Disruption to manufacturing and production lines damages more than just delivery times. The impact of unexpected failure can damage a businesses reputation as well the risk of spiralling costs to repair, especially if replacement parts are not readily available.
Being informed about the condition of equipment along a production line, along with componentry in an electrical cabinet can make the difference between avoiding downtime, and panicking when something goes wrong.
Thermal cameras can be used to inspect critical componentry to see their safe and reliable operating temperature, which can then be recorded and referenced against in the future to alert the maintenance manager when the operating conditions vary outside of reliable operating parameters.
Whether inspecting each component once a month to build a thermal trend, or viewing similar equipment through a thermal camera to compare operating temperatures, insights can be gained into the condition of components and critical assets.
Often equipment failure can be caused by simple issues, such as a loose electrical connection that simply needs re-crimping or tightening, or blocked air-ducts reducing cooling on electric motors or similar equipment. Identifying where temperatures are increasing allows maintenance managers to take action, often simple action, before these small issues develop into larger faults which are more expensive to repair.
This is a simple process and a core pillar of condition based monitoring which can make the difference between identifying a fault and intervening before a production line becomes disrupted; or being surprised when something stops a production process and needing to fault-find before undertaking repairs.
FLIR have a wide range of thermal cameras to suit every budget, along with a selection of analysis, trending and reporting tools to support maintenance managers as their predictive maintenance processes.
