Fluke

Blog Eight: “Masterpiece”; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:42:04 GMT

Five hundred years ago, Florence, Italy spawned a remarkable number of Renaissance masterpieces, including:

Michelangelo’s David (1504), an outsized Carrara marble statue of adolescent David anticipating his encounter with Goliath. Presently at Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence.
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (1486), tempera on canvas, showing the Goddess Venus emerging from the sea foam as a fully grown woman. Presently at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
Leonardo’s Mona Lisa (1506, perhaps 1519),”La Giaconda", the laughing one, oil on Poplar, known for its enigmatic smile and its matchless brushwork (or the absence thereof). Presently at the Louvre, Paris.

What are the common denominators of these masterpieces? They are popularly recognized and acclaimed, admired by experts and novices alike. They enjoy enduring appeal, lasting centuries. They exhibit an extreme level of quality and detail. They grow on you; the longer you look, the more you see. Finally, they are frequently emulated (or blatantly copied).

Sounds a lot like the Fluke 87 Industrial DMM. Universally recognized and admired, the 87 is the world’s most popular industrial DMM. Treasured by experts and coveted by novices, the 87 has the feature set and the durability to make it an annual sales leader since its introduction in 1987.

Unlike the Masters, Fluke gets to update the classic 87 from time to time. The latest Fluke 87 V Industrial DMM remains a TRMS meter, but now includes a selectable low-pass filter for accurate ASD output readings that agree with the motor controller. Dual-rated at CAT IV 600V and CAT III 1000V for use on high energy circuits, the 87 can tolerate input transients over 8,000 volts. A type-K thermocouple thermometer is now built-in. A new large-digit display features a bright, two-level backlight.

Many copies of an 87 have been attempted. Insist on the original Fluke 87. You won’t find it in a museum, but your favorite Fluke distributor would be glad to show you one.

Michelangelo’s David

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

Blog Seven: “Art or Engineering?”; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 20:34:28 GMT

For the Masters of the Italian Renaissance, a thin veil separated art and engineering. The Masters were polymaths; exceptionally competent in more than one discipline. Giotto di Bondone (1267 -1337), painted the fabulous frescoes in the Arena Chapel in Padua, but also engineered Giotto’s Bell Tower in Florence. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 -1446), initially an artisan in bronze and gold, gained fame for his revolutionary engineering methods in the Dome of the Basilica of Florence. He also invented one-point linear perspective, yielding a three-dimensional effect in two-dimensional media. The ultimate Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), was an unrivaled painter (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper) who conceptualized helicopters, tanks, hang gliders and bridges centuries before they would be built. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), excelled at sculpture (Pieta, David), painting (Sistine Chapel ceiling, Creation of Adam) and architecture (Church of San Lorenzo, St. Peter's Basilica).

The new Fluke Ti32 Thermal Imager delightfully blurs the boundary between art and engineering. Certainly the way the camera rests in the hand - and is controlled with only one-hand - speaks of “art”. But the ability to survive a two-meter drop says “engineering”. Image resolution of 320 by 240 pixels and a Thermal Sensitivity (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) spec of <50 mK shouts “engineering”, but a crisp, detailed display that seamlessly blends IR and visible images says “art”.

Here are a couple more boundaries that get blurred by the Ti32. The performance level says “laboratory-only”, but the price point says “affordable”. Put it to work with plant maintenance, process and HVAC/R technicians. The User Interface says “Easy-to-Use”, but on-board emissivity correction, SmartView reporting software and Voice Annotation all say “sophisticated”.

Confused? Don’t be! Snap things into focus, see for yourself! Request a demonstration at www.fluke.com/demo. Or call 1-800-760-4523. In stock now at selected Fluke distributors for immediate delivery.


