February 2025
 |
Inside the February Issue |
Proactive Maintenance:
The Key to Reducing Unscheduled Downtime
Image courtesy of Teledyne FLIR
When production halts unexpectedly, it
disrupts the entire supply chain, leading
to delays in product delivery and potential
loss of customer trust. Financially, the
costs can be substantial, including lost
revenue, overtime pay for workers, and
expenses for emergency repairs. Additionally,
frequent downtime can damage
equipment, reducing its potential lifespan
and increasing maintenance costs.
Thermal imaging, also known as Thermography,
is a powerful tool for preventative
maintenance in manufacturing. It involves
using infrared cameras to detect heat patterns,
anomalies in equipment and to scan
for dangerous gas leaks. By identifying areas
of excessive heat, which often indicate potential
failures and environmentally harmful
gas leaks, thermography allows maintenance
teams to address issues before they lead to
costly unscheduled downtime.
One of the key benefits of thermography
is its non-invasive nature. Thermal imaging
is performed while equipment is operating, minimizing disruptions to production. This
proactive approach helps in identifying
problems such as electrical faults, mechanical
wear, and insulation failures at an early
stage. Consequently, it enhances the reliability
and efficiency of machinery, extending
its lifespan and reducing maintenance
costs.
Moreover, thermography provides valuable
data that can be used to track the condition
of equipment over time. This
data-driven approach enables more informed
decision-making and better planning
of maintenance activities. Overall,
thermography is an essential component of
a robust preventative maintenance strategy,
ensuring operational continuity and safety.
Teledyne FLIR is a company specializing
in the design and production of thermal
imaging cameras and sensors.
Renowned for their innovative technology,
FLIR's products are used across various
industries, including manufacturing,
security, and environmental monitoring.
FLIRs cameras are sophisticated instruments
that can appear daunting to the
untrained user, with specialist applications
requiring a deep knowledge of thermography
to provide valuable insights.
On the other hand, FLIRs thermal imaging
cameras can simply be viewed as
tools to do a job, and that job is to inform
maintenance teams about the condition of
critical assets. The information can provide
information to predict the maintenance
required, prevent failure, and avoid
unscheduled downtime.
While training can be provided by organizations
such as the Infrared Training
Centre, or online via the FLIR Academy;
FLIR offer multiple features to support
both experienced and inexperienced thermographers
to monitor their equipment.
For example, FLIR Exx-series, and
Txxx-series of cameras can be set-up by
an experienced user to follow an ´inspection
route´, then less experienced or even
beginners can follow the same route, with
the camera guiding its operator to take accurate
and usable images, pre-selecting the
settings and parameters as required. Full story »
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