Scope 10 inspection and thermography
Scope 10 is the inspection of electrical equipment for fire risk and is the translation of NTA 8220. The outcome depends on thermal images, which are only useful if you can trace which object they show and under what load. Appfront builds the software that attaches that image to the object rather than to the visit.
What a scope 10 inspection involves
Scope 10 falls under the SCIOS sub-scheme for electrical equipment and concerns the inspection of electrical equipment for fire risk. The technical basis is NTA 8220, the Dutch technical agreement that describes how that assessment is carried out. Unlike scope 8, the scheme for scope 10 has no additional work areas; there is therefore no separate distinction between an initial and a periodic inspection within the scheme itself.
The question scope 10 answers is different from the one asked during an installation inspection. There, the question is whether the installation meets the standard; here, the question is whether something poses a fire risk. That is why thermography is so central: a connection that runs hot under load is one of the most reliable predictors of an emerging fire, and you cannot see that from an insulation resistance measurement.
This creates the problem this software exists to solve. A thermal image on its own says little. It only becomes useful with context: which object, under what load, at what ambient temperature, and how it compares with similar points in the same cabinet. If you have to piece that together at the office from a folder of images and a notebook, there is a good chance an image ends up against the wrong object or the context is missing altogether.
How we build your scope 10 software
We start at the measurement point. A file built up per visit cannot show development, and that development is what makes thermography valuable.
Distribution boards, connections, cable trays, motors and other objects you assess, each with its own identity. The images and findings are linked to them. Without that structure, comparing results over the years is not possible.
What data do you record with each image: load at the time, ambient temperature, emissivity factor, distance. This is the data that makes an assessment repeatable and that is requested during an audit.
We work in sprints and start with the inspection itself. Early on, your inspector will carry out a real round with an interim version; that is the only way to find out whether linking images to objects is fast enough.
We align the report format with what your client needs to submit to their insurer. This is followed by a handover with a trial run, in which we check a completed file against the questions from your certifying body.
What the software actually does
Six components that turn loose images into a file. Which you need depends on the size of the objects you inspect.
Thermal image linked to the object
Each image attaches to the measurement point where it was taken, not to the visit. At the next inspection it sits beside last year's image, so a change stands out that a single isolated capture would not reveal.
Context with every measurement
Load, ambient temperature, emissivity factor and distance are recorded with the image. Without that data, a temperature difference cannot be assessed and the measurement cannot be repeated.
On-site recognition
A code on the cabinet or object opens the correct measurement point and shows its history. In a switchroom with twenty almost identical cabinets, this reliably prevents mix-ups.
Findings with urgency and remediation
A deviation is classified by urgency and stays open until the repair has been carried out and verified, preferably with a new image of the same spot. That last part is what an insurer wants to see.
Frequency per object or location
The frequency follows from the policy terms or your own risk assessment and may differ by location. The system plans ahead and groups everything at the same location, so a round can be scheduled efficiently.
Reporting and client portal
The report is produced from the recorded data, with images placed where they belong. Your client retrieves it from a portal in which he only sees his own locations, along with the open findings.
Who we build for
Four situations where scope 10 applies. The main difference lies in who pays for the inspection and why.
Work arising from policy terms
The majority of assignments. The insurer requires the inspection and wants proof that findings have been rectified. Turnaround time and demonstrability then weigh more heavily than depth.
Industry with an in-house electrical engineering department
A lot of switchgear and motors, where failure means immediate production loss. Here thermography is not only fire prevention but also predictive maintenance, which argues for a single system.
Property and institutions
Many buildings, each with a number of distribution boards. The key question is central oversight: which building was inspected when, and where is something still open for the insurer.
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What we deploy follows from your way of working. Thermal images are large and switch rooms rarely have coverage, so offline storage and sensible handling of image sizes are design requirements rather than afterthoughts.
If you want to keep the file for your fixed extinguishing installations in order, take a look at our software for the inspection file of fixed extinguishing systems.