Giotto’s Tower	Brunelleschi’s Dome and Giotto’s Tower	Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa	Michelangelo’s Pieta

Blog Six: “Fresh Thinking” ; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:48:12 GMT

The Dark Ages and the Renaissance were, for me, abstractions from long-forgotten textbooks. Yet, here in the Church of St. Croce, tangible evidence of the Florentine rebirth of art and science is all around me. To my right is the tomb of Michelangelo, sculptor of David. Next to that is a memorial to Dante, author of The Divine Comedy. Further up on the right are the tombs of Machiavelli, author of The Prince and Rossini, composer of the William Tell overture. To my left is the tomb of Galileo, arguably the brightest light of them all.

Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), an astronomer, physicist and mathematician, is the father of modern science. He expressed his natural observations mathematically, and found real-world applications for his discoveries. Galileo did a lot of Fresh Thinking in his lifetime, none more profound than his work on the Solar System.

Galileo advanced a notion of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus that the earth orbits around the sun. Based only on his observations of the heavens, Galileo promoted this concept of heliocentrism for twenty years, leading to his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in 1632. This contradicted the geocentrist doctrine of the Catholic Church. A Papal inquisition of 1633 forced Galileo to denounce his concept and placed him under house arrest for life. Banished to an obscure location in the back of the church in 1642, Galileo’s remains were relocated in 1737 to the present place of honor near the front entrance. Galileo paid a price for his Fresh Thinking, but in the end, we all benefited from his intellectual integrity.

Today, Fluke is doing some Fresh Thinking around the maintenance of rotating machinery. Conventional wisdom calls for long-term observation by specially-trained technicians with expensive vibration analysis instrumentation to troubleshoot rotating machinery. The Fluke 810 Vibration Tester is designed for maintenance techs that need to quickly ascertain mechanical equipment condition, to understand the root cause of any problem, and to take cost-effective corrective action right now. Using proprietary algorithms an Onboard Info feature and a powerful user interface, the new Fluke 810 helps you quickly identify root cause (e.g., bad bearing, misalignment, unbalance or looseness), to determine its location, and to determine how severe the problem is, all without reliance on prior machine history.

To see how the Fluke 810 can help you eliminate guesswork, maximize uptime, control maintenance costs, and minimize spares inventories, download the 810 Application Note: http://support.fluke.com/find-sales/Download/Asset/3672666_6126_ENG_A_W.PDF

Bio: Rick Pirret recently retired from Fluke following 30 years in product design and marketing. Previously, he was with Bell Labs for 10 years in product and facility design. Rick studied mechanical engineering at Cornell and Stanford, and completed an MBA at Seattle University. Over the years, hobbies have included scuba diving, white water canoeing, flying, motorcycling, and bicycling. More recently, Rick likes to be outdoors in the Cascades Mountains or on-track in a BMW.

Blog Five: “Brunello” ; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:06:34 GMT

Atop a luscious, 500 meter hilltop in Tuscany lies the fortified village of Montalcino. Once a stopover on the main path from Florence to Rome, today it is home to one of the world’s great wines, Brunello de Montalcino. Yes, the soil and climate are perfect for growing Vitis Vinifera. Yes, the old Sangiovese vines are well established. But the big difference is expertise. After centuries of winemaking, and nearly 200 years focusing on Brunello, these artisans have forgotten more about fine wine than most countries will ever know. They produce a rich, dark, leathery red wine with a complex aftertaste that will last until your next birthday. These wines are best sampled using a modern-day tourist contrivance, the Brunello Bus.

Atop a 600 foot plateau in Everett, Washington sits the Fluke Corporation. It, too, straddles a major avenue of commerce, as Boeing makes 777s and 787s next door. The glacial till left over from the last ice age does not support much besides Douglas Fir and Red Alder, and the persistent drip irrigation from the sky favors indoor activities. Here, the locals have developed a deep expertise in Digital Multimeters, DMMs. Beginning with the MIT root stock of John Fluke, Sr. in 1948, then cultivated by grads of Stanford and the University of Washington, Fluke has developed a deep commitment to durable, real-world Test and Measurement equipment. They conceptualize, design, test, build and service a diverse collection of DMMs for connoisseurs who appreciate and use fine test tools.

