IRTCAT-I Infrared Thermography Training and Certification

This course will prepare you for life as an Infrared Thermographer. You will learn the fundamentals of infrared energy and the camera, and you will learn about the most common applications.

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Our IRTCAT-I ISO Category I course will set you up for success.

The good news is you are in the right place to get further information about our thermography category I training. Infrared Thermography is far more complex than most people realize. It is a classic case of people not knowing what they don’t know. Learn the Mobius way; through our unique animations and simulators. Our training will make all the complex science easy to understand – it will all become second nature.

Once you complete the training, you can take the exam with confidence, and become certified to ISO 18437-1 Category I via the internationally respected Mobius Institute Board of Certification [MIBoC]™. The MIBoC certification is accredited to ISO/IEC 17024 – there is no higher standard. You will join thousands of other Mobius™ certified analysts around the world.

FREE DEMO: See a preview of the IRTCAT-I course. Included is segments from our instructional videos and a chapter from our comprehensive IRTCAT-I manual. You can access the training demo with your student credentials or create a new account using this link – IRTCAT-I Course Demonstration Link.

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE HERE

 

IRTCAT-I Fast Facts

Duration:

  • 32 hours, typically over four days

Format:

  • Live public course

  • On-site course

  • Virtual live instructor-led online course

  • Self-paced distance learning online course

Compliance:

  • Training and certification: ISO 18436-7

  • Certification: ISO 18436-1, ISO/IEC 17024

  • Training: ISO 18436-3

Exam:

  • Two-hours

  • 50 multiple-choice questions

  • 75% passing grade

  • Can be taken online or in-person at the course

Certification requirements:

  • Training course completed

  • 12-months of work experience, verified by an independent person

  • Pass the exam

  • Pass the Ishihara color perception test

  • Valid for 5 years

Pre-study:

  • Access to the “Learning Zone” upon registration and payment

  • Complete set of videos covering every topic

  • An excellent way to be prepared and get the most from the course

Post-study:

  • Continue to access the Learning zone for 4-months after the course

  • Continue learning, without charge, on Mobius CONNECT® via www.mobiusconnect.com

Learn the Mobius Way

With the assistance of the Mobius Institute interactive simulations, 3D animations, and a wealth of case studies, you will not require a great memory to learn all the facts and concepts. As a result, you will understand the ‘science’ of infrared thermography. You will understand how the camera functions and learn about plant equipment’s mechanical and electrical failure modes so that you can accurately and confidently detect and diagnose a wide range of fault conditions. You will come away from the course with the knowledge and confidence to be successful as an infrared thermographer.

 

This course is intended for the thermographer who will:

  • Set up and operate thermal imaging equipment for safe thermographic data collection

  • Verify the calibration of thermographic measurement systems

  • Identify, prevent, minimize, and control poor data acquisition and error sources

  • Apply a specified thermographic measurement technique

  • Evaluate and report test results and highlight areas of concern

Learn More about IRTCAT-I Training and Certification

  • Why learn with Mobius Institute™?

    There are three major reasons why over 5,000 students choose Mobius Institute training every year:

    1. We make complex topics simple with amazing 3D animations and simulations that make you say, “Ah, now I get it!”
    2. We give you access to the entire course before the class begins so you are better prepared, and for four months after the course, just in case you still have questions
    3. We use anonymous, stress-free polling throughout the course, so you know if you truly understand each topic, and the instructor knows not to move on to the next topic – no student is left behind.
  • How can I take this course?

    We offer the ultimate flexibility:

    • PUBLIC: You can take the public, instructor-led course with other people like you. You can find a public course here.
    • VIRTUAL: You take the course from the comfort and safety of your computer, with an instructor guiding you through the course. You can find a virtual course here.
    • ON-SITE: You can invite the instructor to your site and save yourself the cost, hassle, and risk. You can find partners who can deliver the course here.
    • VIDEO: You can have the ultimate in safety and flexibility by watching a video of the course. You can watch it multiple times! You can place your order here.
  • IRTCAT-I Candidate profile

    This course is intended for the thermographer who will:

    • Set up and operate thermal imaging equipment for safe thermographic data collection
    • Verify the calibration of thermographic measurement systems
    • Identify, prevent, minimize, and control poor data acquisition and error sources
    • Apply a specified thermographic measurement technique
    • Evaluate and report test results and highlight areas of concern
  • IRTCAT-I fast facts

    Duration:

    • 32 hours, typically over four days

    Format:

    • Live public course
    • On-site course
    • Virtual live instructor-led online course
    • Self-paced distance learning online course

    Compliance:

    • Training and certification: ISO 18436-7
    • Certification: ISO 18436-1, ISO/IEC 17024
    • Training: ISO 18436-3

    Exam:

    • Two-hours
    • 50 multiple-choice questions
    • 75% passing grade
    • Can be taken online or in-person at the course

    Certification requirements:

    • Training course completed
    • 12-months of work experience, verified by an independent person
    • Pass the exam
    • Pass the Ishihara color perception test
    • Valid for 5 years

    Pre-study:

    • Access to the “Learning Zone” upon registration and payment
    • Complete set of videos covering every topic
    • An excellent way to be prepared and get the most from the course

    Post-study:

    • Continue to access the Learning Zone for 4-months after the course
    • Continue learning, without charge, on Mobius CONNECT® via www.mobiusconnect.com
  • What will you gain from taking this course?

