The reference desk for defensible thermography.
Field-tested guides, downloadable references, and plain-answer explanations of the standards behind infrared inspection and condition monitoring. Built for facility owners, thermographers, attorneys, and anyone who needs the reasoning, not just the reading.
Download library.
Reference sheets, checklists, standards summaries, and full field-application guides you can keep on the truck or hand to a client. Free to download and share.
NFPA 70B Inspection Interval Quick Reference
A one-page summary of infrared inspection frequency and documentation expectations under the current NFPA 70B standard.
Download ↓Tmaxcorr Load-Correction Cheat Sheet
The §11.6 load-corrected temperature method on one printable page, with the formula, rated-rise table, and a worked example.
Download ↓Electrical IR Survey Prep Checklist
What a facility should have ready before an electrical infrared survey: access, load conditions, PPE, and arc-flash considerations.
Download ↓Emissivity & Reflected Temperature Field Guide
Common material emissivity values and a short procedure for setting reflected apparent temperature correctly in the field.
Download ↓Building Envelope & Roof Moisture Primer
How trapped moisture and insulation defects present in thermal imagery, and what conditions make a survey reliable.
Download ↓Condition-Monitoring Program Starter Kit
A framework for standing up a defensible IR condition-monitoring program: scope, intervals, severity criteria, and reporting.
Download ↓Rotating & Mechanical Equipment Field Application
Catching bearing, motor, gearbox, and coupling faults on running equipment before they fail: the method, a reading guide, and thermal field examples.
Download ↓Moisture Intrusion Field Application
A full thermal workflow for tracing water intrusion behind finished surfaces and roofs: mechanisms, reading guide, false positives, and field examples.
Download ↓Building Insulation Field Application
Reading insulation levels, thermal bridging, and air leakage behind finished walls without opening them, with the delta-T conditions that make it reliable.
Download ↓Field notes & explainers.
Short, practical pieces on the questions that come up most often in inspection, condition monitoring, and expert-witness work.
What NFPA 70B actually requires of an IR program
The difference between running infrared scans and running a program the standard would recognize as compliant.
Read the article →Why a hot spot alone is not a finding
Load, emissivity, and reflected temperature all sit between the image and a defensible severity call. Here is how they connect.
Read the article →What makes a thermography report hold up in court
The chain from image to method to written standard, and the documentation gaps that most often break it under cross-examination.
Read the article →Frequently asked questions.
Plain answers to the questions clients and thermographers ask most. If yours isn't here, reach out directly.
What is infrared thermography and what can it actually detect?
Infrared thermography uses a thermal imaging camera to measure the surface temperature of equipment and structures without contact. Because most developing faults, whether a loose electrical connection, an overloaded circuit, a failing bearing, or trapped moisture in a roof, show up as a temperature anomaly before they fail, a properly conducted survey can flag problems while they are still repairable on a planned basis rather than an emergency one.
What it does not do is diagnose by itself. A thermal image is data; turning it into a defensible finding requires accounting for load, emissivity, reflected temperature, and the applicable standard.
What standards do inspections and reports follow?
Electrical and mechanical inspections are documented against NFPA 70B for maintenance intervals and expectations, and ASTM E1934 for the examination method. Instrument performance references ASTM E1213, and certification follows the Infraspection Institute Level I / II / III framework. Reports are written so the reasoning behind each finding is traceable back to those standards.
How often should electrical equipment be inspected?
Interval depends on criticality, load, environment, and history, which is exactly what NFPA 70B addresses. Annual infrared surveys are common for general facility electrical distribution, with more frequent intervals for critical or heavily loaded equipment and longer intervals for low-risk assets. The right answer for a given site comes from its risk profile, not a single blanket number.
Why does load matter when reading a thermal image?
A component measured at partial load will read cooler than it would at full nameplate load, so a raw temperature can understate a real problem. The load-corrected maximum method (Infraspection §11.6) scales the expected temperature rise by the square of the load ratio, giving a corrected maximum you can compare the measurement against. You can run that calculation yourself with the Tmaxcorr tool on the home page.
Do you provide expert witness testimony?
Yes. Look Management Group provides case review, report analysis, deposition, and trial testimony on matters involving infrared thermography, thermal image interpretation, inspection methodology, and predictive maintenance practice. Engagements begin with a conflict check and a scoping conversation. See the services section for detail.
Are these downloadable resources free to use and share?
Yes. The reference sheets and guides in the download library are free to download, print, and share with colleagues and clients. They are educational references, not a substitute for a certified inspection or a project-specific engineering judgment.
Have a question these don't answer?
Whether it's a standards question, a report you want a second read on, or a resource you'd like to see added here, reach out directly.