From the Fluke cellars, here are the latest releases of the 2009 vintage:

DMM de 289, TRMS Electronics Logging Multimeter; Best-in-Test award winner has all the capability of a top-end handheld DMM plus a high resolution graphical display to support logging and TrendCapture
DMM de 233, Remote Display Digital Multimeter; Ultimate crowd-pleaser, voted coolest meter…ever. Wireless communication allows the display to be up to 30 feet from the measurement point.
DMM de 28 II, TRMS Industrial Multimeter; IP 67 waterproof & dustproof, completely sealed for use in harsh environments. Throw it in a wine-vat and play go-fish. It’ll still work.

And yet, these exciting new flavors still have to beat the long-term success of this all-around leader:

DMM de 87-V, Industrial Multimeter; The ultimate “real-man’s” meter.

To sample one of these vintages, see your Fluke distributor today.

Blog Four: “Apps” ; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:26:22 GMT

Web applications, or "Apps", are all the rage. Running on a smart phone, they represent an intersection of the internet and a handheld touch panel. They provide a combination of fun and functionality - many of most popular Apps are games. They are fast and easy to use, contain a lot of intelligence around a specific task, and deliver fast answers. For example, the Carbon Footprint Calculator asks you to enter miles driven, airline trips taken and electrical / natural gas consumption, then quickly shows how many trees are required to offset your presence on the planet.

It turns out that Fluke has been packaging Apps for years in the form of specialty Digital Multimeters. They are fast and easy to use, and contain a ton of intelligence around Ohm’s Law, E= I x R. The smarts reside in firmware rather than software, and the platform is a rugged handheld DMM versus a phone. However, the outcome is the same - fast answers.

Here are four applications matched with a task-specific DMM to deliver the power of a modern App:

For Predictive Maintenance, the 289 Industrial Logging Multimeter offers 0.025% basic DC accuracy, 100 kHz bandwidth and graphical display to support sophisticated logging and Trend Capture.
For HVAC repair, the 116 HVAC DMM measures temperature and micro amps, plus offers selectable low input impedance often required with HVAC system components.
For Process Calibration, the 789 ProcessMeter sources and measures 4 to 20 mA control signals, while simultaneously reading in mA and % of span. The meter provides Loop Power, manually or automatically steps in 25% of span, and includes a 250 ohm HART resistor.
For automotive troubleshooting, the 88 Series V Automotive Meter offers millisecond pulse width measurements for fuel injectors, inductive pickup for RPM readings and 20 A current measurement for modern automotive applications.

Audition one of these Fluke Apps today to see the power and speed they can bring to your daily workload.

Thermal Imagers and Scary Creatures; by Murdock

messages@element14.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:15:14 GMT

Scary Creatures:

"you wanted to see thermal imagers of snakes...well its your lucky day...i got more than just snakes...i got a whole lot of scary creatures."...

View full blog

Thanks Murdock, one of the Senior Member on Flukes

Interesting Thermal Imaging Project: Dolphins

messages@element14.com — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:15:27 GMT

View blog...

Blog Three: Top Ten Torture Tests for a Digital Multimeter; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:21:30 GMT

The environmental test team at Fluke tries to break new products during development. Here, from this fun-loving, happy-go-luck crew, are their top-ten torture chamber favorites:

