Where Your Pipe Dreams Come True

If you are in the market for a nice used inspection vehicle, click  Used Ford Sprinter Inspection Truck to view more information, pictures and pricing on one that has recently become available. 

This is a 2007 diesel model with 44,000 miles.  It has recently been serviced and comes with an Envirosight Rovver 125 crawler, RC 90 PTZ camera, large diameter kit, RA 200 cable drum and IPEK Rovver controller. 

Call Atlas Inspection Technologies at 800.281.0650 or 206.774.8704 for more information or to make an offer.

Atlas also carries used borescopes, fiberscopes, videoscopes, push cameras, pipe crawlers, infrared cameras, and inspection equipment accessories.

Atlas Inspection Technologies has now added DayCor corona cameras to its rental pool.  Available by the day, week, month or extended contract, these corona emission detectors work in any weather conditions and are designed to operate during the day in any light conditions. These cameras have Bi-spectral detection, very clear high resolution images and video, on board compact flash storage, reporting software, corona count, precise locating, one touch functions, ergonomic design, etc.  Has all the features you need and more you’d just like to have for accurate detection and location of corona discharge and arcing events  A great PdM tool to find these sources which may also cause interference on radio and TV channels as well as failures in mechanical and electrical assets.

Atlas’ Applications specialists are available 24/7  at 800.281.0650 and 206.774.8704 to assist you in getting corona cameras and other remote visual inspection equipment where and when you need them.  If you are looking for professional qualified and experienced inspectors to conduct your corona inspections you’ve still come to the right place.  Call us today!

Click corona cameras for rent to read more about these UV emission detection cameras

It’s the end of my day, but I just love this video from a recent inspection done by Eric Sullivan so much that I decided to blog about it before I call it a day.  This particular video comes from an inspection of a hydro electric dam and shows a fish syphon.  The fish move down a pipe and then the syphon apparently moves them to the other side of the dam - a much easier way for fish to get from one side of the dam to the other.  I was so amazed at how absolutely clear the video is.  You can’t even tell that that most of this inspection is occuring underwater. Eric pans the Ibak pipe camera around the inside of the pipe once in a while so you can see water bubbles clinging to the top of the pipe so you can tell.  Amazing Clarity! But what I love about this video is at the the end - watch it here: Underwater Video Pipe Inspection.  Enjoy!

Contact Atlas Inspection Technologies for your video inspection needs.  We’re available 24/7.  Rapid Response Teams available for those unplanned emergencies as well: 800.281.0650.

 The situation with defective drywall continues to be intense as owners and buyers grapple with the implications.  Curt Harke, an Atlas Inspection Technologies BESI certified and experienced inspector for defective drywall, has commented that homes and other buildings in which it is found are losing up to and beyond half of their original value. In locations where there is a lot of real estate with defective drywall, especially in the warmer areas of the US with high humidity like Florida and Louisiana, homes and buildings that do not have it are selling at more of a premium.

By the way, Atlas Inspection Technologies doesn’t typically use the term Chinese Defective Drywall because there are several brands of US drywall that had been manufactured that were also defective.  One of the big three TV stations very recently did a piece in which they kept using the phrase “Chinese Defective Drywall”. With 37 brands of American drywall found to also be defective we aren’t free of responsibility. Even drywall recycling companies found their product contaminated. The term now being used for defective drywall is corrosive drywall and in order to be called corrosive drywall it has to off-gas and be corrosive.

The important thing is to accurately identify whether or not a building has it and then as the owner or buyer to decide what steps to take.  Some of the larger real estate companies in areas where there is a bigger problem with defective drywall, are requiring that an inspection is done to determine whether or not the home has defective drywall, BEFORE they agree to put it on the market. That means getting qualified and experienced inspectors to do the inspections is VERY IMPOIRTANT.  One woman who had a home inspected before she purchased it found out later that the inspector was wrong and it did have it. Another was told she had defective drywall, and a second inspection showed she did not.

If a home was built before 2001 and not remodeled later it should be safe from having defective drywall.  One of the most accurate and dependable ways to test for defective drywall is by using an XRF Analyzer which positively identifies all elements at their structural level.  It may be that this will be the way all defective drywall inspections are done eventually because of this level of accuracy - though XRF doesn’t permeate thin set. It’s a very dynamic situation so be sure to contact a company you can trust for both the inspection and the remediation processes.

