Chemical company Cerdia Produktions GmbH

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 categorisation 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 testo 885 thermal imaging camera. 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.

As a selected customer, Cerdia pre-tested the 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 camera 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 recognised. Using the camera requires no effort at all. The Cerdia team’s summary: “The overall package is convincing. We’d take the thermal imaging camera right away. Do we really have to give it back?”