10. Let’s drop the packaged product, on all faces and corners - 24 drops - from 1 meter onto a hardwood floor.
9. What the heck, let’s do it to the unpackaged unit, too - 8 drops - at storage temperature extremes of -400C to +600C!
8. Why not subject the unit to vibration, up to 30 G’s, for 30 minutes on three perpendicular axes?
7. Bombard the unit with electromagnetic fields and radio frequency emissions per IEC 61326-1 to see if we can get the readings to change!
6. Let’s flex the outboard end of the test leads at least 10,000 times to 90 degrees, even though the standard only calls for a flex to 45 degrees.
5. While we’re at it, let’s flex the inboard end of the leads, and test the terminals, for 10,000 cycles, too!
4. Let’s run the product at temperatures down to -40oC and up to 60oC and try to get the readings to go out of spec. Add humidity, up to 92% at up to 40oC, and run the tests again!
3. Dude, let’s apply peak transients of 12 to 18 kV on the input circuits!
2. Let’s wrap the whole unit in foil and subject it to electrostatic discharge of at least 20 kV.
1. And finally, let’s push 30 kVA into the front end, while switching through the measurement functions, to make sure any failures are contained within the instrument case.

When the test team can no longer get a unit to fail, it can be released to production. Why go to all this trouble? So that when you take your Fluke meter into the hazards and hassles of the real world, the last thing you need to worry about is whether your meter still works.

Blog Two: Industrial Design at Fluke; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:17:35 GMT

What is great industrial design? You know it when you see it – art and science, function and feel, color and texture blended in a magical way. The “celebrity” designers often got it right; Henry Dreyfuss in the 1965 Trimline phone, Raymond Loewy in the Air Force One graphics and Harley Earl in the 1953 Corvette.

Fluke has a long history of meticulous industrial design. Del King started it, George McCain carried it forward, and Chris Lagerberg leads the team now. They have given Fluke handhelds a clean, functional look, with a brand image you can spot across the room. Instruments fit the hand right and feel solid. Rotary knobs have a lush, silky feel. Pushbuttons give crisp, tactile feedback. Displays are sharp and readable in a broad range of light conditions. Control layouts are intuitive. Users around the world can pick up a unit and make it work – with gloves on.

Throughout the design process, the goal is to include as many pleasant surprises, or "delight factors" as possible. In its Olympic campaign, BMW claimed "we don't just make cars. We make joy". Fluke shares that spirit, and it’s it is part of the difference you enjoy when you select a Fluke product.

Blog One: Diligence; by Rick Pirret

messages@element14.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:24:51 GMT

John Fluke said "the customer should always get more than they thought they paid for". One of those extras is diligence, or in dictionary-speak, "persevering application". Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the care that goes into a new Fluke product.

Diligence in product definition begins with the "voice of the customer", or VOC. Fluke engineers research not only WHAT users do, but HOW they do it. They try to understand not just the measurement functions and ranges that a task requires, but also the work methods or processes that real people actually use. What should the user interface be? How could that user interface help the customer work faster or work smarter? What would delight this customer? Several iterations of VOC research and planning are necessary to ensure that new products meet customer expectations. Finally, beta testing confirms that the product definition matches original intent.

Diligence in design applies both art and science to resolve the tug-of-war between the constraints on a new instrument. The circuit design needs to deliver the specified measurement performance, but it must also protect against misconnected inputs and inputs above stated limits. The circuit must perform over a wide range of temperature, humidity, and altitude, while being subjected to electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharge. Now add the constraints that the new meter is expected to be compact, handheld, easy to use, and rugged, and the problem becomes very difficult to solve. Each iteration of a design is tested for durability, safety, and measurement performance. Refinement continues until each test is passed with a substantial margin. Only then is a new design released to production.

Diligence in metrology has two aspects. First, a Fluke spec includes allowance for drift due to time, temperature, and humidity. You can be confident that your meter still performs within spec when it returns for its scheduled calibration. Second, each Fluke meter is adjusted and verified, traceable to recognized international standards, by a branch of the Fluke standards lab that resides within the production cell.

What does all this diligence mean to you? Care in definition, design, and metrology means you can count on your tools to safely deliver a professional result, and that your investment will continue to perform well over a long and useful life.