Why Appfront
The image belongs to the point
Loose images in a folder produce a report that is useful only once. By attaching each image to a measurement point, a sequence emerges that says something about development.
Context makes it repeatable
A temperature difference without load and ambient temperature cannot be assessed. We enforce that context at the time of recording, because it cannot be added afterwards.
Turnaround time matters commercially
Your client is waiting for the report for his insurer. By completing the file on site, the week spent working up the results between inspection and delivery disappears.
Alongside what is already running
Your scheduling and invoicing stay as they are. We build the layer in between through integrations, so that an inspection doesn't have to be entered twice.
Security and privacy
The file contains little personal data, but it does record which inspector prepared which report and under which professional competence. That is needed to demonstrate that a competent person carried it out, and it also touches on their certification; we therefore structure reports around the object rather than the inspector.
The nature of the information weighs even more heavily. Open fire risks at your client's premises are sensitive with respect to their insurer and, after a fire, with respect to an investigator. Access is therefore strictly per client, through a portal that only shows their own locations. Images receive a timestamp, and the underlying measurement data is kept exactly as recorded; a finalised report cannot be changed silently, and any correction is visibly marked as a correction. This is not only an audit requirement: in the event of an insurance claim, this file becomes evidence. How we handle security ourselves is set out in our information security policy; reports from outside parties go through our responsible disclosure policy.
Frequently asked questions about scope 10
Scope 8 concerns the fixed electrical installation and whether it meets the standard; scope 10 concerns the inspection of electrical equipment for fire risk and is the translation of NTA 8220. They sit within the same SCIOS sub-scheme but answer a different question, and the reports look different. If you do both, we build one system with two forms on the same asset register; see also scope 8.
Not as a general statutory obligation. In practice the requirement usually stems from a policy condition: insurers make periodic fire risk inspections mandatory for commercial premises. In addition, the usual obligations around safe work equipment and installations still apply, and these partly run in parallel. For the employer's side we have set this out on the NEN 3140 page.
Because a temperature on its own says nothing. A connection at fifty degrees is normal at full load on a warm day and a cause for concern at half load in winter. Without the load, ambient temperature, emissivity and distance, the reading can be neither assessed nor repeated. That is why we require this data at the point of recording; adding it afterwards is not an option, because no one remembers it by then.
This follows from the policy condition and from the risk assessment of the asset; it is not a fixed period set by law. In practice we see cycles that differ by location and by asset type. Because the interval is therefore not uniform, we make it configurable per asset or per location rather than per client, and the system lets you plan ahead so a round can be organised efficiently.
Usually yes, and it is worth doing because the raw measurement data is contained in the file. Many cameras store the temperature matrix and settings alongside the image, which means an assessment can later be reproduced with a different emissivity factor. What is exactly available varies by brand; we establish this during the scoping exercise rather than promising it upfront.
Yes, and here it is a requirement. Switchrooms and technical basements have poor coverage, and thermal images are also large. The app stores data locally and synchronises as soon as a connection is available, clearly showing which recordings have not yet been sent. We design explicitly for how image sizes are handled, because a day of inspecting quickly produces hundreds of recordings.
Yes, and for insurance work this is the most frequently requested feature. Each client receives a portal with their own locations, the reports, and the open findings with their urgency. Repairs can be reported there, after which your inspector verifies them with a new image of the same point. That is exactly what an insurer wants to see, and it saves your office a great deal of email traffic.
That depends on how deeply you model the objects, whether the camera integration is included and whether a client portal is needed. The inspection app linking images to objects is usually quick to become usable; the portal and camera integration cost more. We provide a reasoned estimate after the discovery phase, when we know which equipment your inspectors work with.
Ready to build your scope 10 dossier?
Tell us how many assets you inspect and how your images currently reach the report, and we'll help you plan the asset register, the context for each recording and the portal for your client. We build this as a standalone application or as part of a wider custom software or app project.