    There are so many benefits to taking this course. You will learn…

    • Why do we perform condition monitoring
    • How to decide between reactive, preventive, condition-based, and proactive maintenance
    • Vibration Analysis, Ultrasound Analysis, Oil Analysis, Wear Particle Analysis, and Electric Motor Testing
    • All about heat vs. temperature and temperature scales
    • The laws of thermodynamics
    • How the thermal conductivity occurs in different materials
    • The difference between thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity
    • Real-life examples in conductive heat transfer
    • Convective heat transfer
    • How will wind affect the results you achieve
    • Radiant heat transfer
    • How your infrared camera works and all functionalities to perform inspections
    • How to acquire data and process images
    • “Thermal tuning”
    • How to determine the emissivity
    • How to identify and deal with reflections
    • How to acquire data and store images
    • The basic principles of diagnostics and prognostics
    • The relationship between CBM, diagnostics, and prognostics
    • The different thermal signatures of heat generation
    • The concept of “comparative temperature measurements”
    • How to distinguish between active and passive thermography
  • Why become certified by Mobius Institute Board of Certification?

    • You should be recognized for your achievements; not everyone is up to the challenge of understanding thermography, let alone successfully collecting data and utilizing it
    • Being certified by an accredited certification organization is a major step up from simply passing a test. Yes, the process is a little more complicated and stricter, but that is for very good reasons
    • The educational process is extremely valuable, but being certified tells an employer (or a consulting client) that you are capable of doing an important job

    You will receive a digitally encrypted certificate, an ID card, and a personalized logo that you should use in email signatures and elsewhere that you want people to know about your achievements.

  • IRTCAT-I training and certification requirements

    All you need is a desire to learn and to succeed in your field. In order to be certified you must:

    • Complete a MIBoC approved training course (click here for a list of approved courses).
    • Achieve 75% or higher on the certification exam (50 multiple choice questions, duration 2 hours).
    • Have twelve (12) months of practical work experience, verified by an independent person.

    Certification is valid for 5 years.

    If you do not have the experience, you will still receive a certificate, but you will not be officially certified. When you pass the 12-month milestone, please contact MIBoC to be upgraded to full certification.

  • A detailed list of training course topics

    Here are the main topics covered on the IRTCAT-I course:

    • Maintenance practices
      • Reactive, preventive, condition-based, proactive
      • How to decide between them
    • Condition monitoring
      • Why it works
      • Vibration, ultrasound, oil analysis, wear particle analysis, and electric motor testing
    • Principles of infrared thermography
      • Understanding the difference between heat energy and temperature
      • The laws of thermodynamics
      • Heat transfer modes – conduction, convection, and radiation
      • The thermal capacity of different materials
    • Thermal conduction
      • The fundamentals of conduction
      • Conductive heat transfer rate
      • Thermal conductivity of different materials
    • Thermal convection
      • The fundamentals of convection
      • Compensating for the “wind cooling effect”
    • Thermal radiation
      • The fundamentals of radiation
      • Emitted, reflected, and transmitted radiation
      • Radiation wavelengths and the electromagnetic spectrum
      • Emissivity and the Stefan-Boltzmann Law
      • Incident and exitant radiation
    • Equipment and data acquisition
      • Understanding the infrared camera
      • Lenses and lens materials
      • Capturing and controlling the image with temperature range, level, and span
      • Colour palette selection
      • Error source recognition, prevention, and control
      • Calibrating the thermal camera
      • Environmental and operational conditions
      • Image storage and management
    • Safety rules and guidelines
      • Hazard awareness
      • Standards and guides
      • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
    • Thermographic applications
      • The basic principles of diagnostics (ISO 13379) and prognostics (ISO 13381)
      • Machinery engineering principles
      • Electrical application – fuses, transformers, switchgear, transmission lines, etc.
      • Mechanical application – pipes, tanks, refractories, heat exchangers, etc.
      • Civil applications – windows, air leaks, construction integrity, etc.
      • Process applications – steam traps
    • General image interpretation guidelines
      • Image processing
      • Fault classification
    • Report generation
      • Providing actionable information

Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the more common questions regarding our IRTCAT-I Thermography course

  • WILL I RECEIVE PRE-COURSE STUDY MATERIALS?