Because the situation changes daily please be sure to contact the CPSC website for the most up to date information.

Atlas Inspection Technologies does qualified defective drywall inspections and uses XRF Analyzers and infrared cameras to accurately identify whether or not defective drywall is present.  Give us a call at 800.281.0650 or email us at info@atlas-inspection.com for more information, case studies, and images and information from past defective drywall inspections.

Here at Atlas Inspection Technologies, our expertise in remote visual inspection solutions involves us in many different industries and environments.  Not only do we make sure we are always on the leading edge of technology but also that we always lead in the inspection world in general. 

Recently I was a part of an inspection crew that saved one of our customers several thousands of dollars. While it’s always nice to know you can do what your customer has asked, being able to exceed their expectations is what sets us apart and why we have such a loyal and growing customer base for our field inspection services. 

This particular job was in the oil refining industry with a leading and innovative company.  They needed to have their FCC converter inspected in a way they had never done before. I knew we could accomplish what they needed with our Pan Tilt Zoom drop down cameras.  Before they discovered our experienced inspectors, past inspections of this converter required one of their employees to enter the confined space to get the visuals which made room for interpretation but also brought with it additional safety concerns.  Using our pan and tilt pipe camera we were able to gather high quality video imaging to capture multiple views to assist the facility in interpreting and make decisions as a whole.  This type of information is always very valuable to archive and review over the years and to use for comparisons to see if the condition of equipment has changed.

Shortly after we finished inspection of their FCC converter we were brought in to inspect their sister facility to perform a similar inspection.  The inspection at this facility went just as smooth.  We will be doing similar inspections again for these facilities in the future.

If your facility or power plant is looking for qualified, experienced, well trained, and dependable inspectors to inspect gas turbines, boiler tubes, sewer lines, rotating equipment etc., call Atlas at 800.281.0650 for more information or a quote.  Our state of the art equipment used for pipeline inspection includes push cameras and pipe crawlers, XRF analyzers for Positive Material Identification, videoscopes, and infrared cameras. info@atlas-inspection.com

The Houston, Texas office is now open! Atlas’ presence in the Gulf Coast area has grown significantly over the past few years, especially its pipeline sector.  Located at 11011 Brooklet, Suite 360, the new office gives our customers a local pick up and drop off point for inspection camera rentals, repairs, and sales, and a local dispatch point for Atlas’ field inspection services.  Atlas is known for its rapid response inspections and foreign object search and retrieval (FOSAR), so being this much closer to customers, especially those in the oil and gas industries, will be much appreciated.

Operations Manager Jason Acerbi and his wife Hasha, are busily unpacking their household goods and no doubt are looking forward to the warmer climate in Texas.  Jason has been with Atlas since 2009 and has 10 years experience as an inspector and as project manager throughout North America and the Caribbean.  Bob Arnold, VP of Operations for Atlas Inspection Technologies’ Gulf Coast Market, and the others are getting their offices in order and getting out the word that we’ve arrived.  Atlas Houston is a full service facility and has 24/7 Applications Assistance available.

Drop by and say hello to the team if you have a chance.  It’s a nice crew, and a very experienced crew, that we’ve sent down there.  You can call them directly at 713.493.7819 or 800.281.0650 or email them at info@atlas-inspection.com Thank you, Texas,  for your strong support of our company and for making Atlas Inspection Technologies Houston a reality.

A cruise line inspector called on a Friday near closing time recently with a critical problem.  A cruise ship was in port in Florida and scheduled to leave sometime Monday with a ship load of vacationing passengers. An inspection had been underway when their inspectors found something that required the use of an additional inspection camera - a videoscope in this case.  Their other videoscope was already in use and not available.  ”RO” called us hoping there would be some way to get a videoscope rental shipped out immediately and have it in Florida by Monday morning.  No worries we told him.  Our inspection equipment is alway pre-tested and ready for immediate shipment.  We had an 25′ 8mm videoscope shipped, delivered, and ready for him on Monday morning. The inspection was completed and the ship and passengers left on time.

That cruise line inspection company had some pretty kind things to say about us which you can read on our testimonials page. But for us, that’s just how we do business and why we’ve been developing such a strong reputation for being the ’Go To’ company for remote visual inspection solutions.  Check out our testimonials page: Atlas Inspection Technologies Testimonials,  Next time you need to rent, repair, or buy inspection camera equipment, call us: Atlas Inspection Technologies: 800.281.0650.

