Where Your Pipe Dreams Come True

The tough decision comes up often in the Remote Visual Industry when a company makes final arrangements about surveying their application to inspect.  Should we rent inspection camera equipment? Or should we have Atlas Inspection Technologies perform an on-site inspection?  Each situation is different and that’s why we are here to help.  

Renting equipment such as a video scope, pipe camera, or drop down camera can sometimes feel awkward to say the least.  The benefits to renting equipment are: ease of use, cost, and customer service.  During your rental, we are available to speak with and walk you through the steps of using equipment and documenting your research.  Most rentals are self explanatory and very easy to use, following a few basic steps.  For some applications on-site inspections are more beneficial when the customer prefers an experienced technician, the application is challenging,  or requires using multiple pieces of inspection camera equipment or is time sensitive.

Recently, a customer was faced with just this type of decision and opted not to do his own inspection.  I was called out to inspect pvc pipelines in the greater Bellevue, WA area at a local condominium residence and I used a P374 intrinsically safe pipe camera.  For this application, verifying lengths of pvc pipe using a built in digital distance function on the push rod was required.  The information our applications assistants provided the customer helped them make the best and most cost effective decision for their project and the customer was able to relax while Atlas Inspection Technologies did the “heavy lifting”. 

Whether you need our inspection services or an equipment rental, we are glad to help and walk you through the process.  Call us 24/7 for applications assistace at 206.774.8704 or 800.281.0650 for more information, assistance in determining the right equipment for your application, or for more information about our inspection services.  You can also visit the Atlas website and review some of our inspection camera case studies.

We have all done this before -  you are working on your car and you drop a bolt!  You listen carefully as it bounces around and finally comes to rest, somewhere?  You start running the sounds through you head, metal, something soft, did it hit the ground?

In the power industry it can be much more severe.  When you are on a turbine deck and you have open lines and drop a part, the end result it much more expensive than at home.  Now you have to go and tell the boss that you dropped a part down a line but you have no idea how far down it went.  The big picture of this scenario is that the power plant cannot start up until you have found that loose part.  If the power plant were to start up prior to getting that part out, it could lead to catastrophic failure of one or more sections.  That could mean millions of dollars for the repair, loss of power plant production times, or you could end up on the unemployment line.  Well help as arrived!

 Atlas inspection technology has some fantastic technicians that can help you out of your situation.  We have over 10 years of individual experience in retrieving loose parts in many different scenarios.  We are on call 24/7 to help you retrieve that loose part.  For example we have retrieved hammers, flashlights, hard hats, tape measures, nuts bolts and washers.    Some of the jobs are easy and some can be very difficult and challenging.  We have a large array of equipment and specialty items to get the parts out. 

Preventative maintenance is a great idea as well.  We have done business with many power companies that have hired us to come on site prior to start up to run a camera down the steam lines, air intakes etc just to make sure it is all clear prior to start up.

Learn more: Rapid response loose part retrieval services.  Contact Atlas Inspection Technologies 24/7 at 206.774.8704 or 800.281.0650.  Email Atlas Inspection Technologies.

50 Degree FOV Infrared Lens at 18 Inches

 I recently worked with a large freight forwarding company that transports containers from port to port.  We had previously worked with this company to install IR Windows throughout the entire vessel.  They currently have some of their thermography done by a local thermographer but their engineers wanted to be able to periodically do some scans themselves. 

They originally bought a Flir i60 camera but they weren’t getting the image they wanted due to the size of the small IR window they have.  We discussed having a larger infrared window installed or using different lenses to be able to capture a wider field of view.  I showed them the T400 Flir camera that allows the user to interchange lenses and I used the new Flir 90 degree lens.

90 Degree FOV Infrared Lens at 18 Inches

 We took a few scans and the engineers were very satisfied with the images.  It made a world of difference and they were able to see everything they and wanted and MORE due to the wide angle of the lens.

Link to infrared inspection case study to read about an infrared inspection done at a large data center using the new Flir 90 degree FOV Lens with comparison images using 2 other  smaller FOV lenses.  

