Sponsored by:

Thermography Standards – Recipes for Success

Professional chefs routinely rely on recipes to provide consistency in their meals. Thermographers can find similar success by following published standards when performing infrared inspections.

A technical standard is an established norm or requirement. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes, or practices. Customs, conventions, or corporate standards which become generally accepted are also referred to as standards.

Standards may be developed privately or unilaterally by a corporation or by standards organizations that rely on the input of industry experts who volunteer their time. The standardization process may be by edict or may involve formal consensus of the members of a standards organization.

Like recipes, infrared applications standards outline requirements and procedures that, when carried out by a competent person, will help to produce similar and repeatable test results. Equipment usage standards help to ensure that test and measuring equipment is utilized properly and functioning accurately. Standards may also be used to judge the work product of thermographers particularly when an infrared inspection report is being introduced as evidence in a legal case.

At present, Infraspection Institute publishes the most comprehensive list of standards for infrared thermography. Coauthored by numerous expert thermographers, these standards outline industry best practices and are updated regularly to reflect current trends and technology. They have also been utilized to provide the core language for several similar ASTM and ISO standards. Current Infraspection standards include:

Applications Standards

• Standard for Infrared Inspection of Electrical Systems & Rotating Equipment
• Standard for Infrared Inspection of Building Envelopes
• Standard for Infrared Inspections to Detect Pests and Pest Related Damage

Equipment Usage Standards for Imaging Radiometers

• Standard for Measuring and Compensating for Reflected Temperature
• Standard for Measuring and Compensating for Emittance
• Standard for Measuring and Compensating for Transmittance of an Attenuating Medium
• Standard for Measuring Distance/Target Size Values for Imaging Radiometers

Infrared standards and their proper use is taught in all Infraspection Institute Certified Infrared Thermographer® training courses. For more information or to purchase standards, please visit the Standards Section of the Infraspection website.