Procedure

What we need to access
Wherever possible - we need to access all of the switchgear (in the switchboards) located in:
  1. The plant rooms (including mechanical and electrical).
  2. The risers/tee offs.
  3. Any other significant switchboards.
We generally are not called upon to scan the sub boards located within the tenancies as:
  1. This is generally a matter for each tenant. The tenant's lease may or may not include this annual requirement, but it is advisable in any event.
  2. Some buildings are designed such that all of the tenant's protection circuits are located on a single board within the riser plant room/cupboard. We scan these boards if requested.
Details of what it involves
You should look at the survey as an audit, if you will - A health check of your switchgear which reduces the risk of fire.
Wherever possible, we need to access every electrical board and cubicle.
We note the details of every board scanned.
We need a maintenance person from your site who has detailed knowledge of exactly where the boards are located to assist us for the duration of our visit. It is incumbent on your representative to tell us where the boards are located. If we don't see it, we cannot scan it - simple as that.
We strongly recommend that the person is capable of assisting the thermographer in his tasks which are listed below:
  • We remove the covers (escutcheon plates) of the circuit boards.
  • We look for any faults using the thermal imaging camera.
  • We perform a brief visual inspection - looking for burnt cables and other apparent anomalies.
  • We capture the details of any anomalies we find no matter how significant.
No Access
We cannot scan the specific boards if the boards are interlocked or sealed by your electricity supply authority. If you wish us to break these seals then you should tell us in writing and advise the supply authority to re-seal the boards post-completion of the scan. We override the interlocks if the switchgear allows us to do so.
Processing of the images
We sort and filter the images into a standard report. Each fault is classified according to its urgency and a recommended time frame to fix the fault. The switchgear list is included too.
Publish and Post
We email the report to you (Hard copies are available, but less popular now).