Brian Wilson through Flir 90 Degree FOV Lens at 4 Feet

I’m available at 206.774.8704 if you have questions about what kind of infrared lens will work best for your application, pricing or need other assistance.

Eric Sullivan of Atlas Inspection Technologies and Katie VandenBerg of Interactive Pipe Inspection will be jointly presenting a webinar on Tuesday March 2, 2010 from 10:00am unil 11:00am Pacific on Manhole Inspection Innovations (That Save Money).  I’ve seen the beta presentation of the webinar and if you are involved with manhole inspections in anyway you’ll find this one full of relevant and interesting information about the emerging technologies and how they are changing the way these inspections are starting to be done. I certainly didn’t realize that such a large percentage of the existing manholes were in the condition they are in, or that most are already at the top end of the typical life span for a manhole.   Katie and Eric have done several case studies of existing municipal manhole systems in the Northwest which they will present as part of the webinar as well.

To register for this webinar click on this link: Manhole Inspection Webinar. 

Eric has been a speaker at several pipe inspection conferences in the US and Canada and has been published several times as well.  He definitely understands the industry and what the needs and trends are.  He’s always looking for an edge on the ROI for users: better faster equipment, better reporting, lower costs, and more dependability.  Katie grew up in the industry and now has her own company.  If you saw her you’d think she was just too cute and too petite to be in such a tough guy business, but like Eric she knows the industry and she has developed a very loyal customer base that started in the local Tumwater WA area, but now includes customers as far away as Maui where they will be starting a large manhole inspection project shortly.

If you’d like to learn more about emerging technologies in the manhole inspection industry, or about Panoramo technology which does 3D imaging as it remotely moves through manholes and pipes, including  PACP reporting, or if you have questions you’d like to ask either of these presenters, this is the right venue. More questions?  Call Atlas Inspection Technologies at 206.774.8704.

See you there

Thinking you might need a fiberscope rental but not sure what a fiberscope is or how to use it? Do you have questions about the difference between a rigid borescope and a fiberscope and videoscope?  Watch our short video introduction What is a fiberscope on the Atlas Inspection Technologies website and find out the answer to these and several other questions you may have. Darren Billings, President of Atlas Inspection Technologies makes seeing and understanding this topic easy to follow.  See what components make up a fiberscope and learn basic terminology, care and use in less than 3 minutes.

Whether you call it a fiberscope, fiber scope, flexible borescope, bore scope, or boroscope, Atlas’ application assistants can help you sort through your application needs and help you determine what is the right kind of remote visual inspection equipment for you. 800.281.0650 or 206.774.8704. info@atlas-inspection.com www.atlas-inspection.com

We’ve lowered rental pricing on our infrared camera rentals. IR camera rentals now start at $175/day.  We’ve also added FLIR i-Series and T-series cameras to our rental inventory, both of which now save images in .jpg format; no more software required for simply transferring and viewing images on your computer!  The T-Series also has on board video recording, which is great when still image capture just isn’t enough.  Give us a call to discuss your application and set your rental up today!  800.281.0650 or 206.774.8704

Have you ever wondered exactly what is a videoscope or what the main parts are and what they do?  Not sure about a videoscope’s basic care and use? Atlas Inspection Technologies has developed a short video that answers the basic questions about videoscopes for those who find themselves needing a quick tutorial before moving forward on a decision to rent a videoscope, or are trying to decide if they need to buy a videoscope for a specfic application. Darren Billings does a terrific job of explaining this subject in simple and easy to understand terminology and clean visuals. If you have about three minutes to spend, roll down to the bottom of our videoscope rentals page and watch the video.  You’ll come a way with a good basic understanding on this topic. 

In addition to the What is a Videoscope video introduction at the bottom of the rent a videoscope page of our website there are several short videos of inspections from the camera’s eye that were done with a videoscope including inspection of exchanger tubes, a gas turbine inspection, a video inspection of a diesel engine plus a couple of others; all short and all interesting.

