"Quality Information". It is essential. If you get any other type, you have wasted your time and your money. In the field of Thermal Imaging of electro-mechanical equipment, "Quality Information" can only be achieved by qualified personnel performing their craft to a specific set of parameters.

Just as you insist on a qualified technician to work on your electrical equipment, your car or even yourself, you should insist your Thermographer is not only certified but also experienced in the field he or she is shooting. Imaging electro-mechanical is a specific field. It is not roofs. It is not building envelopes. That is why you do not have auto mechanics do your plumbing or your brain surgery. They are industry specific.

The Thermal Imaging of electro-mechanical in our present environment is like the "old west". It is completely unregulated. Anyone with a camera and a "Certificate of Certification" can profess to be a Thermographer. Without the knowledge of the target he is shooting, he is wasting your time and money. Worse yet, he is jeopardizing the integrity of your facility. Your life blood.

When looking for an Infrared company, ask if the equipment to be Imaged is opened for the Thermographer. Then listen carefully. There is a difference between opening a cover and removing a cover. Opening a cover may be as simple as it sounds. It is done quickly. It may be why that price is so cheap. It doesn't work!

In Imaging electrical equipment, it is necessary to remove all covers, deadfronts, access panels and open all disconnects. While an Infrared Camera may see trace heat on the outside of a cover, it does not see through the cover. It cannot detect heat from bad connections or failing fuseholders. It cannot tell you what amp load is on the specific device. The time and effort must be expended to determine what the heat source is. It is necessary to understand that in some cases, some heat is the "nature of the beast".

"Quality Information". It can only be obtained by doing a quality job with quality personnel. In this case people who have experience in the electro-mechanical field. Anything else is a waste of your time and money.

Kenneth Walsh
American Thermal Imaging