Flir and Condoit help Blackmon transform electrical inspection

US-BASED Blackmon Power has cut reporting times from 8-12 hours to less than five minutes by combining its existing fleet of Flir cameras with the new Flir i65 and the Condoit electrical data app. The improvement was made possible following a new partnership between Flir and Condoit.

Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Blackmon specialises in providing independent third-party electrical testing, arc flash studies, and commissioning support for industrial, commercial, and mission-critical electrical distribution systems. 

Replacing time-consuming workflows

The company’s technicians previously spent days manually transferring data from SD cards, entering notes in spreadsheets, and generating reports back at the office. "The biggest time constraint was always back-end reporting," said Tyler Grant, project manager for electrical testing, project engineering, and construction safety at Blackmon Power. "We knew that a more functionally advanced thermal camera and electrical data app would help save time and money, both for ourselves and our customers."

A report for a small 10-15 component study would normally take around two hours, while a 250-300 component study report could require 8-12 hours. "For some jobs, reporting might consume 30% of the total time needed, which is a big hit to our bottom line," he continued. "The Flir i65 and Condoit app was a great opportunity to make our workflow a lot easier."

The Flir i65, part of the new iXX-Series, combines infrared thermal imaging with smartphone functionality, while the Condoit all-in-one app is a digital platform that provides customer visibility, automatic single-line creation, and NFPA 70B-aligned maintenance.

Streamlining asset management at data centres

Blackmon Power piloted the Flir + Condoit platform at T5 Data Centers’ new Kings Mountain Data Center Campus. A Blackmon Power technician scanned electrical distribution assets at the facility with the i65, capturing temperature anomalies that might indicate loose connections or damaged/deficient equipment. Each IR scan takes 15-20 seconds. Any anomalies prompt further investigation with a Flir multimeter which, depending on the model, can transfer data to the i65. 

Direct cloud integration on the i65 supports the immediate uploading, organisation, and sharing of data, as well as seamless reporting and analysis. Reporting demands up to 50% of a technician’s time using traditional workflows, but this percentage drops to near zero with connected workflows.

Real-time collaboration

The Condoit integration wirelessly connects with most Flir cameras to deliver electrical thermography that is twice as fast as traditional methods. There is no longer any need to pull images one by one from SD cards and manually organise data in spreadsheets or local Flir software. All data automatically syncs to the cloud, enabling real-time collaboration between field teams and office staff.

"Using the Flir i65 and Condoit app as our new workflow platform is a total gamechanger," Grant stated. "I've been doing this job for 10-15 years and it’s never been this easy. In particular, the platform moves reporting from the office to the field. Once the data and images are gathered on site, we can generate a report within five minutes. Once synchronised to the cloud, I can run the report and send it to the customer immediately. That whole process would previously take us 8-12 hours for a large job."

Rather than sending a PDF report to the customer, the Condoit app also provides Blackmon clients with an online portal. Customers can track their electrical system health in a single place, all managed by Blackmon Power. Easier and broader access to data enhances the way customers manage systemic and infrared risks across their property portfolios.

"With the Flir i65 and Condoit app, our workflow is 100 times better than previously," said Grant. "Just from using it at T5, I can already tell it's going to help us move forward substantially. It will also reduce errors in the field. Previously I would often have to call our field technicians to check on missing data or potential errors. Now, field technicians can input data in real-time, reducing errors to a bare minimum."

Closing the skills gap

With inspection teams facing a shortage of skilled thermographers, the i65 helps bridge the gap. Its intuitive, app-guided workflows make it easier for less experienced technicians to perform expert-level inspections and accurately assess asset condition. Additionally, the Condoit and i65 solution will help Blackmon capture baseline data, if required by the customer.

"We would normally only collect non-problematic data upon the customer’s request, otherwise it's too expensive, sometimes doubling even tripling costs for the client," explained Grant. "However, the ease of data gathering using the i65 and Condoit app platform allows us to collect baseline data and generate pictures for all electrical components on site and not have to worry about the cost to customers like T5."

Providing transparency through customer portals, reducing errors, and simplifying reporting, Grant affirms the Flir i65 and Condoit platform are "going to change our business for years to come".

For more information: 

www.flir.com

Tel: +44 (0)1732 220 011