As a side note for newbies, the terms borescope, boro scope, boroscope, video scope, videoprobe,  and video probe are all interchangeable with the term videoscope much like the terms auto, automobile, and car all mean the same thing.

If you still have questions about videoscopes that aren’t answered in this basic introduction, give Atlas a call at 206.774.8704 or 800.281.0650.  Our applications assistants will  be able to help you out and assist you in determining if a videoscope is the correct tool for what you need to do.  Enjoy!

Recently we were called in by a fire sprinkler inspection company to do a remote visual inspection of an apartment complex’s standpipes -  the fire department’s outside hook up.  The complex included 15 buildings each with its own standpipe and check valve and each needed to be inspected visually in some way other than having the fire sprinkler inspection company dig up the pipes to get the visuals needed.  We used a 7/8” push camera and a 6mm IT concepts videoscope to cover the distance needed for the inspection.  We were able to easily and clearly capture the visuals that the customer needed of each pipeline and/or check valve and the entire project took only about 4 hours for myself and Eric Sullivan, another Atlas Inspection Technologies inspector, to do all 15 buildings. I have a background in this industry and I can tell you that this was definitely a much superior way to get the visuals needed.

At the end of the inspection we provided the fire sprinkler inspection company with a concise full report that showed images captured in still form via email and DVD formats, as well as video capture where needed. The customer was very pleased and was able to see that they had the visuals they needed for the property owner and fire department.

Just last week I was in a meeting with another fire sprinkler company that was interested in what we had to offer and I was explaining to them about the inspection we just did. He said he wished he would have known about us a couple of weeks before because they had a similar inspection where they had to spend multiple days and multiple workers  digging up and inspecting a customer’s standpipes and check valves for blockage.  Their job took them a couple days. We could have handled it in couple hours which would have saved their customer quite a bit of money and time. We’ve got that fire sprinkler inspection company’s  business for the future.

If you’re needing standpipe, interior check valve inspection or if your insurance company has approved a dry pipe inspection, Atlas Inspection Technologies has the superior inspection solution .  Call us at 800.281.0650, 206.774.8704 , visit our website, or email Atlas at info@atlas-inspection.com  for more information or a quote. 

Subscribers to the monthly industry magazine Municipal Sewer & Water will notice in the January 2010 issue an article

Eric Sullivan Operating Panoramo SI

titled “Down the Tube,” which discusses the benefits of the Panoramo SI 3D optical manhole scanner.  This should be required reading for all collections system personnel and sewer contractors as this camera is revolutionizing efficient and complete manhole inspection all over the world.  The article explains the technology and how it is used.  Important information about software integration and MACP reporting is also mentioned.

Hi, I’m Brian Wilson. I am the new Business Development Manager for Industrial Accounts at Atlas Inspection Technologies. Atlas is a great company with a fantastic business model.  You can buy, rent, get your repairs done on your remote visual inspection equipment, or hire Atlas to do your inspections.  Our extensive line of equipment and top notch technical experts can fill just about any need.

I have been in industrial sales for eight plus years working in the Pacific Northwest.  Previously I was with one of the world’s largest manufacturer of videoscopes, and borescopes.  I have had the opportunity to work with and build relationships with many different types of customers, from Fortune 500 companies, to military bases, to different Government entities, to small local business built from the ground up.  I have assisted or been a part of many different RVI applications and love the fact that every application is different and different obstacles can come up where are tools resolve the problem. I pride myself in understanding what it is the customer needs and applying this to our product offering.  I know Atlas Inspection Technologies has a great product line and services that no other company can offer and I am proud to be a part of the team. I hope I can help you in your Remote Visual Inspection questions and needs.

I am looking forward to my new adventure with Atlas Inspection Technologies and I am looking forward to working with you.  You can reach me at the Seattle main number at 800.281.0651, or you can call me on my cellular 206-913-3674. My email address is brian.wilson@atlas-inspection.com.  If your need involves a borescope, fiberscope, videoscope, push camera or pipe crawler, XRF analyzer, thermal camera, or infrared window, Atlas Inspection Technologies is the place call – we’ll take care of you - I will take care or you!