Heat sensing to pinpoint faults is now for hire

For many companies a 'thermascan' is a name applied to a professional thermographic survey that pinpoints faults before they become fatalities.

For many companies - and in particular those in the printing industry - a 'thermascan' is a name applied to a professional thermographic survey that pinpoints faults before they become fatalities.

In other words to these businesses, Thermascan of Bedford is the 'Hoover' of the predictive maintenance world.

Thanks to its 'Thermascan' service, major printer Polestar was able to reduce its motor repair costs by 70%.

Similar economies have been made at the St.

Ives Group and Quebecore UK.

Within the last six months, Thermascan has invested in two FLIR Systems ThermaCAM PM575 IR cameras to keep pace with growing demand for its services.

Although the printing industry remains a key market for Thermascan, it is now attracting customers from new sectors and notably UK-based companies are recommending Thermascan to its European sites.

Woodbridge Group is a good example of the trend.

Thermascan's good work for this company in the UK has led to commissions throughout Europe and now the Woodbridge partnership with Recticel promises further business in Spain, Italy, Poland and France.

The ability to conduct a thermal imaging survey at speed without compromising quality is naturally important to this burgeoning company.

"The PM575 gives us an exceptionally clear image and its easy to use ThermaCAM Reporter software allows us to generate a highly professional report in just 24 hours - and even on-site if the need arises as all our engineers carry PCs and digital cameras," confirms Thermascan's Director, Dave Blain.

The compact design of the PM575 makes it suitable for the wide variety of applications in which Thermascan is now involved.

The lion's share of the company's work remains in the predictive maintenance of electro-mechanical systems but other opportunities are continually arising.

High standards of operation have been key to this company's success.

"Anyone can pick up a thermal imaging camera and discover a transformer is hot, but that doesn't mean it's faulty," Dave Blain explained.

"A sound engineering knowledge is crucial to correct interpretation and this is often lacking.

Thorough training and working to established standards are therefore key elements." Thermascan is one of only a few companies in its field to have attained ISO 9002.

Specifically, this accreditation has secured a considerable amount of work from insurance companies seeking to use thermography for risk assessment.

Thermascan is also unique in matching the application to the thermographer.

Each of its thermographers is a qualified electrical engineer with a special area of expertise e.g power generation, mechanical systems, energy conservation, switchgear and buildings.

With this quality emphasis, it comes as no surprise that Thermascan is one of several organisations taking the initiative to explore the possibility of an ISO alternative to the American AIRT and ASNT operator training standards.

Another proponent of this is FLIR Systems itself.

Thermascan's first ThermaCAM PM575 camera was bought in August last year and has already paid for itself.

The healthy order book has now prompted the purchase of a second model which not only increases resources for Thermascan's consultancy work but also frees up other cameras on the company's inventory for a new venture - a hire division.

This second camera was bought against a trade-in of Thermascan's eight year old AGEMA 470 camera which Dave Blain admits "has been an exceptional work horse." Of major benefit to Thermascan is the fact that the data from the 470's IRWIN software can be fed directly into ThermaCAM Reporter software, so no history has been lost through the upgrade.

The added-value approach that Thermascan has applied to its consultancy business will of course be replicated in the Hire Division.

For example it will be the first hire company to offer the services of an application specialist for on-site training.

As David Blain concludes, "Quality of service is what it's all about.".

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