Blog One: Diligence; by Rick Pirret

Fluke works with Habitat for Humanity

messages@element14.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:45:55 GMT

On a cold day in Tacoma, thermography shows house-warming, heart-warming results

It was a record cold day in Tacoma, and a bright sun could not ease the chill of the light wind that wrapped itself around the dozen tidy homes of Larabee Terrace.

The cold snap provided the first big test of the heating systems, insulation and construction techniques used by the Habitat for Humanity volunteers and low-income homeowners who built these homes. Conditions were ideal for a quick course in thermography and weatherization. It was a great opportunity for Habitat staff members to learn to use their new Fluke TiR1 thermal imager.

Thermographer, and Sr. Product Manager, Michael Stuart had driven down from Fluke headquarters for the orientation. The Washington State University team, representing the Department of Energy Building America program, was there with their blower door setup. A blower door test used in conjunction with some thermal imagers from Fluke in one of the newly-built homes would reveal any gaps in the way they were built and point the way to greater energy efficiency.

Volunteers and partners

The homes at Larabee terrace step down a west-facing hillside in an old Tacoma neighborhood of smaller homes. It's the latest project of Tacoma Pierce County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat works in partnership with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged.

Since 1985, Habitat has built more than 162 homes in Pierce County, providing home ownership opportunities to households making 30 percent to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. And the benefits extend beyond the homeowners and their neighborhoods. The volunteers who devote their time to building the homes enjoy the warm feeling of giving back to their community. Each Habitat family must complete 500 hours of "sweat equity" through work on their and other people's homes or other work that helps the Habitat run. Habitat is a partnership that builds houses together with the families who will live in them.

"Our goal is to try and make these homes more energy-efficient and more affordable to live in," said Gomer Roseman, Site Development Director, Tacoma Pierce County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. "If we can reduce the utility bill by $25 a month, somebody who earns $25,000 a year would be very happy about it."

Modest in size (averaging 1500 square feet) and affordably priced, the Larabee Terrace homes are built to save energy. Their heating systems, designed by a retired Boeing engineer, get double duty from an on-demand gas water heater used to warm domestic water and provide under-floor radiant heat. Foam exterior sheathing boosts wall insulation from a standard R20 to R30.

"That shows up in the infrared imaging," said Mike Lubliner, Sr. Building Sciences Specialist for the WSU Extension Energy Program. "You don't see the distinct heat loss normally caused by the studs in the walls." As Stuart demonstrated its use, the imager made other construction details and areas for possible future improvement surprisingly easy to see. The infrared scans revealed the normally expected cooler areas where walls and ceilings come together—and were even sensitive enough to see where sheetrock screws were under the paint.

Infrared reveals opportunities

After a quick thermography introduction, the WSU team set up a blower door in a recently completed home. The door-mounted fan drew air from the structure, reducing the interior pressure and pulling in cold outside air through openings visible and unseen.

Though the house performed well, some fixes were needed. In the imager's scan, some electrical outlets in outside walls took on a cooler blue tint where air infiltration was occurring through the electrical chase. In another area, cool "air fingers" lightly streamed from a ceiling fixture -- evidence that cooler air was coming in through the fixture and cooling off her surface of the ceiling around it. A few areas even showed where a little more attention could have been given to the placement of the fiberglass bat insulation in the upper part of some wall cavities. Roseman said the results will help produce a better, more efficient, Habitat house by indicating where improvements can easily and inexpensively be made during the construction process and afterward.

"Everything that we've seen as a result of this test indicates something we could be doing differently that would give us a better result," said Roseman. "What we've learned today is that we need to provide better sealing around our electrical penetrations in the walls, and we need to pay more attention to the connection at the top plate. Those are things we're going to work on now and try and build a tighter house.

"If we can build a better house for the same price, and it results in a saving for the owner, we've accomplished something. Tools like this allow us to see the hidden movement of air, things that aren't visible to the naked eye—things that enable us to do a better job without spending a lot of money."

