THERMOGRAPHY FUNDAMENTALS — INSTRUCTOR EDITION

Industrial Infrared Training and Course Support Manual

Shepherd Manuals

Turn Thermography Fundamentals into a structured industrial training program with the Instructor Edition from Shepherd Manuals.

Designed for technical instructors, maintenance trainers, supervisors, reliability professionals, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and company training departments, this edition provides the instructional support needed to teach the fundamentals of industrial infrared thermography in a clear, practical, and organized manner.

The Instructor Edition goes beyond the student manual by helping the instructor teach the concepts, explain thermal patterns, reinforce safe inspection practices, evaluate student understanding, and connect classroom instruction to real industrial applications.

BUILT FOR THE INSTRUCTOR

Thermography involves much more than operating an infrared camera. Students must learn how heat moves, why thermal patterns develop, how operating conditions affect temperature, and how misleading readings can occur.

The Instructor Edition helps the trainer guide students through these principles while continually connecting the material to industrial maintenance and reliability.

Training emphasizes a core Shepherd Manuals principle:

Knowledge Before Assumption.

Students are taught to gather information, understand operating conditions, compare equipment correctly, recognize limitations, and use thermal information as one part of a sound troubleshooting and reliability process.

INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT MATERIAL

The Instructor Edition is designed to support structured teaching with resources such as:

• Instructor lesson plans and teaching guidance
• Suggested course organization
• Teaching notes and discussion points
• Student learning objectives
• Thermal image interpretation exercises
• Practical industrial examples
• Electrical thermography applications
• Motors and rotating equipment applications
• Bearings and mechanical equipment
• Pumps, piping, valves, and process equipment
• Heat-transfer teaching material
• Emissivity and reflected-energy instruction
• Camera-use fundamentals
• Inspection planning
• Safe inspection practices
• Review and discussion questions
• Student exercises and worksheets
• Knowledge assessments
• Examination support
• Instructor answer keys
• Field inspection guidance
• Training and reliability checklists

TEACH • TRAIN • EVALUATE • APPLY

TEACH

Explain the principles behind infrared thermography and thermal imaging.

TRAIN

Use structured lessons, examples, exercises, and discussions to develop practical understanding.

EVALUATE

Measure student comprehension through review questions, exercises, and assessments.

APPLY

Connect thermography principles to real industrial electrical, mechanical, and process equipment.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE

Electrical Systems

Help students recognize abnormal thermal patterns associated with connections, conductors, breakers, terminals, components, and electrical distribution equipment.

Mechanical Equipment

Explore infrared applications involving motors, bearings, couplings, drives, and other rotating machinery.

Process Equipment

Introduce thermal inspection of piping, valves, pumps, tanks, process systems, and related equipment.

Reliability and Troubleshooting

Teach students to combine thermal information with equipment history, operating load, visual inspection, electrical measurements, vibration information, and other available evidence before making maintenance decisions.

IDEAL FOR

• Industrial training departments
• Maintenance instructors
• Reliability instructors
• Corporate technical trainers
• Community colleges
• Technical colleges
• Apprenticeship programs
• Maintenance supervisors
• Electrical instructors
• Mechanical instructors
• Predictive maintenance programs
• Reliability departments
• Workforce-development programs

A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

The objective is not merely to teach students how to obtain a colorful thermal image.

The objective is to develop technicians who understand what they are seeing, why they are seeing it, what additional information they need, and what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from the evidence.

That approach supports better troubleshooting, safer inspections, more effective maintenance, and stronger equipment reliability.

IMPORTANT TRAINING NOTICE

Thermography Fundamentals — Instructor Edition is an educational and industrial training resource.

It is not a Level I, Level II, or Level III thermography certification program, and completion of training using this material should not be represented as certification from a recognized thermography certification organization.

Instructors and students must follow all applicable workplace safety procedures, electrical safety requirements, lockout/tagout procedures, arc-flash requirements, equipment manufacturer instructions, company policies, and applicable regulations.

SHEPHERD MANUALS

Technical Knowledge. Practical Solutions.

Reliability • Safety • Performance

By Keith B. Shepherd