Product category:
Maintenance planning, services and equipment
News Release from: Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services | Subject: ConnectIR
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 18 January 2007
Electrical infrared surveys with
thermography
Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services has announced the launch of ConnectIR, a bidding website which matches potential clients of electrical infrared surveys with infrared thermographers.
Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services has announced the launch of ConnectIR, the industry's first bidding website which matches potential clients of electrical infrared surveys with infrared thermographers ConnectIR is owned by Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services (SITS) and was created by Greg Stockton, founder and President
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 10 Jul 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Aerial infrared service scans for factory problems
Aerial infrared thermal imaging service can scan a whole plant to identify problems in all systems like steam and hot water distribution pipes, condensate return lines, and building heat loss.
3D models of off-the-shelf telescopic slides
Telescopic ball bearing slide designer and manufacturer, Accuride International, has produced optimised 3D models of its 'off-the-shelf' products which can be downloaded via its website.
SITS was founded in 1989 and has become an industry leader and innovator of infrared applications.
Inspired by e-bay, ConnectIR makes it easy for those wanting electrical thermography services to locate a thermographer.
This service is free for clients.
Further reading
Full digital set-up on tension control system
A new digital tension controller is claimed to be one of the most comprehensive tension control systems currently available
Differential drives offer intelligent phase shifts
Using the advantages offered by differentials companies operating in industries such as printing, packaging and labelling can expect to make significant gains.
Temperature transmitter used in hazardous areas
Foundation Fieldbus temperature transmitter for hazardous areas is a head mounted device that can be installed into an existing enclosure providing the opportunity for cost savings.
When a potential end-user of the service enters the web site, he/she creates an account, a specification and then a Request For Proposal, which meets his/her needs and sends it to ConnectIR.
ConnectIR searches the database of registered thermography service providers and sends the RFP to those bidders.
The bidders review the specs and fill in the prices.
ConnectIR then sends the profiles of companies including their bids to the client.
The client sorts the profiles by all sorts of criteria like price, report features, experience of the thermographer, etc., and selects the three profiles that best match what he/she is looking for in a contractor.
The three selected service providers contact information is then sent by ConnectIR to the client who chooses a qualified service provider.
The price and specifications have already been determined, so only minor points need to be addressed in order for the client to write a contract with the service provider.
There are plenty of places on the internet where a potential infrared customer can locate names and lists of infrared thermographers to perform electrical infrared surveys, but ConnectIR takes the "finding a contractor" process several steps further by matching thermographer's profiles to the client's job requirements.
"The specifications are where the rubber meets the road," states Mr Stockton.
"The system walks the customers through the process of creating a tailored job specification.
We designed the site with the customer or end-user in mind and tried to make allowances for every type of job in every business sector.
Throughout the specification creation process, the system helps the client by pointing out options they may want and ones they may not need," Mr Stockton explains.
"We have spent a great deal of time and money working with specialised computer programmers to develop the algorithms and codes which do the actual matching of the thermographers qualifications to the customers job specifications," states Mike Hall, Design and Systems Manager for SITS.
"This is, by far, the most involved web project we've undertaken.
Our goal throughout the entire project has been to make the time-consuming and often laborious process of creating job specifications easy for the thermography customer," Mr Hall says.
Infrared Thermographers can register their company profile on ConnectIR and receive opportunities to bid on jobs.
The cost to register is minimal and the benefit to the thermographer is that they receive opportunities to bid on actual jobs without the usual costly and often laborious sales and marketing tasks required to obtain jobs.
Infrared thermography companies are often small, one to three person operations.
Also, most of them work in a small geographically limited area.
Advertising, marketing, and sales is a tough job in any business and a small infrared service struggles to find effective advertising in a limited geographical area.
ConnectIR provides a very cost and time effective means of obtaining new business.
"We are marketing ConnectIR nationwide and worldwide.
By utilising ConnectIR, thermographers are tapping into our sales and marketing resources and saving themselves the time and money it takes to advertise their services," states Cindy Hawks, Stockton's Marketing Director.
• Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
