I have ran into a snag. Safety department does not want the plexiglass removed. Any body have any solutions to this problem?

Thank you
Dan

The Plexiglass is basically an acrylic sheet to provide a safety barrier for working near the fuses ? correct ?

At our plant we use these as well and they are masking the thermal images of anything behind them. They were installed as an after market safety initiative.

my suggestion.

with the plexiglass installed and equipment safe to approach. mark with a felt pen some dots in front of the areas you want to know the temperatures of. A small cluster of dots may be sufficient.

Isolate electrical power, and remove plexiglass.
Drill small holes through plexiglass where the dots are. This small holes should not effect the integrity of the barrier. Test structural integrity of plexiglass barrier. Replace plexiglass sheet into same spot.

When put back into operation you should see some temperature spots through the holes on the barrier. Not high resolution, but better than nothing.

Good solution by Petri.

If it's like our plant and these are 480 volt panels, the function of the plexiglass is not meant to be an arcflash barrier but just intended to make it less likely for anyone to accidentally contact large uninsulated exposed parts when the cabinet is open. (We typically have them over knife switches). I would think you can drill fairly large holes (with equipment deenergized) without jeopardizing this function. In fact an inch diameter easily as long as the cover is stood off at least an inch from the energize part AND we assume people are not sticking finger in holes (that would not be accidental). If the plate is stood 3" from the insulating part, you might easily get 2" hole diameter. To make everyone feel better, put a bright danger sign next to the hole.