As a beginner infrared tech, one is often very fixated on the thermal side of the mechanical route. Which is great, but as an “outsider,” someone of a different department, you have the ability to see things that might be out of place or just overlooked as “normal” by personnel that work the area every day. What I mean is there are many chances to “find” problems that have been seen as “it is the way it has always been.” These other problems may not be infrared related, so why look for them? The answer is, for the better performance and reliability of the process; that is our job after all.
Examples of the kind of items I am talking about are missing or damaged covers on conduits, tanks, conveyors, drive pulleys, rotating shafts, and other types of covers and guards. Also, other things such as piles of debris left in a corner or product not stored correctly. You may find trip hazards are not identified or marked. Piping systems leak air, water, product, and even hazardous materials may be noted during your inspection. Flexible conduit connecting to motors or instrumentation may pose a potential hazard and should be noted. Now, would these kinds of “findings” be added value to your plant? The best part about finding these hazards is they do not add very much time to the route you are walking to and from. All you need is a small digital camera to document the condition as found for reporting. Of course, the desire to look around and notice items may be out of the normal for your job function, but it can be extremely valuable to your plant.
Sounds simple in theory, right? Not always. I once experienced a situation where I walked to a work area at a customer site with a site employee and I noticed a flexible conduit connected to a large motor was broken. I asked the escort if it was on a repair order. The escort, who walked this path every day, told me he had not noticed it before and it was not on any repair order he knew of. It was strange to me that an electrician had walked by this motor every day and did not “see” this broken flexible conduit, but I did. Why? It may be my training that has taught me to look at everything. If I do not have a thermal imager in my hand, I’m always looking for items that appear to be not quite right. Simply asking “Why is it like that?” or “Is this a normal part of the process?” can help illuminate potential problems that have gone unnoticed. As an outsider, a thermographer often has the ability to “see” the big picture and not only the details. The big picture being the plant is running as a whole. However, the “little” problem item is a problem that affects the entire plant.
As always, the devil is in the details; it may be a small problem now but can become a very large problem at any time. Reactive plants or environments would respond with, “We don’t have time to mess with something that is not affecting the operation of the process. We have other fires to deal with.” This mentality can change the broken flexible conduit that would take 20 minutes to fix into a repair taking hours to fix after it becomes a “fire.”
The bottom line, look at the surroundings, not just the items on your route. Your eyes are a very valuable tool and even smells and sounds can lead to a problem that is not the focus of your mechanical infrared route. If something does not seem “right” ask questions as to why it is the way it is!