years of experience in our industry, Thermascan understands the advantages of thermography and how it can be applied across many industries.
Our expertise, coupled with Teledyne FLIR Thermal Imagining UK's 40 years of industry-leading innovation, will ensure you're in safe hands if you decide to use Thermascan for your next Thermographic survey.
If you would like to learn more about how we can help you and the other services we offer, please do not hesitate to contact us today.