Should forklift battery charging areas be included in an electrical thermography survey?

Yes. Forklift and other materials handling battery chargers draw heavy current for hours, and their supply boards, isolators, charger terminals and cables can all be imaged live like any other equipment. The one condition is timing: the survey has to happen while trucks are actually on charge, which on many sites means a shift change or an evening visit.

Why charging areas get missed

Charging areas often sit in a separate bay or room, and the chargers are frequently supplied and maintained by the fleet provider, so they fall between two scopes. The site’s own distribution board, isolators and cabling that feed the chargers are still part of the building’s installation, and they carry a large, steady load for long periods. If the survey scope stops at the main switchboard and the production or warehouse boards, the charging supply can go years without being imaged.

What gets imaged

The distribution board or panel feeding the charging area, including its incoming terminations.
Isolators and switched fused connection units for each charger.
Charger supply cables and their terminations, where covers can safely be opened.
Charger output leads and connectors in view, without unplugging anything.

Whether the charger’s own internals are opened is agreed with the site and the fleet provider beforehand. Where they are not, the report says so.

Timing matters more than anywhere else on site

A connection only shows heat when current flows through it. A charger with no truck connected, or one at the end of its charge, draws little or nothing. Charge current is usually highest soon after a truck goes on charge, so the visit is timed for when the shift’s trucks have just been plugged in. The report records which chargers were charging at the time of each reading, and lists any that were idle so they can be picked up later. See what load a survey needs.

Working in a charging area

Charging areas have their own site rules for access, ventilation and PPE, and the thermographer follows them. As with any board, covers are opened by the site’s authorised person and nothing is switched off. Imaging is done from a safe distance, one panel at a time, with the charging area working normally. See who opens the panels.

How it fits the rest of the survey

In a distribution centre, the charging supply is one part of a wider survey: main switchgear, distribution, conveyor and sortation panels, dock equipment and lighting boards. Our team surveys sites for a national distribution and logistics network, and charging areas are on the list wherever they exist. See surveying a 24/7 distribution centre and EV charger and battery storage supplies.

The same rule applies everywhere we work: image under real load and record it. 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.

Frequently asked questions

Do the trucks need to be taken off charge for the survey?

No. The survey needs them on charge, because that is when the supply and connections carry current.

Who is responsible for the chargers themselves?

Often the fleet provider. The building’s supply to the chargers is usually the site’s. The survey can cover both if the scope is agreed.

Can the charging area be surveyed on the same day as the rest of the site?

Yes. We plan the route so the charging area is reached when trucks have just gone on charge.