WearCheck completes inspections 2X faster with FLIR Route Creator

Regular temperature monitoring with thermal imaging cameras allows WearCheck to detect and diagnose impending failures before they occur. Using a thermal camera, WearCheck inspectors can easily scan for temperature differences and hot spots to locate the problem area and diagnose the issue.

Thanks to FLIR Thermal Studio and the FLIR Route Creator plugin, generating reports from substation inspection rounds has become much easier for South African inspection company WearCheck. With the possibility to define inspection rounds in advance, it is practically impossible to overlook installations.

One of WearCheck’s fundamental goals is to save customers money and time by improving the availability, reliability, and efficiency of their machinery through regular maintenance and tailored condition monitoring programs. WearCheck has a network of 14 world-class laboratories across nine countries.

Thermal condition monitoring

WearCheck has multiple portable FLIR T-Series cameras to perform condition monitoring jobs. The ergonomic cameras help the team conduct long shifts of inspection rounds and diagnose hard-to-reach components in any environment. But when the inspection rounds are completed, the work is not done. The inspection’s output, including the thermal images, comments, and annotations on possible defects, needs to be processed and presented in reports that are useful for WearCheck’s customers.

Report creation typically took the team many hours of work, but with the addition of the FLIR Thermal Studio Pro software, WearCheck inspectors could complete reports in about half the time it used to take. FLIR Thermal Studio Suite is Teledyne FLIR’s analysis and reporting software designed to help thermographers manage and process thousands of thermal images and videos.

However, the feature that WearCheck values the most is the FLIR Route Creator plugin for Thermal Studio.

Saving time with FLIR Route Creator

“Thanks to the FLIR Route Creator plugin, we can upload camera images, data, and inspection notes directly into our report templates in just a few clicks,” says Deon Gaarkeuken, Predictive Maintenance Supervisor at WearCheck. “Generating reports usually takes a lot of manual work, but with FLIR Route Creator, we easily cut our reporting time in half.”

Gaarkeuken, who has used other software packages before, says FLIR Thermal Studio and FLIR Route Creator are much more user-friendly, which makes reporting much easier and less time-consuming. “Especially for someone like me, who is not eager to use Microsoft Word and other reporting software, FLIR Thermal Studio is a lifesaver,” 

Thorough inspections of all components

Building inspection paths for every location in advance makes it very hard to miss or overlook a component or substation on your inspection round.

“Missing a component during your inspection round can be very costly because you need to send a team member over to the customer again for a revision. And then I haven’t even mentioned the unprofessional impression you are giving your customer,” says Gaarkeuken. “Thanks to FLIR Route Creator, we know exactly which substations to check without overlooking a single one.”

FLIR Thermal Studio is a FLIR Route Creator that is designed to process large amounts of files. It’s not a luxury when you realise that one day of inspections may already generate thousands of images. “To be sure we have covered everything in our inspection, we typically take pictures of the nameplates, the entire substation, and the possible defect for every installation,” says Gaarkeuken. “This way, you generate a lot of files. This is no problem for Thermal Studio.”

Easy-to-understand reports customers love

For WearCheck, it’s not only about what you are presenting; it’s also about how you present it. The look and feel of a report is an important calling card for the company. “We can define the colour palette, the emissivity and distance settings, and much more in advance, completely in line with how the customer likes to see it,” Gaarkeuken says. “FLIR Thermal Studio and FLIR Route Creator allow our team to deliver inspection reports our customers love to look at.”