Major Equipment Failure Stops Production In South Carolina!

Now there's a newspaper headline sure to cause nightmares. Could it be you?

Let’s talk about two different scenarios:

Your business is humming along, employees are busy and a huge order has just come in from a very important customer. With the economy what it is, you are thankful for this new order and infusion of cash. This order is going to make a huge impact on your business.

And in the middle of it, a vital piece of equipment fails.

Now you are faced with being unable to deliver for your client, a potentially enormous repair bills, employees standing idle, and no idea what is wrong with your equipment. Will it need to be repaired? Replaced?

Scenario two: You have a Process Monitoring Program in place that regularly inspects and monitors the condition of your equipment. A few weeks ago, this regularly scheduled program detected the beginnings of a minor issue with your equipment. A quick visit by a repairperson averts what could have been a major failure. Spending a few dollars on preventative maintenance has saved you many thousands in mechanical equipment failure.

Hmmm…as a business owner or manager, which scenario works better for you?

That's what I thought. Predictive maintenance reflects a sound management philosophy–it means you are managing the maintenance process rather than maintenance emergencies controlling your operation.

A predictive maintenance strategy makes it possible to set your own repair schedules. Manufacturing and production facilities can't afford slowdowns because of poor planning and unexpected equipment failures. Is it time to schedule your annual infrared equipment inspection?


Interested in learning more? Call me at                         803-328-2889             and let’s talk!

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial  users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!

Should I Just Buy an Infrared Camera?

Technology and equipment is becoming increasingly more sophisticated. I'm always surprised by the equipment people have stashed away! Remember when PCs first became available for your house? Not quite the streamlined netbooks on the market today!

Sometimes all this instant technological availability means I run into customers who already have some infrared equipment. Why use a certified thermographer if you already have a small infrared camera?

First, a thermographer will have professional level equipment that generally will produce higher and better quality scans. It's his job to have the best equipment available. For example, would you use a mobile phone camera to take your Christmas family photo or a high quality camera? Having a relatively small number of pixels, low resolution and small field of view, there is a higher probability of missing or misinterpreting a fault. These devices are best used for spot checks.

The sophisticated level of technology and the value of use makes infrared cameras expensive. One really must look at the economics of purchasing an IR camera. There is a lot of economic merit in using an experienced, qualified full time thermographer, delivering a quality service with good equipment at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a camera to be used occasionally by relatively inexperienced operators.

Interested in learning more? Call me at                         803-328-2889             and let’s talk!

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial  users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!

Help! I'm Naked! Does Infrared Imaging Show Too Much?

A friend of mine recently sent me a news story that made me just shake my head. It discusses how the City of Boston had decided to use thermal imaging to check for heat loss in city homes. If you have ever been in Boston in the dead of winter, believe me when I say you want every little bit of heat to stay INSIDE! The city hoped to increase enrollment in energy efficient programs by being able to visually show residents where heat loss was occurring. Here's a link to the article.

Sadly, they were prevented. It seems that ignorance of how thermal imaging actually works (perhaps coupled with some of the fictional stories we see on TV) has prevented what could have been an amazing opportunity for the city to help improve on the lives of their citizens and keep them warmer.

Does thermal imaging work the way it does on TV? On TV, we see Jack Bauer and his cronies tracking heat images of criminals inside of buildings. Well...that's simply misleading.

IR cameras can see heat or hotspots in buildings (example if a building has a fire in one of its rooms). But an infrared camera simply can NOT be used to see through a wall. It can only see heat radiating from an exterior building wall. If you are inside of your house taking a shower and I'm standing outside with a camera, I can NOT see you. The technology we use simply doesn't work that way. (If it did, some teenage boy would have already invented an app for that!)

Rest assured that your privacy inside your home or office cannot be violated by a certified thermographer who is checking for hot spots within a building or who is checking for heat loss during an energy audit.


Interested in learning more? Call me at                                     803-328-2889                   and let’s talk!

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial  users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!