According to Lubliner, infrared testing could be even more productive as Habitat moves into rehabilitating existing homes, built without the energy-conscious techniques of today. "I believe there will be more and more focus on existing homes," he said. "I think the infrared technology and blower door technology will get us more low-hanging fruit in the existing sector than they will in new homes."

In this issue of FIXIT - Fluke Nation:

messages@element14.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:56:11 GMT

In this issue of FIXIT - Fluke Nation:

Thought for the month

Like many of you, we're still waiting for an economic recovery to really kick in. But are those mythical "green shoots" starting to show? One leading economist (we'll tell you who) is predicting an upturn in residential construction-and when's the last time you heard that?

More in this issue:

Tool up with the right PPE to boost your safety factor
Introducing the long-distance champ
Getting the energy-conservation Habitat
Fluke helps build the Smart Grid
It's in the book!
Chat with a thermal imaging expert
Read the new Fluke newsletters
Shedding light on IR windows
For housing, a change is going to come
Jump jets, penguins and energy conservation

The advantage of Infrared when troubleshooting power distribution and control equipment

messages@element14.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:01:39 GMT

By Bennie Kennedy, Instructor, Curriculum Developer Prairie State College

A major contribution to my successes over the years in resolving problems with electrical power distribution systems is my ability to use test equipment and evaluate the results. One of the most valuable tools in my arsenal is a thermal imager or infrared camera. I attended a course by The Snell Group in the early 90's. Since then, I have used infrared to detect:

Connections that are over torque and under torque.
Phase unbalance voltage, current. (In a three phase motor application voltage imbalance causes current imbalance and an increase in winding temperature. Insulation life is reduced 50% for every 10 degree C increase in winding temperature.)
Overheating neutrals
Overload (breakers, switches, bus way)
Undersized cables
Corrosion at connections
Damaged or missing plating
High contact resistance in molded case breakers. (A digital low resistance ohm meter can be used to confirm high contact resistance in breakers and switches.)
Cross threaded hardware
Inductive heating
Ground conductors carrying current
Component failure
Insulation failure
Motor bearing over heating
Mechanical binding
Harmonics
Blown fuse on a 3-phase bank of power factor correction capacitors
Blown power fuse in a three phase motor circuit

Tracing a blown fuse
I responded to a call from an electrical contractor. A 600 hundred amp 480 volt fused disconnect feeding a transformer was blowing a fuse randomly. The customer had used a chart recorder to record the current on the load cables. The current measured never exceeded the fuse's long time or instantaneous ratings. Several expensive 450 amp fuses had been replaced in the course of trouble-shooting the problem. Fuse list price $198.00 each.

Any time I encounter a protective device issue I perform an infrared evaluation. The goal is to eliminate abnormal heating as the cause or contributing factor. An infrared scan will identify the issue at hand and predict future failures.

I start with a comparative analysis. All connections should be approximately the same temperature. I expect a normal connection to measure ambient plus less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: B phase may be higher due to its location between A and C phase. All three fuses should be the same temperature, provided all the fuses are the same manufacturer and type. When the line side fuse connection temperature on any phase is higher than the load side connection, the higher temperature connection is likely the problem. Keep in mind the current flowing should be the same on all three phases in motor and transformer applications.

The 450 amp fuse blowing above was the result of a bad connection at a fuse clip. The thermal image clearly showed abnormal heating at the fuse connection. To confirm my diagnosis I carefully cut a blown fuse open. I found the element intact but disconnected at one end of the fuse. The condition of the fuse element typically indicates the cause of the fuse failure.

I regularly use comparative analysis to evaluate circuit breakers as well. Again the line and load connection temperatures should be the reasonably close. A loose connection could result in nuisance tripping of the breaker. In a matter of minutes, I can evaluate all the fuse disconnects and /or breakers in a switch board in a matter of minutes. Depending on severity, a high resistance connection internal to a breaker will be visible through the case via infrared.

