Frike Chemicals AG: pharamaceuticals, medicine and chemicals

The area of responsibility of the Technical Maintenance department at Frike Chemicals AG is large: In addition to the classic tasks relating to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical (HVACSE), it also includes building maintenance, repairs and modifications to the various production facilities, planning and extensions to the operating infrastructure in all plants and locations, and regular checks of the electrical system. Accordingly, the challenges faced by the employees on a daily basis are numerous and varied, including in particular the imaging temperature measurement by means of thermography on products, production plants and buildings:

• Temperature controls on the seals of the packaging film

• Checking the electrical switching cabinets

• Temperature monitoring on the compressors

• Motor bearing inspection

• Ventilation supply and exhaust air temperatures

• Building tightness test especially on windows, doors and gates

To ensure smooth and overall safe production, temperature checks are carried out three times a week at Frike. The number of measurement objects is immense and the effort is correspondingly high. For example, 40 switching cabinets, 60 production plants and five buildings have to be maintained. Not only the amount of measurement objects and the measurement data to be managed is challenging, but also the diversity of applications and materials, which previously required the use of different measurement instruments - e.g. smoke sticks for ventilation or IR measuring instruments for temperature checks. The interpretation of the measurement results is also particularly time-consuming and error-prone. The ideal solution would be a measuring instrument which not only measures quickly, precisely and in a variety of ways, but also simplifies the interpretation and documentation of the measurement results.

The testo 883 thermal imaging camera proved to be an all-round convincing solution for the experienced expert. The easy-to-grip design and simple handling enable fast manual focusing and convenient operation via touch display and joystick. Lenses can be changed quickly and easily and the temperature scaling can be adjusted specifically. Werner Müller sees great potential for increasing efficiency with the testo 883 thermal imaging camera. This is because the simple management of measurement sites and their corresponding images enabled by testo SiteRecognition technology makes it possible to process a large number of very different objects in record time and with just one measuring instrument. The camera provides brilliant, high-resolution thermal images and simultaneously creates a real image for documentation. The images recorded for the measurement location are automatically transferred to the corresponding measurement location in the archive of the testo IRSoft PC software.

The superiority of the testo 883 thermal imaging camera is particularly evident in the (accidental) solution to a problem that caused Frike a lot of headaches: The inadequate sealing of the four-side sealed bags. Since the testo 883 displays the entire measurement task at a glance, a simple measurement is all that is needed to detect the temperature deviation of 30° Celsius between the centre of the heating and the outer heating points of the sealing plant, which has gone unnoticed for years. The problem can be eliminated immediately and the packaging quality optimised.