Testo brings ‘smart’ T&M solutions

Testo is one of the world leaders in design, development and manufacturing of test and measuring instruments. In an interview with EPR, Parag Yelegaonkar, General Manager – Govt. Business, Testo India gives an overview of the opportunities and challenges for T&M business in India.

What is next for electrical equipment market in India?
Electrical equipment market is a vast sector that includes electronic goods, power and utility products, HVAC systems, telecom, industry components, tools, machines, gadgets and many more that surely have a great future. In fact electric vehicles are soon to be a great addition to this sector on a larger scale. Even in terms of technology, we are on a progressive path with constant development. Also, the latest advancements are coming in the forms of smart operation which is the current trend accompanied by the digitisation of the working system. Advanced methods are being adopted in the sector right from the product development to manufacturing of electrical goods and services. As far as the testing and measurement industry is concerned which also belongs to the same segment, a wide variety of smart and intuitive products are being developed for the troubleshooting of electrical components and systems. Right from maintenance of HVAC systems to the inspection of solar PV panels, every aspect is now under check and long life of the equipment can be ensured very easily.

Going forward, what are the opportunities and challenges you foresee for your T&M business?
India being an emerging market provides a lot of application areas that requires testing and measurement to carry out troubleshooting and maintenance, especially in the electrical industry. Undoubtedly test and measurement (T&M) division is one of the rapidly growing industries and is a crucial part of electrical segment with numerous opportunities. Since the application areas are increasing, performance validation of components also increase. Then we have evolving technology which provides more complex and delicate systems that demands precise testing and measurement throughout the product life cycle. Adding to that are the government initiatives like Digital India, renewable energy optimisation and smart cities that revolve around the development of electrical infrastructure which also opens opportunities for the T&M industry.

Testo India has grown exponentially so far and the prime reason has been our innovative products and German technology. We intend to offer solutions that are relevant, precise, user friendly, ensure environment health, power optimisation and human comfort. Given that, some challenges are also encountered in the process. There are always some foreign brands with less quality quotient but provide cheaper instruments, giving a difficult price competition. Also, in the recent times we foresee many hindrances at the customer’s end like lower budgets, reduced work hours, limited operation and maintenance, which might also impact the T&M business.

What are your top priorities in the next normal after COVID-19?
We cannot deny the fact that the industry is affected to a considerable extent due to COVID-19 epidemic and we might even witness the prolonged effects and slowdown for few months. But we at Testo are emphasising on developing more smart solutions for the industry to improve efficiency and availability that allows the industry to monitor the health of the equipment or an electrical asset without involving too many people. Also these measuring instruments are smart and intuitive which gives you higher efficiency and helps in reducing the down time of any facility.

Consider our latest and most advanced solutions for instance, our electrical instruments are very distinct and unique in their features. They are excellent instruments to inspect the electrical components and circuit failure threats. The unique clamp meters and multi meters are intuitive, can measure several parameters like current, voltage, resistance, power factor with auto AC and DC selection in a single component. Testo clamp meter can even be connected to thermal imagers via Bluetooth which can instantly display electrical parameters along with thermal profiles. Our new range of thermal imagers with smart phone integration designed to deliver networked thermography are mostly used for predictive and preventive maintenance in electric and power sector. These electrical instruments and thermal imagers are the best solution for trouble shooting in electrical segment.

Not only that, in order to adapt to the new normal due to COVID-19, the primary step that is advised for all workplaces includes the implementation of thermal scanning and fever detection techniques at the entrance of the facility. Testo India being the pioneers in testing and measurement provides these thermal imagers for mass scanning of people. It allows non contact measurement of body surface temperature and is proven to detect elevated skin temperatures brought by various external causes like COVID-19. The Government of India, Ministry of Health has also put forward a mandate for the Provision for thermal scanning at all public spaces and organisations and we make it our priority to encourage the industry to implement these necessary initiatives and ensure safety and well being of our colleagues.

We at Testo are emphasising on developing more smart solutions for the industry to improve efficiency and availability that allows the industry to monitor the health of the equipment or an electrical asset without involving too many people.
Parag Yelegaonkar, General Manager – Govt. Business, Testo India