Always follow the appropriate, recommended safety and inspection standards for your company and country, including OSHA, NFPA 70B and NFPA 70E. The 2009 edition of NFPA Standard 70E Electrical Safety in the Workplace makes PPE requirements for thermographers more straight-forward and easier to follow. For a description of the thermal-specific guidelines, visit www.fluke.com/FN-thermal-safety.

Electrical connections
I use infrared to evaluate bolted connections, breakers, switches, and bus and cable connections. I have found connections that were mechanically tight but over heat when current is applied. Because the manufacturer recommends using a torque wrench on current carrying connections, the connection should be tightened to the specified value. If the hardware used is bad, no torque wrench is used or the wrench is out of calibration the wrench may indicate proper torque prematurely. An over torque connection can stretch the bolt when current is applied. The result can be abnormal heating of the connection when the current is reduced.

I worked at a customer site where checking switch-board connection hardware for proper torque was part of their annual preventative maintenance procedure. I recommended performing an infrared evaluation and documenting any connections issues. Any abnormal heating would be addressed during the preventative maintenance shut down. Connection issues that would not have been identified using a torque wrench were found. Because we did not have to check all the connections, the down time and labor hours required to perform the maintenance was substantially reduced.

Infrared safety tips
I cannot over-emphasize wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) while conducting an infrared inspection. When you conduct an infrared evaluation, you are looking for a problem, and you need to expect to find one.

Always follow the appropriate, recommended safety and inspection standards for your company and country, including OSHA, NFPA 70B and NFPA 70E. The 2009 edition of NFPA Standard 70E Electrical Safety in the Workplace makes PPE requirements for thermoraphers more straight-forward and easier to follow. For a description of the thermal-specific guidelines, visit www.fluke.com/FN-thermal-safety.

Power distribution equipment is most dangerous when there is something wrong with it. If the equipment appears to lack regular maintenance or is old, be especially careful. Leave the room while the covers are being removed and replaced. Survey the equipment prior to opening doors or removing covers.

Abnormal heating discovered with the covers in place could indicate a very dangerous condition. Never break the plane of the equipment. Keep both feet on the floor. Ultra violet light could reveal evidence of rodents living in electrical equipment, opening covers could cause them to move resulting in an arc-flash. Examine bus-way from the floor; if there is abnormal heating you can see it.

Concentrate on the most critical equipment and where failures have occurred in the past. And above all if it is ever questionable as to whether you can do it safely don't do it. Some time the safest procedure is not to proceed.

###

Bennie Kennedy is a licensed electrical contractor. He also serves as an OSHA authorized general industry outreach safety trainer and instructor/curriculum developer for Prairie State College, Lakeland College, Joliet Junior College and the Indiana Safety Council.

Fluke Safety

messages@element14.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:37:40 GMT

When electrical problems occur and you are called in to troubleshoot them, time is often a critical factor. But safety must always remain priority number one: your safety and that of those around you.

Working safely, while making electrical measurements, is not rocket science. It's a simple combination of careful planning, safe practices and using the right tools in the right way. To help you do this, we have put together this safety program which includes detailed chapters on safety standards, measurement hazards, meter testing and safe work practices.

New Fluke Ti32, Fluke 233 & Fluke 28II

messages@element14.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:30:20 GMT

Introducing three new Fluke products. The new Fluke Ti32 delivers the first industrial grade, high performance thermal imager for industrial and electrical applications. The result is strikingly crisp, detailed images that, blended with our patented IR-Fusion®, are sure to make a lasting impression. The Fluke 233 wireless remote display digital multimeter with removable magnetic display allows you to be 30ft away from the measurement point. The new Fluke 27 II and 28 II digital multimeters define a new standard for operating in rugged, harsh conditions with the features and accuracy to troubleshoot most electrical problems. The new Fluke 20 Series Multimeters are built to work in the toughest environments. See them all in action here.