How Weyerhaeuser’s Infrared Thermography Saved $30,000 and Boosted Reliability

If you can use a digital camera, you can learn to operate the Fluke Ti30 thermal imager. While the images from the Ti30 may not make it into the family photo album, they can save a business thousands of dollars when integrated into a preventive maintenance program. Dave Feniak at Weyerhaeuser’s Drayton Valley, Alberta, location—one of the world’s largest integrated forest products companies—illustrates this point.

Feniak, the sawmill’s electrical maintenance supervisor, purchased the imager and, after basic training, discovered a serious issue on the plant floor.

"We have been conducting infrared scans on a six‑to‑nine‑month basis since 1992 and usually find few problems. I spotted a hot spot in the far distance while inspecting bearings in the planer mill," Feniak recalls.

The Ti30’s built‑in laser pointer guided him to a heat source 150 feet from the trim‑saw motor. When he approached, the motor windings were at 90 °C (194 °F). Amp‑checks revealed a severe phase imbalance. Because it was a Thursday, the spare motor was installed the next morning during the maintenance shift—avoiding downtime and saving the company an estimated $30,000 in lost production plus repair costs.

Weyerhaeuser’s $14,000 investment in the Ti30 paid for itself almost immediately and has helped legitimize the company’s preventive maintenance efforts.

"Our electrical department is just starting to build a predictive maintenance program," says Feniak. While the company relies on an outside contractor for routine infrared scans, the Ti30’s single‑spot temperature gun offers limited diagnostics. The full imager, however, allows rapid, detailed problem identification.

"Using the Ti30, we can quickly see the extent of issues," Feniak notes. "Our sawmill is under constant pressure to run faster, so we target increased reliability. This tool has already highlighted problems early—enabling us to add oil to a gear reducer or replace a fan before failure escalates."

These proactive measures give Weyerhaeuser the time needed to schedule and perform repairs before equipment fails, avoiding major breakdowns and costly downtime.

Research supports the benefits of planned maintenance: a planned repair job typically takes only half as long as an unplanned one. In Plant Engineer’s Handbook, Keith Mobley lists the following advantages of preventive maintenance:

• Maintenance costs down 50%
• Unexpected failures reduced by 55%
• Repair and overhaul time down 60%
• Spare parts inventory reduced by 30%
• Mean time between failures (MTBF) up 30%
• Uptime up 30%

For a typical manufacturing plant, a 10% cut in maintenance costs has the same bottom‑line impact as a 40% increase in sales.

The Fluke Ti30 employs infrared thermography—detecting infrared electromagnetic energy emitted by an object and converting it into a color image for instant viewing. The image can also be stored for later analysis.

According to Fluke Electronics Canada sales representative Ken Reeves, the unit’s software lets users take area measurements and print annotated reports—valuable documentation for insurance underwriters.

"Including a thermography study in your preventive maintenance report provides proof of issue resolution and keeps insurance coverage intact," Reeves explains. "A clear record of repairs helps the underwriter cover downtime expenses without hesitation."

Reeves recommends taking advantage of the two‑day training that accompanies the unit. The course covers technical nuances such as conduction and thermal dynamics. Certified technicians can then train others on the plant.

"One mill employee completed training at Snell IR to master image analysis. Because the imager is intuitive, we’re now training in‑house to capture images efficiently," Feniak says.

As Feniak’s experience demonstrates, adding thermography to a preventive maintenance program can dramatically improve plant reliability and efficiency. He suggests testing a thermal imager by asking a Fluke representative for a demo and spending 20 minutes on site.

"Since 1992, a reputable contractor has scanned our site every nine months, and faults have continued to drop each year. Even so, the Ti30 revealed several warm spots we corrected before they became problems. Now we can scan more frequently—every item in the plant—rather than just the critical points on a nine‑month contractor schedule," Feniak notes.

For more information, visit www.fluke.com.

About the author:
Michael Stuart manages thermography products for Fluke Corporation and brings extensive experience in electrical testing and insulation resistance. michael.stuart@fluke.com or call 800‑760‑4523.