Can an electrical thermography survey be carried out at a prison or other secure site?

Yes. The electrical survey itself is the same as anywhere else: boards and switchgear imaged live, on normal load, with panels opened by the site’s authorised electrician. What changes is the planning. Vetting, escorts, approval for the thermal camera and how images leave the site all need agreeing weeks before the visit, not on the day.

This applies to prisons and young offender institutions, courts, secure hospitals and other sites where staff and visitors are controlled. These buildings run 24 hours a day, and many of the boards sit in areas that can only be reached with an escort.

Start with clearance and the camera

Vetting. Ask the site or its FM provider what clearance the thermographer needs and how long it takes. Allow for that in the programme.
The camera. A thermal camera is a camera. Most secure sites need it approved in advance, listed by make and serial number, along with phones, laptops and tools.
Image release. Agree who checks the images before they leave site and whether anything must be cropped, such as doors, locks, keys or fences. Electrical images rarely show anything sensitive, but the site decides.
Tool control. Expect every item to be counted in and out.

Plan the route with the regime

Escort time, not imaging time, usually sets the length of the day. Send the thermographer the board schedule in advance and group boards by area, so each escort covers a full block. Agree which areas can be reached during movement times, lock-downs or visits, and which need to wait. Plant rooms and the main switch room are often reachable outside the core regime (see how long a survey takes).

What the scope should include

Intake, LV main switchboard and generator changeover panels.
Distribution boards for wings, kitchens, laundries, workshops and healthcare areas.
Security systems supplies: gate and door control, CCTV, lighting and perimeter boards.
Mechanical plant panels: boilers, pumps, ventilation and chillers.
Fire alarm and life safety supplies, opened only where the site permits.

Any board that cannot be reached or opened on the day is listed in the report as not imaged, with the reason, so it can be picked up later.

Load and timing

A secure site’s load follows its daily routine. Kitchens and laundries peak at set times, and lighting and heating load changes between day and night. Where possible, kitchen and laundry boards are imaged while they are working. The report records the load or running state for each board, so next year’s survey can be compared fairly (see comparing results year on year).

What the report gives you

A report that locates each finding by board, circuit and phase, with a thermal and visual image pair, the measured temperature, where it was taken and the difference in °C from the matching reference. We deliver reports the same day; on a secure site that can move to after the site’s own image check. Ti inspects and reports. The site’s maintenance contractor investigates any finding with the equipment isolated.

Why it is worth the planning

Live surveys find what visual checks miss. On a London data centre build, commissioning thermography by our team found 16 busbar sections reading above 80 °C under test load, the highest 103.5 °C at a tap-off unit. Different building, same reason: connections only show their condition when they carry current (see busbar thermography at commissioning).

Frequently asked questions

Does power have to be switched off?

No. Thermography needs equipment energised and on load, so the site keeps running throughout.

Can the survey be done at night?

Plant rooms sometimes can, but night load is usually lower. Daytime, with kitchens and laundries working, gives the more useful picture.

Who arranges escorts and vetting?

Normally the site or its FM provider. We send the details they need early so clearance is in place before the survey date (see thermography in an FM PPM contract).