It’s almost time for this year’s 35th annual Southern California Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Trade Show.  It’s only one day: May, 1, 2010 at the Long Beach Convention Center and Atlas will be there (Booth #321).

Exhibits are open from 9am to 4pm.  This is the biggest trade show of its kind on this side of the Mississippi and is extremely well attended by attendees and exhibitors alike.

You can attend for free by registering on line at the following link: http://www.phccglaa.org/tradeshow/pages/registration .  If you wait until you arrive at the show the cost is $20.00.

Atlas Reps Curt Harke and Mike Myers from the California office will be there with several pieces of equipment for the plumbing and HVAC industry including the new Insight Vision Vutek push camera.  If you know anyone with one, you’ll understand why these are selling so quickly. Insight has improved the design in several ways and now advertises that it has the best picture clarity in the industry!  Read More about: VuTek by Insight Vision.

In addition there will be a RapidView IBAK robotic crawler which always gets lots of attention, a Pearpoint 330 pushrod camera and other accessories and equipment.

If you have questions about any of the equipment, would like a brochure or to arrange for an on-line or on-site demo give us a call at 800.281.0650. It will be a great show.  See you there!

I was part of a team that recently completed a video inspection of an oil and gas refinery. Tasked to inspect external pleneum, we used IBAK Orpheus cameras to drop down each of the dip legs to inspect for both known damage from blow outs and any other damage that might exist but had not yet been documented.  This was a planned shutdown, and because refinery assets are so expensive and heavily relied upon the timing, efficiency, and accuracy of our pipeline inspections are crucial. To miss finding damage such as a plugged or damaged cyclone or converter could mean a blow out or other damage to the plant’s infrastructure and an unplanned shut down of the refinery as well as millions of dollars in lost revenue in a very short period of time.
These were confined space inspections and we often had as little as 30” to work in. The job was expected to take three days with two teams working continuously around the clock. We were able to complete the project a half a day early with just one three man team needed to work 12 hours shifts due to the experience of our inspectors and the level of technology that we have to work with.   The refinery was pleased with the early completion, the quality of the inspections and documentation we provided them. 
Atlas Inspection Technologies is now on its way to inspect a converter at another large oil refinery due to a recent blow out – an emergency shutdown.  We have a great reputation in the oil and gas business for providing exceptional service, arriving when and where needed, staying on or ahead of schedule and on or under budget;  that reputation keeps Atlas sought after for video inspections including those for oil and gas refinery inspections.

Whether your refinery uses risk based (RBI) or time based inspection protocols contact Atlas Inspection Technologies to learn more about Atlas’ Inspection Services or to request an Inspection RFQ: 800.281.0650 or 206.774.8704.  Our applications assistants are available 24/7. www.atlas-inspection.com

I’ve been working with and demonstrating, remote visual inspection camera products and services to facilities for a number of years including videoscopes for boiler inspections, push cameras for larger diameter pipe inspections, and Infrared cameras for their thermal imagining.

What surprises me is that  IR Windows still seem to be a new concept to most hospitals.  99% of the hospitals I have been calling on and working with are familiar with most of the remote visual inspection (RVI) technology out there but when it comes to Infrared Windows, they do not know much about them but are intrigued by the possibilities.  All of them are using a thermographer or having their engineers use their own equipment to take scans of their panels to ensure there are not any issues.  They all know what a process this can be and that the effort that goes into scanning is a very important part of the hospital’s life line: POWER. 
I have found that once a hospital or other facility realizes what an IR Window is and what it can do for them, they have immediate interest.   The cost savings, the ability to scan asset critical panels more often, being compliant with NFPA 70E, and putting their employees in a safer environment are just a few of the reasons I am seeing the interest level in installing infrared windows increase.
If you are an engineer or a safety manager who has electrical panels that you would like to look at in a safer way, or faster, or for a better ROI on your energized electrical inspections, let me know.  I understand your needs and can show you our proven and cost effective solutions.  Our main number is 800.281.0650 or 206.774.8704.  You can also visit our website for information on arc flash hazard analysis, infrared windows sales, or our infrared thermography inspection services.