What are your experiences with infrared software? What are your likes and dislikes? Further, how many of you are using databases or spreadsheets to track and trend either thermal anomolies or critical pieces of equipment? How valuable has that been and what generally has been your experience with that?

We are not using any software for our thermography works presently. Perhaps you could share aspects of your software? Do you think the software is necessary for a thermograpghy program for monitoring temperature up to 1200C for refractory linings and MCC? TQ

Josh - we have found much interest in both baselining equipment - basically establishing a healthy starting temperature signature for critical pieces of equipment - and then trending it across time. With our software you can do this fairly readily. Of course with some items, say MCCs or circuit breakers, an item is either hot or it's not. You probably won't be trending the upward temperature path of a circuit breaker like you would a motor or other mechanical items. That's been our experience with our customers at any rate. We deal with people across a wide array of plants and facilities. From huge to small facilities. In general our database software provides three benefits over the typical camera manufacturers' software analysis program.
(1) Comprehensive approach to your facility's equipment inventory - the program will assist you in completing the repair loop to ensure items are really being fixed. How? Becauase it will help you organize that effort effectively and plan re-inspections, etc.
(2) InspecTrend will cut the amount of time it takes you to report because you literally take the application into the field with you and write your reports through drop down, self learning knowledge base libraries.
(3) The database will provide advanced reports not available through thermal camera analysis software like baseline trending and cost benefit analysis.

As to refractory scanning we have a current module that will handle that sort of inspection - there are four thermography related modules that come standard in our solution even at the entry level. We are currently designing this refractory module to make it even more powerful and geared toward those of you who focus in this area with heater tubes and vessel inspections.

Since you've got me started a couple last items. We're opening up our database to aspects of ultrasound and motor circuit testing to provide a cross technology PdM approach. The industry, in our view, is definitely headed in that direction. We also have ongoing work with FLIR and Mikron to make our software work in conjunction with theirs.

Thanks for your thoughts - I thought I would bump this topic up and see if there are more!

Merry Christmas all,

Bruce