Atlas Inspection Technologies E-Reference Library - Articles & White Papers

Critical vessel monitoring: Detect hot spots sooner with thermal imaging - Accurately measuring temperature has always been one of the most important and difficult things to do when monitoring the safety of critical vessels in refining and other industrial plants. Extreme temperatures and non-uniform temperature gradients make it nearly impossible for traditional temperature measurement methods to monitor every critical point or obtain complete temperature data. The lack of accurate and early detection of temperature changes increases the likelihood of failure-related problems, which createsafety and reliability issues.

Pipe inspection and foreign object retrieval at natural gas compression station - A construction company building a compression station for a newly built natural gas plant rented a camera from Atlas Inspection Technologies. Upon conducting cursory inspections of process pipes, the inspection team found a significant amount of slag and debris. The customer was concerned about contamination and decided the entire piping system spreading over several miles needed to be inspected and evaluated. The plant was set to go online in a few weeks. A team of two Atlas technicians arrived on site from Seattle, WA and Sacramento, CA within 48 hours of first contact to direct the inspection program. The customer rented 12 inspection cameras which the Atlas team trained camera operators on, none of whom had any prior remote visual inspection experience.

Atlas Inspection Technologies now offers ARIES products - Atlas Inspection Technologies is proud to represent ARIES, the best pipeline inspection and rehabilitation equipment manufacturer in North America. ARIES equipment includes pan-and-tilt and pan-tilt-and-zoom cameras, six-wheeled robotic crawlers for pipes from 6” to 120”, standard and pan-and-tilt push cameras, pipeline grouting systems, and lateral reinstatement cutters for relined pipe. Available systems include both portable and complete systems in customized chassis or trailers.

Getting ready for fall inspections: Atlas tips for fast, effective, and affordable videoscope repairs
With summer coming to an end in a few weeks, it is time to make sure that your on-site inspection equipment and tools are in full working order for fall outages. However, videoscope repairs can be expensive and take a long time to perform, heavily impacting both budgets and timelines. This 'article offers Atlas' videoscope repair tips on how to select a provider that offer clients the quality expected from an OEM with the innovation and value of an independent service company.

Atlas tips: Staying on top of corona incidents this summer - These past few months, the news has been filled with unfortunate stories of corona discharge incidents in heavily industrialized areas of the U.S. As we enter summer months which is when corona is the most active, especially in hot and highly humid areas, this article explains what corona is, its dangers, how to best detect it, and other tips on how to prevent potentially hazardous situations that could lead to unnecessary power outages affecting surrounding plants and neighborhoods.

Atlas helps major pipeline company with complex PIG retrieval - The pipeline company is a major provider of natural gas to Louisiana. In October 2010, the plant lost a PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) in one of the pipes they were trying to clean. The PIG got sucked the wrong way, and came through a valve. Fitted with two rubber discs on each end, the PIG's body was approximately 30 inches O.D. and 40 inches long, and ultimately cracked the pipe it was stuck in.

Top five tips to prepare for spring facility shutdown inspections - Seasonal shutdowns are the opportunity to inspect, fix, and prepare for a safe and reliable restart. Optimizing your inspection starts with evaluating your specific needs, taking into consideration staff, equipment, timeline, and budget. This article covers five tips to ensure the successful planning and preparation of your spring outage

Atlas’ FOD retrieval emergency services save plant production time - A large U.S. plant faced a night-time emergency, fearing a foreign object was lodged in their pipe. The plant did not have the knowledgeable staff. specialized inspection equipment or adequate tools on site to visualize and retrieve the unidentified device.

NFPA70E, Arc Flash and Safe and Efficient Thermography Practices - Estimates indicate that 10-15 serious arc-flash incidents - those that result in burn injuries requiring treatment in a burn center - occur each day in the U.S., so it is not surprising that awareness of the hazards associated with arc flash continues to grow.

The Benefits of Integrating "Lean Thinking" Concepts into the Management of Infrared Predictive Maintenance Programs - Lean Thinking is nothing new, nor many of its concepts, but the real value is in how these concepts are integrated into a total solution. Many companies today are either Lean Companies, or are utilizing Lean Thinking to maintain a competitive advantage in the market

Basic Resolution Testing - A resolution test chart is used to allow quick and easy testing of the ability of an optical system to produce images with fine detail

Book Review: "Good to Great" by Jim Collins - Atlas has found another MUST Read in "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. Although not written for the RVI community directly, EVERY business - no, make that EVERY ONE, can benefit from this book. It's an easy read and very engaging. No doubt after you finish each chapter you'll want to discuss the implications for your company.

Solving Electrical Problems with Thermal Imaging - Michael Stuart of Fluke discusses how thermal imagers, which use heat to create an image, can assist in electrical maintenance and trouble shoot electrical systems including fuses, motor control centers (MCC), and transformers.

NFPA and Its Implications on Thermographic Inspections - Martin Robinson and Tim Rohrer of IRISS discuss the standards of NFPA and "their implications on thermographers and electrical preventitve maintenance programs".

IR Windows and PPE - Relevant Outtakes from NFPA 70E, 2009 - Martin Robinson and Tim Rohrer of IRISS discuss PPE and whether it is required when using (IR) infrared windows.

Important Information Before Buying A Videoscope - Warren Tessari of Maverick Inspection Ltd discusses important details to consider before buying a videoscope.

Manhole Inspections: Existing Challenges and New Technologies - Eric Sullivan of Atlas Inspection Technologies discusses the importance of inspecting, maintaining, and rehabilitation of manholes. Reprinted from NASSCO Times May 2009 issue.

We have the applications knowledge, the right equipment, and the best value!

Count on Atlas Inspection Technologies for inspection camera device knowledge and field service inspection expertise. We pair the right equipment for your inspection application requirements with the best support in the industry. Setting the standard in remote visual inspection equipment products and services including rentals, sales, repairs and field inspection services. Atlas Inspection Technologies fulfills the on-demand needs for all levels of technology and is backed by a team of RVI specialists located in offices in North America and Europe. When performance and value count, choose Atlas Inspection Technologies to deliver.

Whether you spell your RVI solution borescope, boroscope, or borascope, sewer camera or pipe camera, video-scopes, videoscope, or video probe whether you're looking for rigid borescopes, flexible fiberscopes, videoscopes, pipe cameras including push cameras, pipe line robotic crawlers, PTZs, XRF analyzers for Positive Materials Identification (PMI), infrared cameras or infrared windows. you'll find the right RVI ROI with Atlas Inspection Technologies.