price for thermography services 4

[jabonet]

I could like to know the price for thermography services.

How much for a roof inspection, an electrical inspection of a switchboard or a breaker, or how much does it cost for a company to have a thermographer to come up every few weeks and check on different equipment for preventive maintenance.

does anybody have an idea of the fares for these services, is it charged by the hour?

in preventive maintenance what does the client prefer, a report that justs says, "this bearing is working at somany degrees, 15 more than last week", or he also want you to tell him, that the bearing must be changed before the end of the month? in other words, a thermographer must also know about bearing life expectancy, or just about thermography?

Thanks

 

[eyec]

in general you are looking @ #1,000/day. unless you have a local IR technician/company, then you will be able to get the 1/2 day rate.

IR surveys are just that - a snapshot of the thermal condition at the time of the survey.

IR technicians rely on various analysis methods including IR. they also should be able to identify previous instances of overheating and point these out to your engineers.

knowing the operating parameters of the equipment being surveyed would be something the owner would provide the technician.

the most beneficial impact from an IR survey (IMO) is that you look for differences in thermal images in like types of equipment or surrounding areas in the case of roof inspections.

when these differences present themselves the owner should perform additional analysis - not the IR technician. sometimes the differences are justifiable due to current oprating characteristics not necessarily an indication of a problem.

however, where there are thermal readings above an OEMs operating parameters action should be taken by the owner to discover the reason/cause.

in the case of bearings caution should be taken not to confuse equpiment misalignment as a bad bearing.

experienced IR technicians can be a source of information that can assist the owner not replace the operating or maintenance engineers/technicians.

finally, IR CANNOT PREDICT TIME TO FAILURE by istelf. this requires engineers from the OEM and you own maintenance personnel to develop that criteria. IR for preventative maintneance is the mainstay of IR not predictive maintenance. if you decide to use IR as a part of your PM program you need baseline data before it can be of use in predicting oncoming problems. that way you can compare previous survey data for trending possible areas of concern.

sorry for going so long but this is not a simple process as some claim it to be.

 

[eyec]

"however, where there are thermal readings above an OEMs operating parameters action should be taken by the owner to discover the reason/cause."

a better option to IR surveys would be contact temp probes or thermocouples.

 

[IRstuff]

I see an IR survey as a means of identifying locations to be investigated further through temp probes. They are not strict alternatives.

TTFN

 

[eyec]

don't forget experienced visual inspections for the item of concern.

normally, roof inspections that show thermal differences will turn up mold problems as well.

discolored wires/connections are also indicators that at some point in time the recommended max temps have been exceeded.

 

[H1H2N3F4]

We are just trying to apply thermography in a wide range in our company.
I have a view questions:
1- Is their one camera in the market (low price) that can be used to serve all applications in the electrical equipment inspection?
2- Do we have to develop a data base to build our history on those equipment or you recommend what is being supplied by the manufacturer? If yes can you guide me in developing such data base or software?
3- Are there inspection sheet for each equipment (like standards) that can be used or modified to meet our need?

Best regards.


MMQ

 

[eyec]

in order to set up in-house thermography i would recommend calling in a company that does this sort of thing to get you educated in what you want & need. then base your decision on the economics of such an endeavor. sometimes it is least costly to contract IR services than to have an in-house team, other times you may cost justify having your own people perform the service.

do a google and make a few phone calls. normally such companies would give you a presentation free of charge and this would help you in your decision making.

just going out & buying an IR camera can do you more harm than good.

yes, you need a database with baseline data and then follow-on readings wil help monitor condition.

most IR cameras also offer recommended forms (usually generated directly from the database & the routes used to identify targeted equipment.

IR cameras are not low cost. look at sending $20K +/-.

 

[SeattleBruce]

H1H2N3F4,

There are many thermogram analysis programs on the market - all the camera manufacturers have or include them in their packages.

There are not many IR/PdM Database applications on the market. IR DBs will allow you to create baselines, track and trend your equipment, etc., developing a comprehensive approach to equipment inventory for the purposes of maximizing your IR/PdM inspection labor and dollars. There are also a number of other things you can do with IR PdM DBs like product Cost Benefit Analysis for your IR program and query which manufacturer's items are cauing you the most trouble (i.e. supply chain management and negotiation tools.)

IR DBs are an important aspect in the mix of a thermography program which also includes excellent thermal scanning equipment and trained thermographers/skilled trades people.

Bruce Anderson

http://www.inspectrend.com

 

[gsfitzsr]

Thermal imaging is a very powerful tool. Services are expensive however equipment and training are expensive also. Any plant or manufacturing facility should invest in this technology because it will save you from costly downtime or catastrophic failures.

Not all equipment is instrumented the way we would like. IR lets you view your equipment in "real time" and gives you the big picture of whats going on. It does not replace other technologies like vibration or ultrasonics, it's just another tool for your maintenance group.

There are many good IR equipment manufacturers today. You should get a radiometric unit at minimum, with software capable of trending temperatures. Before you do this, I would suggest getting Level I training. In fact, I would suggest getting Level II as well because you learn a lot about limitations of the equipment from brand to brand.

Hope this helps.

Greg FitzGerrell
GSF Services Inc.

http://www.infrared-gsf.com

 

[SeattleBruce]

Good points Greg - infrared works very well in conjunction with other Predictive Maintenance (PdM) technologies like vibration, tribology (oil), ultrasound. Often IR may be the first pass through a facility and as you see potential problems you can move in to determine root causes with more involved testing. The great thing about IR is that it is often non-contact. Great care must be taken in certain situations though, as panels are being removed, etc, and in some situtations full Nomax suits and such are required by law. That said the non-contact, non-invasive aspects of IR give it certain advantages over say vibration analysis. Certain studies have determined that of all the money to be saved by PdM, IR brings fully 50% of the savings...so for firms/facilities with scarce resources and looking to get the most bang for their PdM dollar, IR is a great way to start/focus. That said, those selling these services have that story to convey to build up the value of what you provide. Now you just need to find a way to tie the data from all these various technologies together and perhaps allow it to flow into the existing work order/CMMS of the company in question.

One other thing to mention - if you baseline trend in your IR scanning, you can often charge a premium. Now, you just need to find a way to create a baseline trending report...

Bruce Anderson

http://www.inspectrend.com