Industrial Use of Infrared Inspections

Abstract

Infrared is and has been an established technology in the military and aerospace fields. However, only relatively recently has this technology found a "use" in the industrial sector. Many reasons exist why the technology has not been used, but in the final analysis it comes down to the fact that the industrial management responsible for the operations and production budgets did not, and in many cases, still does not understand the economic benefits to the company that infrared industrial inspections can bring about. Over the last 2-3 years a number of articles have appeared in various industrial publications concerning infrared surveys. However, all of the articles have dealt with the technical aspects of infrared inspections, with the economics either completely neglected or mentioned only in passing. I believe that in the real industrial world it is the economic benefits of a technology that allow the product of that technology to reach the market and become a success, and not the fact that a technology is useful per se. In this presentation, I shall be focusing primarily on the major economic aspects of the surveys and what the end results really represent in terms of economic benefits. Once the economic benefits of these inspections are clearly understood, it will be readily apparent why the industrial use of these inspections is developing rapidly.