    Upon course registration all students will receive an instructional email with a link to the TMS (Training Management System) to finalize their course registration and student profile.  Once registration is complete you will see a link to the applicable online Learning Zone under the training course tab in your student profile. The Learning Zone provides a digital version of the coursebook and also a series of folders containing movies. These movies are actual course videos, recorded in a studio, and contain similar content taught in the Instructor-led course.

  • WHAT IS A LEARNING ZONE ACCOUNT?

    Every student will receive a link to the TMS (Training Management System) where they are able to access their personal Learning Zone. The account provides a digital version of the coursebook and also a series of videos. These videos contain the same content taught in the Instructor-led course. The Learning Zone account may be used for pre-course study materials, review during the course week, reference after the course, or used to re-take the course and re-sit your certification exam. The account is activated at the time the student registers for the course and expires 4 months after the close date of the course they will be attending.

  • DO YOU OFFER UNLIMITED LEARNING ACCESS?

    Yes, learn forever with Mobius Institute “Life Long Learning”.
    Receive access to video training for a lifetime for a nominal fee as a past, present, and future Mobius Institute student. Life Long Learning applies to all students, whether you attend public or onsite training or purchase an online distance learning. To upgrade, either select the Life Long Learning Upgrade option using this link – Life Long Learning Upgrade Link or contact your training partner directly.

  • CAN I BUY THE LEARNING ZONE ACCOUNT AND USE IT TO STUDY FOR THE CERTIFICATION EXAM?

    No, but we do offer Category I Distance Learning (DL) course which is the online equivalent to our Public course. The cost is the same as attending a Public course, the training material content is fully ISO 18436 compliant and you will be qualified to take the Certification Exam once you have completed the DL course.

    You will find the distance learning courses on our shopping cart.

  • DO YOU OFFER ON-SITE INSTRUCTOR LED COURSES?

    Yes, we offer a range of courses that can be conducted onsite, including our Category I-IV vibration analysis courses, Asset Reliability Practitioner® ARP, ultrasound, balancing, alignment, infrared thermography, and others. If you are in North America, please email the course category and number of students to learn@mobiusinstitute.com for a quotation. Outside North America, contact your local training partner.

  • MAY I TAKE ONE OF YOUR COURSES IF I AM NOT INTERESTED IN BECOMING CERTIFIED OR IF I HAVE INSUFFICIENT EXPERIENCE FOR CERTIFICATION?

    Yes, our courses are open to anyone that wishes to improve their knowledge. If you are involved in Infrared Thermography in any capacity, such as sales, marketing, engineering, design, or reliability, you will come away with a far better understanding of how machines are monitored, how faults develop, and what can be done to determine what faults actually exist in a machine. All attendees receive certificate of training completion.

  • AFTER I ATTEND YOUR COURSE AND TAKE THE EXAM, WHEN WILL I RECEIVE NOTIFICATION AS TO WHETHER I PASSED, AND WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY CERTIFICATE?

    You will receive notification of your results 5-10 days after the exam has been received at our Australian office. If you have passed the exam and met all certification requirements, you will receive your digital certificate 10-15 days after your exam results notification email.

  • HOW LONG IS THE CERTIFICATION VALID?

    Thermography certification is valid for five (5) years.

  • HOW DO I RENEW MY CERTIFICATION?

    We will endeavor to contact you before your certification expires, therefore it is important that you keep your TMS records up to date (TMS is the training management system you will use to register for the course and for certification). If you change roles, it is essential that you update your records. We also invite you to set a reminder in your calendar for five years hence to contact us.

  • HOW DO I QUALIFY FOR RENEWAL?

    As per the standard, we do not require you to attend our conferences or take our courses, however,  we hope you will take advantage of www.mobiusconnect.com and the sites linked to Mobius CONNECT® so that your knowledge remains current. These sites are free of charge. When it is time to renew your certification, we will ask you to nominate an independent person who can verify that you are still active as a thermographer. There will be a small fee to renew your digital certificate and to renew your certification status with the accreditation body.

  • WHAT ARE THE EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR IRTCAT-I?

    You must have twelve months of experience generally associated with thermography. You will be asked to nominate an independent person who can verify that you have that experience.

  • WHAT IS THE COLOR PERCEPTION TEST?

    MIBoC uses the Ishihara Color Perception Test, also known as the color vision test to measure a person’s ability to tell the difference between colours. Ishihara test checks for red-green colour blindness.
    In an Ishihara test, a person looks at a series of circles (known as Ishihara plates) with dots of different colors and sizes. A person who has trouble seeing red and green will find the shapes and numbers hard to see, or may not see them at all.