"Dedicated, agile, innovative" is the motto of Cerdia Produktions GmbH, which as a chemicals company is subject to strict legal requirements. For this reason, the firm is always open for solutions which promise to provide more security and efficiency. For example in the preventive maintenance of switching cabinets at their company headquarters in Freiburg, Germany. Since 2017, the service department has relied on the excellent thermal imager testo 885 with testo SiteRecognition technology. As a selected customer, Cerdia is happy to test the new pistol imager testo 883 with time-saving testo SiteRecognition technology before the official market launch – and they are thrilled. Best image quality and handy design. The perfect innovation for Cerdia.
At their headquarters in Freiburg, Cerdia has just short of 1,900 switching cabinets in operation. A problem of capacity was created when the insurer made annual testing a requirement. However, since the switching cabinets are subject to differing loads, it was possible to create risk categories with differing test cycles. Following a detailed evaluation according to criteria such as the age of the plant or the load level, a categorization of the switching cabinets from 1 to 5 was carried out. Plants in the categories 4 and 5 are tested annually, all others at intervals of three years. In 2012, external service providers were charged with conducting the thermographic testing of the switching cabinets. As a result of this, the switching cabinets were initially thermographically recorded and numbered. A PDF with thermal images was archived by hand for each individual cabinet. Later, a switching cabinet list was introduced. Notes were taken by hand and subsequently transferred to a PC. A fault report was created, and additional SAP repair notifications recorded. Looking after the switching cabinets on a daily basis turned out to be extremely time-consuming, and it was not always possible to carry it out satisfactorily. In retrospect, Cerdia employee Udo Moser comments: “What a pile of paperwork just to document which image belonged to which plant, then a separate report for each cabinet, countless documents and Excel lists of plants.” In 2017, Cerdia decided to carry out their thermography themselves, and compared various suppliers. They chose the thermal imager testo 885. The deciding factors were the testo SiteRecognition technology, the high image quality, the price-performance ratio, but also the extensive range of services and the thermographic training possibilities offered by Testo.
Cerdia Produktions GmbH
Founded in 1927 and known as Rhodia Acetow until 2019, Cerdia today is a worldwide operating chemicals company, producing cellulose acetate tow for cigarette filter production, cellulose acetate flakes and other cellulose acetate products. Cerdia’s headquarters is in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The company, which has submitted 30 patents in the past 10 years alone, employs 1,150 staff worldwide, at production sites in Germany, Brazil, Russia and the USA. Each production site follows its own locally optimized maintenance strategy. At the Freiburg site, 120 staff work in maintenance, including three teams of master electricians.
With the intelligent measurement site recognition and automatic image management testo SiteRecognition, testo 885 revolutionizes the maintenance of the switching cabinets at Cerdia. First of all, each switching cabinet is set up in a database in the software and an individual code created, which is attached to the respective switching cabinet as an adhesive label. That significantly simplifies the thermographic testing: The code is scanned with the thermal imager, calling up the switching cabinet. All information as well as the subsequently recorded thermal images are stored in the database.
During synchronization with the testo IRSoft software, the images in the data base are automatically allocated to the correct measurement site. This allows, for example, the complete thermal image archive for a switching cabinet to be called up with one click. Manual image allocation is dispensed with, mistakes are eliminated. Yet testo IRSoft offer another advantage too: The thermal images can be analyzed in detail and reports created. The allocation of a thermal image to the respective measurement site is automatically carried over into the report.
Udo Moser summarizes: “We’re now conducting preventive maintenance at a different, high level. Our success proves us right. We have almost no highly urgent thermal issues any more.” Preventive maintenance at Cerdia today means: Scanning codes and saving time. testo SiteRecognition does the rest. Although the testo 885 has absolutely proven itself in daily practice, there is a wish for an additional, pistol design thermal imager for fast testing. In 2021, it’s ready.
"Since we started using testo SiteRecognition, we’re saving several hours of work on our just under 1,900 switching cabinets."
Udo Moser
·Service and maintenance Cerdia Produktions GmbH
As a selected customer, Cerdia pre-tests the product innovation testo 883 before the market launch. The new thermal imager not only offers the desired pistol design, but also an optimized version of the testo SiteRecognition technology. In the test, the imager is able to convince through its easy-to-hold, handy design, its fast manual focus and convenient operation via touch display and joystick. It provides high-focus thermal images, and a real image is simultaneously taken for documentation purposes. Lenses can be exchanged quickly and easily. And what’s especially exciting: The existing codes on the switching cabinets are immediately recognized. Using the imager requires no effort at all. The Cerdia team’s summary: “The overall package is convincing. We’d take the thermal imager right away. Do we really have to give it back?”
"Top thermal image. The menu structure is great, clearly arranged, excellently done, image quality just fantastic. The functions are easy to find and set."
Michael Schillinger
·Energy electronic engineer on shifts, and certified Level 2 thermographer Cerdia Produktions GmbH
testo 883 thermal imager combines all advantages for top performance:
Best image quality: IR resolution of 320 x 240 pixels (with SuperResolution 640 x 480 pixels)
testo SiteRecognition: intelligent measurement site recognition and automatic image management
For entry-level users: Import of existing inventory lists, use of existing codes (QR codes, barcodes, datamatrix 128)
Export of measurement results into third programmes
Specific pre-settings for the respective measurement site, such as coloured marking of affected areas in the thermal image when permitted upper or lower limit values are exceeded.
Extensive analysis and documentation with testo IRSoft software
Manual focus and interchangeable lenses
Wireless transfer of the measurement values from testo 770-3 directly into the thermal image