Delay in Fixing Electrical Issue Leads to $300,000 in Damage

Infrared inspections are a great tool for identifying critical issues, but the results have to be acted upon quickly to avoid catastrophic failure. That became all too apparent at a new 39,000-square-foot Midwestern office building when electrical switchgear failed, leading to a fire and $300,000 worth of damage.

Predictive Service performed an infrared inspection prior to the building's one-year warranty expiration, a period when it can be common to find equipment defects during the infant mortality stage of equipment. The inspection on March 3 revealed a connection-based thermal issue in the building's electrical switchgear that was an important criticality. The electrical contractor determined the issue was with a loose factory-torqued connection, which was generating excess heat. The contractor contacted the manufacturer, who began investigating. The connection continued to loosen as the manufacturer investigated, leading to the catastrophic failure and fire on April 14.

In addition to the extensive damage, the office building was closed for two days. Tenants were further inconvenienced by having to move, rearrange and deal with repairs. "Just because a building is new, that doesn't mean there can't be equipment problems. It's important to take findings seriously and act on any critical issues as quickly as possible," said Bret Bevis, Corporate Development Manager at Predictive Service.

With Infrared, Seeing is Believing

Infrared inspections use high tech cameras to measure thermal energy being emitted from a given object. But, a much lower tech tool can be equally effective for successful infrared inspections - the naked eye. Visual inspections can detect issues that might not be readily apparent in an infrared survey or in test data, such as:

• Building and electrical code violations
• Debris and dust build up
• Damaged equipment
• Unsafe conditions, and more

If left undetected, such issues can compromise the safety and efficiency of electrical and mechanical equipment. A thorough infrared inspection should involve both an infrared survey and a visual inspection, with a side-by-side thermal image and corresponding photo of each item inspected and provided in a complete report. This allows the field thermographer, additional technicians and the customer to review the images and photos to ensure no issues are overlooked in the field.

Such thorough, non-destructive testing has proven to be particularly effective for Predictive Service in identifying equipment condition and issues. Below are a couple examples of problem areas uncovered by Predictive Service technicians with visual inspections that were not detectable using thermal imaging.


This wiring violation was detected through a visual inspection.
It was not fire safe and could have led to a fine.
Click the image to view larger.


Damaged and dirty equipment is readily apparent through a visual inspection. If not cleaned, it could lead to a fire.
Click the image to view larger.

ViewPoint Software Adds Equipment Groupings and Benchmarking Data

Based on user suggestions, Predictive Service is incorporating two powerful new analytical features into ViewPoint, the award-winning, web-based management and reporting software solution. ViewPoint 3.2, scheduled to be released July 11, supports equipment groupings (trains) so information for an entire piece of equipment can be viewed on one screen. A new equipment detail screen displays the equipment trains, such as a fan, motor and belt drive, with the ability to drill down to individual items for more details.

"Instead of looking at 100 pieces all at once, there might be 30 'trains,' making it easier for users to see equipment groupings and then analyze individual items," said Shawn Goertzen, Predictive Service director of IT.

New Benchmarking Data
Another major new feature in ViewPoint 3.2 is the addition of problem/frequency comparison statistics for benchmarking. The feature allows one facility to compare equipment to other equipment of the same type across the entire company and across all Predictive Service customers. Results are displayed as three bar graphs (single facility, companywide and all Predictive Service customers), with external customer statistics displayed anonymously.

"This is an accurate way to analyze equipment at one site to determine how it compares to similar equipment at dozens or hundreds of other sites to know if its performance is above or below average," said Goertzen.