Chimney inspections

After the design, manufacturing and installation of the free standing chimney, it is necessary to have the chimney inspected every two years. Regular inspection provides insight on the overall mechanical state of the chimney over time. Thorough analyses of inspection data vs original design data allows for an advise on maintenance, lifetime or in some cases even inevitable replacement. The inspection contributes to site safety and process continuity.

The inspection is carried out by our experienced employees and can be realized in various ways. It is usual to first perform a visual inspection, accompanied by a wall thickness measurement. The results of the wall thickness measurement are processed in the original chimney calculation by converting the old data to the current situation. This allows us to check whether the current situation is still safe, and whether the chimney needs to be replaced. The outcome of this analysis is reported and incorporated into appropriate advice.

New inspections
A new form of chimney inspections has risen with the arrival of drones. These drones are specially made for flying inside a chimney in order to be able to take pictures and to carry out thickness measurements at various height levels. This brings many advantages, among other things; the fact that you no longer need a crane, scaffolding or man box for the inspection.
Drones can be used for an inspection as soon as the chimney has a diameter of at least 600mm.

Particularities
Since the 1st of July 2020, it is no longer allowed to perform work in work cages that are lifted by cranes without propper documentation, reason and planning. The use of a work platform or work cage on a crane is only possible in very exceptional cases and requires a lot of extra preparation in the form of a work plan, which has been assessed by a safety expert.  Keep this in mind if it is not possible to carry out the inspection with an aerial platform or scaffolding.